NC Notary - North Carolina Notary Notarial Certificates Questions and Answers

Question 1

A signer presents a document in Chatham County with a pre-printed notarial certificate showing the venue as "State of North Carolina, County of Wake." What is the notary's proper course of action?

Accepted Answer

Line through "Wake," write "Chatham," and initial the change.

Answer

The venue on a notarial certificate must state the location where the notarial act actually takes place. If the pre-printed venue is incorrect, the notary must correct it by lining through the incorrect information, writing in the correct information, and initialing the change to ensure the certificate accurately reflects the facts of the notarization.

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT a required element for attestation on every North Carolina notarial certificate?

Accepted Answer

The notary's printed name.

Answer

According to G.S. 10B-20(b), a notarial act must be attested by the notary's official signature, the seal, and the commission expiration date. The legible appearance of the notary's name is also required, but it can be ascertained from the signature, from being typed/printed near the signature, or from a legible seal. Therefore, a separately printed name is not strictly required if the name is legible elsewhere.

Question 3

A notary is asked to perform an acknowledgment. The notarial certificate provided by the document creator is missing the principal signer's name and the date of the notarization. How should the notary proceed?

Accepted Answer

Handwrite the missing information into the existing certificate and then complete the notarization.

Answer

A notary is responsible for ensuring the notarial certificate is complete and accurate at the time of the notarization. If required information like the signer's name or the date is missing from the certificate, the notary must fill in those blanks before signing and sealing. Leaving the certificate incomplete or attaching a new one when the existing one is usable but incomplete are incorrect procedures.

Question 4

The primary purpose of the 'body' of a notarial certificate, such as the wording for an acknowledgment, is to:

Accepted Answer

Describe the facts being certified by the notary for that specific notarial act.

Answer

The body of the notarial certificate contains the core statement of the notarial act. For an acknowledgment, it certifies that the signer personally appeared and acknowledged their signature. For a jurat, it certifies the signer personally appeared and was sworn to the contents of the document. This section describes the specific actions and facts the notary is attesting to.

Question 5

A document requires a jurat, but the pre-printed notarial certificate contains the standard wording for an acknowledgment. Which action is appropriate for the North Carolina notary?

Accepted Answer

Cross out the acknowledgment wording, write in the correct jurat wording, initial the change, and then proceed with the notarization.

Answer

A notary cannot use an incorrect notarial certificate. If the wrong type is pre-printed, the notary's proper course of action is to correct it. The notary may line through the incorrect wording, write in the correct statutory wording for the required act (in this case, a jurat), and initial the change. Alternatively, the notary could cross out the entire incorrect certificate and attach a completed loose certificate with the correct jurat wording.

NC Notary - North Carolina Notary Exam Practice Test

NC Notary - North Carolina Notary Exam Practice Test

NC Notary - North Carolina Notary Notarial Certificates Questions and Answers