Notary Public
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NY Dept of State Notary (Updated Link)
Notary Organizations
The Practicing Notary
A few years ago, I became a notary public for the State of NY, a public ministerial (by definition a job that does not require any significant judgement or policy discretion) office that is held for two year terms. [I renewed and was given a four year extension] Given the fact that this state only has nearly 248,000 other notaries (a bit over 1% of the population) and that all it took was a few fees and passing a multiple choice test, this is not that big of a deal. It is also not very lucrative with most of the usual tasks having fees set by law of $2 or less with one duty (giving oaths and affirmations to other public officers (notaries, local and state officials, and so on to 'swear' them into office) to be supplied free of charge. Nonetheless, in its own sphere, being a notary is of some importance, as well as an importance service since occassionally each one of us might need to have things notarized. I would like to briefly discuss the duties of the office (generally applied to all states with some exceptions) and the basic function of notary publics.
A notary is basically a special type of witness needed to execute certain documents with the added duty to formally swear in public officials. For instance, Calvin Coolidge's father was a notary, and when President Harding died, he swore in his son as the next President. S/he also duties relating to banking (see below), in which this witness role also is involved, though a typical notary is rarely involved in this area. A notary can not deny his/her services. A notary has the responsibility to ensure that the person partaking of his/her services is actually the person represented in the documents involved, is competent to supply their signature as well as an oath/affirmation or acknowledgement required, and is doing so freely. This responsibility is often ignored as is the case whenever an item is notarized without a request for suitable identification. The compentency requirement does not require some complex legal ruling, but the notary should watch to see if the person clearly does not understand what is being done, and/or is clearly mentally incompetent in some way. The notary therefore is a formal way to uphold the sanctity of certain transactions and should be a neutral third party to help guarantee this is the case.
What are the duties of a notary? They supply the necessary oaths/affirmations and sign on and affix with an unofficial seal the paperwork involved in the following duties:
Oaths and affirmations: Various documents and public offices require the person to swear or affirm (if they are religious opposed to oaths) that the material therein in true and/or s/he will uphold the duties of the office. This is an important ceremony that symbolizes the sacred trust involved.
Affirmations: This is one step down from an oath or affirmation, and therefore willfilly lying is not perjury, but a lesser offense given the trust involved in not as serious. Many documents (such as a bill of sale for a car) have an affirmation clause that insures the signer is freely accepting the requirements and components found in it. If the person who executed the document is not present in front of a notary, the person who makes the official declaration required is now involved in what is called a "proof of execution." The basic concept remains the same, though the requirements are slightly different.
Affidavits: An affidavit is a one sided statement of some kind that is often used in legal proceedings in lieu of testimony. For instance, during a lawsuit against a drug firm, a scientist might supply an affidavit discussing a certain area of the matters involved without actually being in court in person. The notary is but a witness to the fact the scientist truly is the person who wrote the affidavit, and swore or affirmed (thus the term) what is found in it is true. As in other cases, the notary does not have the responsibity determine if the document is totally true.
Depositions: This is a bit of a specialized area, but briefly, a deposition is a proceeding in which each side of a lawsuit obtain information under oath outside of court. The difference between this and an affidavit is that depositions are involuntary and both sides are present. Also, there are various rules and regulations, which make depositions much more complex than affidavits. I surely am not skilled in the area, but one job of a notary is to take the oaths and affirmations required in this proceedings, including the acceptance of deponents of the testimony court reporters prepare.
Banking: Notary publics also can be official witnesses to the opening up of safety deposit boxes broken up when the owners fail to pay the fees for a certain period of time. Also, notaries can supply the official notification necessary to proceed when a bank note (check, IOU, etc) is not paid.
Other Issues: A notary also has a few other arcane duties. A notary can not be involved in marriages or wills in the State of NY as notaries; that is, if a person draws up a will and takes it to a notary, a notary can not treat it as an affidavit and have the person assume the will now is legally binding. The same with a marriage contract, though in a few states notaries can be so involved. Also, notaries should not as notaries give legal advice or split fees with lawyers (of course, lawyers and various other officials such as judges, can be notaries aside from their other roles); originally notaries may have been quasi-lawyers, but no longer.
Notaries therefore are a small but important part in many legal transactions. They are given the duty by the state to insure in various ways that these transactions are executed in good faith. A notary is a neutral third party witness to such transactions, which is why things should not be notarized for family members (if they are, they can be challenged because the notary is now an 'interested' party). They are the ones giving the oaths (technically orally) and affirming with their signature and official stamp that their customers (clients) willfully swore/affirmed or acknowledged to the documents involved, and therefore will be forewarned they will be guilty of a crime if they lied in doing so. The same applies to the banks or whomever is involved in regards to safety deposit boxes or failure of payment. Therefore, it might not be a good paying office, but being a notary is still an important public duty to undertake.
Credits: Alfred Piombino's Notary Public Handbook: A Guide For New York (Third Edition) was a lot of help in helping me to understand the position. I originally downloaded the handbook supplied by the state to study for the exam, so check that as well. I bought my stamp and seal at an office supply store; they also can be purchased off various notary websites online. And if you need notary service and are in the NY city area, well email me, I might be near you :)
Email: jmatrixrenegade@aol.com
