WV Notary Notarial Acts and Procedures 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A signer arrives with a document already signed at home and asks a West Virginia notary to take an acknowledgment. What should the notary do?
- Proceed, because an acknowledgment does not require the document to be signed in the notary's presence (Correct answer)
- Refuse, because all documents must be signed in front of the notary
- Require the signer to sign the document a second time
- Notarize only if the signer provides two witnesses
Correct answer: Proceed, because an acknowledgment does not require the document to be signed in the notary's presence
For an acknowledgment, the signer may sign beforehand but must personally appear and acknowledge the signature as their own.
Question 2: Which notarial act requires the signer to make a signature in the notary's presence and take an oath or affirmation about the truthfulness of the contents?
- Verification on oath or affirmation (jurat) (Correct answer)
- Acknowledgment
- Copy certification
- Signature witnessing without oath
Correct answer: Verification on oath or affirmation (jurat)
A jurat requires signing in the notary's presence plus an oath or affirmation that the statement is true.
Question 3: Under West Virginia law, personal appearance before the notary means the signer must be:
- Physically present or appearing by approved communication technology for remote notarization (Correct answer)
- Reachable by telephone at the time of notarization
- Represented by an attorney-in-fact who appears instead
- Known to have signed the document within the past 30 days
Correct answer: Physically present or appearing by approved communication technology for remote notarization
West Virginia requires physical presence or, for authorized remote notarizations, appearance through approved audio-visual technology.
Question 4: A West Virginia notary is asked to notarize for a signer who presents no identification, but a credible witness personally known to the notary is present. The notary may:
- Rely on the credible witness's verification of the signer's identity under oath (Correct answer)
- Refuse, since only government-issued ID is ever acceptable
- Notarize using the signer's business card as identification
- Notarize and note in the certificate that no ID was shown
Correct answer: Rely on the credible witness's verification of the signer's identity under oath
Identity may be verified through a credible witness who is personally known to the notary and verifies the signer under oath.
Question 5: When completing a notarial certificate, the venue section (e.g., 'State of West Virginia, County of Kanawha') indicates:
- Where the notarial act was performed (Correct answer)
- Where the signer permanently resides
- Where the document will be recorded
- Where the notary's commission was issued
Correct answer: Where the notarial act was performed
The venue states the location where the notarization actually took place.
Question 6: A document presented for notarization contains blank spaces material to the transaction. The West Virginia notary should:
- Decline to notarize until the blanks are completed or lined through by the signer (Correct answer)
- Fill in the blanks personally based on the signer's instructions
- Notarize and let the parties complete the blanks later
- Notarize but write 'incomplete' next to the seal
Correct answer: Decline to notarize until the blanks are completed or lined through by the signer
Notarizing incomplete documents invites fraud, so the signer must complete or strike blanks before the notarization.
Question 7: Which of the following is a proper way for a West Virginia notary to administer an oath?
- Ask the signer aloud to swear that the contents of the document are true, receiving an affirmative response (Correct answer)
- Have the signer silently read the oath language and nod
- Print the oath on the document and skip verbal administration
- Ask the signer to email confirmation of the oath afterward
Correct answer: Ask the signer aloud to swear that the contents of the document are true, receiving an affirmative response
An oath must be administered verbally as a ceremony in which the signer audibly responds affirmatively.
WV Notary Notarial Acts and Procedures 2
A signer arrives with a document already signed at home and asks a West Virginia notary to take an acknowledgment.
What should the notary do?