Notary Seal and Certificate Requirements 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 Notary Seal and Certificate Requirements flashcards as text
There is no room for the notarial certificate on the document itself. What may a West Virginia notary do?
Answer: Securely attach a separate certificate, often called a loose certificate, to the document
When space is insufficient, the notary may complete a loose certificate and attach it securely to the record it belongs to.
Why should a notary identify the document title, date, and number of pages on an attached loose certificate?
Answer: To prevent the certificate from being fraudulently moved to a different document
Describing the underlying document on a loose certificate deters someone from detaching it and reattaching it to another record.
A West Virginia notary makes a small error in a certificate while completing it. What is the best practice?
Answer: Draw a single line through the error, insert the correction, and initial it at the time of the act
Corrections made at the time of the act should be lined through, corrected, and initialed so the change is transparent.
A title company calls a West Virginia notary a week after a closing and asks her to mail a new signed, stamped loose certificate to replace one they lost. The notary should:
Answer: Decline to send a certificate detached from the document, since certificates cannot be issued blank or unattached
Sending a signed and stamped certificate that is not attached to the actual document invites fraud and violates proper certificate practice.
Which of the following best describes the legal purpose of the notarial certificate?
Answer: It is the notary's written statement of the facts of the notarial act performed
The certificate documents what the notary did, such as taking an acknowledgment or administering an oath, not the truth of the document itself.
A signer insists the notary certify that the attached contract is 'true and legally binding.' The notary should:
Answer: Refuse, because a notary may only certify the notarial act, not the validity of a document's contents
Certifying a document's legal validity is beyond a notary's authority and can constitute unauthorized practice of law.
A pre-printed certificate says 'Sworn to and subscribed before me,' but the signer only needs an acknowledgment. What should the notary do?
Answer: Use certificate wording that matches the acknowledgment actually performed
The certificate wording must accurately reflect the specific notarial act the notary actually performed.