RI Notary Completing Notarial Certificates 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When a notarial certificate does not fit on the document itself, a Rhode Island notary should:
- Securely attach a separate certificate page (loose certificate) that identifies the document (Correct answer)
- Write the certificate on the back of the notary's business card
- Skip the certificate and rely on the stamp alone
- Email the certificate to the signer later
Correct answer: Securely attach a separate certificate page (loose certificate) that identifies the document
A loose certificate that references the underlying document may be attached when there is no room on the document.
Question 2: What details should a Rhode Island notary add to a loose (attached) certificate to discourage its fraudulent reuse on another document?
- A description of the document, such as its title, date, and number of pages (Correct answer)
- The signer's Social Security number
- The notary's home address and personal email
- A photocopy of the signer's driver's license
Correct answer: A description of the document, such as its title, date, and number of pages
Identifying the document by title, date, and page count ties the certificate to that specific record.
Question 3: A Rhode Island notary makes an error while filling in a paper certificate. What is the accepted way to correct it at the time of the notarization?
- Draw a single line through the error, write the correction, and initial it (Correct answer)
- Use correction fluid to hide the mistake completely
- Erase the error so no trace remains
- Start over on a new document without telling the signer
Correct answer: Draw a single line through the error, write the correction, and initial it
A lined-through, initialed correction keeps the record transparent, while obscuring changes with correction fluid invites suspicion of tampering.
Question 4: A title company mails a Rhode Island notary a signed certificate request asking the notary to "fix" a certificate by changing the notarization date from last week to yesterday. The notary should:
- Refuse, because a certificate must state the true date the notarial act was performed (Correct answer)
- Change the date since the title company requested it in writing
- Change the date but keep a note in a personal file
- Ask the signer to approve the new date by phone
Correct answer: Refuse, because a certificate must state the true date the notarial act was performed
Backdating or postdating a certificate falsifies the record and is prohibited regardless of who requests it.
Question 5: In a Rhode Island acknowledgment certificate, the statement that the signer "executed the document voluntarily for its stated purpose" reflects what the signer must do before the notary completes the certificate?
- Personally appear and acknowledge signing the document willingly (Correct answer)
- Sign the document again in front of two witnesses
- Recite the entire document aloud
- Swear an oath about the document's contents
Correct answer: Personally appear and acknowledge signing the document willingly
An acknowledgment requires the signer to appear before the notary and declare the signature was made voluntarily.
Question 6: Which scenario would make it improper for a Rhode Island notary to complete a notarial certificate?
- The signer never personally appeared before the notary (Correct answer)
- The document is written in formal legal language
- The signer appeared but seemed nervous about a real estate closing
- The certificate wording was preprinted by an attorney
Correct answer: The signer never personally appeared before the notary
Personal appearance is mandatory, so a certificate may never be completed for a signer who did not appear.
Question 7: A Rhode Island notary's official stamp on a certificate should be placed:
- Near the notary's signature without covering any signatures or certificate text (Correct answer)
- Directly over the signer's signature to link them
- On a blank page at the front of the document
- Anywhere, including over the certificate wording
Correct answer: Near the notary's signature without covering any signatures or certificate text
The stamp must be legible and photographically reproducible, so it should not obscure signatures or wording.
RI Notary Completing Notarial Certificates 3
When a notarial certificate does not fit on the document itself, a Rhode Island notary should: