Notarial Acts and Procedures Flashcards
7 cards from real WV NOTARY practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Notarial Acts and Procedures flashcards as text
A signer objects to swearing an oath for religious reasons. The West Virginia notary should:
Answer: Offer an affirmation, which has the same legal effect without religious reference
An affirmation is a legally equivalent, secular alternative to an oath.
Which document copy may a West Virginia notary generally NOT certify?
Answer: A birth certificate or other publicly recorded vital record
Copies of vital records and other publicly recordable documents must be certified by the official custodian, not a notary.
During a notarization, the notary realizes the signer appears confused and cannot explain what the document is. The notary should:
Answer: Decline to notarize because the signer does not appear to understand the transaction
A notary must refuse when the signer does not appear competent or aware of what they are signing.
A pre-printed certificate on a document says 'Subscribed and sworn to before me.' This wording tells the West Virginia notary that the required act is:
Answer: A jurat (verification on oath or affirmation)
'Subscribed and sworn to' is the classic jurat language, requiring signing in the notary's presence and an oath.
If a document has no notarial certificate at all, the West Virginia notary should:
Answer: Ask the signer which act is required and attach the corresponding certificate, without advising which to choose
The signer (or the issuing/receiving agency) must select the notarial act; the notary may then attach a loose certificate but may not choose for them.
A West Virginia notary performs an acknowledgment for an attorney-in-fact signing under a power of attorney. The certificate should reflect that the person acknowledged signing:
Answer: In a representative capacity on behalf of the principal
When someone signs under a power of attorney, the certificate must show the representative capacity in which they acknowledged the signature.
Which of the following errors would make a notarial certificate defective?
Answer: The notary forgot to sign the certificate
A certificate without the notary's signature is incomplete and invalid.