UT Notary Notary Journal and Record-Keeping 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under Utah Code § 46-1-13, is a Utah notary required to maintain a journal of notarial acts?
- No, a journal is optional
- Yes, a journal is required for all notarial acts (Correct answer)
- Only for real estate transactions
- Only for electronic notarizations
Correct answer: Yes, a journal is required for all notarial acts
Utah Code § 46-1-13 requires every notary to maintain a sequential journal of all notarial acts performed.
Utah Code § 46-1-13 mandates that all notaries public maintain a bound journal recording every notarial act performed. The journal serves as a contemporaneous official record that can be used to reconstruct details of a transaction if the document is lost or disputed, and it protects the notary from false accusations by documenting exactly what occurred.
Question 2: What type of journal is required for a Utah notary?
- Any lined notebook from an office supply store
- A bound book with permanently numbered pages (Correct answer)
- A looseleaf binder with removable pages
- A digital spreadsheet
Correct answer: A bound book with permanently numbered pages
Utah requires a bound journal with permanently numbered pages so that entries cannot be removed or rearranged without detection.
Utah Code § 46-1-13 requires notaries to use a bound, sequentially numbered journal to prevent removal or insertion of pages that could alter the record. Looseleaf binders, spiral notebooks where pages can be removed, and digital spreadsheets are not acceptable substitutes because they do not provide a tamper-evident permanent record.
Question 3: What is the minimum retention period for a Utah notary's completed journal?
- 1 year after the last entry
- 5 years after the last entry in the journal (Correct answer)
- 10 years after the last entry
- Indefinitely — journals may never be destroyed
Correct answer: 5 years after the last entry in the journal
Utah Code § 46-1-13 requires notaries to retain completed journals for at least five years after the last notarial act recorded in the journal.
Under Utah Code § 46-1-13, a notary must keep a completed journal for a minimum of five years after the date of the last entry. This retention period ensures the journal is available if questions arise about notarial acts within the applicable statute of limitations for contract and fraud claims. After the five-year period, the notary may destroy the journal in a manner that protects the privacy of signers.
Question 4: When a Utah notary resigns, retires, or their commission expires and is not renewed, what must happen to their journal?
- They may keep it indefinitely as a personal record
- The journal must be delivered to the county clerk's office (Correct answer)
- They must mail it to the Lieutenant Governor's Office immediately
- It may be destroyed after 30 days
Correct answer: The journal must be delivered to the county clerk's office
Upon ceasing to be a notary, Utah law requires the former notary to deliver their journal to the county clerk of the county where the journal was kept.
Utah Code § 46-1-13 provides that when a notary public ceases to hold the office — whether by resignation, non-renewal, or revocation — the notary must deliver their journal to the county clerk. This ensures continued public access to the notarial record and prevents the records from being lost or destroyed when the notary's commission ends.
Question 5: What must a Utah notary journal entry include about the document notarized?
- The full text of the document
- The type of document and date of the notarial act (Correct answer)
- The document's monetary value
- The notary fee charged plus tax
Correct answer: The type of document and date of the notarial act
Utah Code § 46-1-13 requires the journal to record the date of the act and the type of document involved, among other required elements.
Utah Code § 46-1-13 specifies that each journal entry must include: the date of the notarial act; the type of notarial act performed; the type of document; the signer's name and address; the method used to identify the signer; and any fee charged. This creates a comprehensive record of every transaction.
Question 6: A Utah notary is presented with a subpoena demanding their notary journal. What should the notary do?
- Refuse, as journals are always confidential
- Comply with the subpoena and produce the journal as required by law (Correct answer)
- Provide only photocopies and destroy the original
- Notify the Lieutenant Governor's Office and then ignore the subpoena
Correct answer: Comply with the subpoena and produce the journal as required by law
A valid subpoena is a legal order that requires compliance; the notary must produce the journal as directed.
When a court or authorized government agency issues a valid subpoena for a notary's journal, the notary is legally obligated to comply and produce the journal. The notary may wish to consult an attorney about the scope of the subpoena, but they cannot simply refuse on grounds of confidentiality. The journal is an official record, and refusing to produce it in response to valid legal process could constitute contempt of court.
UT Notary Notary Journal and Record-Keeping 2
Under Utah Code § 46-1-13, is a Utah notary required to maintain a journal of notarial acts?