VA Notary Notarial Acts and Certificates 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What must every Virginia notarial certificate include?
- The notary's home address
- The date of the notarial act, venue, notary's signature, and commission expiration (Correct answer)
- The signer's Social Security number
- Two witness signatures
Correct answer: The date of the notarial act, venue, notary's signature, and commission expiration
A proper Virginia notarial certificate must include the date, venue, notary signature, and commission expiration date.
Question 2: The venue on a Virginia notarial certificate refers to:
- The address where the document will be recorded
- The state and county or city where the notarial act was performed (Correct answer)
- The notary's business address
- The court where the document will be filed
Correct answer: The state and county or city where the notarial act was performed
The venue identifies the state and the specific locality (county or city) where the notarial act took place.
Question 3: If a notarial certificate contains a blank or error, the notary should:
- Have the signer initial the correction
- Strike through the error, write the correction, and initial it (Correct answer)
- Destroy the document and start over
- Leave it blank to be corrected later
Correct answer: Strike through the error, write the correction, and initial it
Corrections to a notarial certificate should be made by striking through the error, writing the correct information, and initialing the change.
Question 4: A Virginia notary may add a notarial certificate to a document that lacks one ONLY if:
- The document is more than one page
- The signer is present and requests it (Correct answer)
- The document is already recorded
- Another notary previously notarized the document
Correct answer: The signer is present and requests it
A loose certificate may be attached to a document when the signer is present and the appropriate act is performed at that time.
Question 5: What is a 'loose certificate' in Virginia notarial practice?
- A certificate that is photocopied
- A separate sheet attached to a document containing the notarial certificate language (Correct answer)
- An unsigned certificate
- A certificate valid for multiple documents
Correct answer: A separate sheet attached to a document containing the notarial certificate language
A loose certificate is a separate piece of paper containing the notarial certificate language that is attached to the document.
Question 6: Under Virginia law, a notary who drafts, prepares, or selects the notarial certificate wording for a signer is:
- Performing a helpful service within their authority
- Engaging in the unauthorized practice of law (Correct answer)
- Required to charge an additional fee
- Acting as a legal document assistant
Correct answer: Engaging in the unauthorized practice of law
Selecting or advising on the appropriate notarial certificate constitutes the unauthorized practice of law in Virginia.
VA Notary Notarial Acts and Certificates 2
What must every Virginia notarial certificate include?