FAQ's
What is a Notary?
A Notary Public is a public servant with statewide jurisdiction who is authorized to take acknowledgments, protest instruments permitted by law to be protested (primarily negotiable instruments and bills and notes), administer oaths, take depositions, and certify copies of documents not recordable in the public records.
A Notary Public is, in the true sense of the word, "a public servant" and "an officer of the State of Texas", conveniently located in the community so that the notary may be of service to the public. Each Notary Public takes an official oath of office to faithfully perform the duties of the office, and to insure such performance, a notary public is required to post a $10,000.00 bond with the Secretary of State.
The primary duty of a Notary Public is to show that a disinterested party (the Notary Public) has duly notified the signer of an instrument as to the importance of such document, and the signer of such document has declared that the signer’s identity, signature, and reasons for signing such instrument are genuine. The signature and seal of a Notary Public do not prove these facts conclusively, but provide prima facie proof of them, and allow persons in trade and commerce to rely upon the truth and veracity of the Notary Public as a third party who has no personal interest in the transaction.
A Notary Public is personally liable for negligence or fraud in the performance of the duties of the office. The bond is to insure that the person injured can recover at least $10,000.00, but this does not protect the Notary Public from personal liability for the full extent of damages caused by a breach of official duty. In addition to civil liability, Notaries Public may be subject to criminal prosecution and the revocation or suspension of their notary public commission by the Secretary of State's office.
Who Needs a Notary?
Everyone has a need for Notarial Services, at some time or another.
But what does a Notary Public actually do?
Well its very simple, A Notary Public is person who has been appointed by the state to act as an impartial witness to prevent fraud during the signing of a document.
A notary will verify that you are who you say you are. So you will need a valid photo ID. This needs to be one issued by your state of residency, the most common ID's used are:
State-issued driver's license.
State-issued identification card.
U.S. military identification card.
Resident alien identification card (green card)
U.S. passport.
What documents need to be notarized?
The range of documents requiring notarization varies from state to state, but generally speaking the common ones are:
Powers of attorney
Conveyancing documents in land and property transactions
Probate, wills and similar documents relating to the administration of estates of people
Personal documents and information for immigration control
Personal documents and information for overseas marriage
Authenticating company and business documents and transaction (e.g. shipping documents)
In general, any document that requires a secure record will require notarization.
Typically there are three broad categories of things a notary is used for:
Acknowledgments: You will likely need a notary to acknowledge a document at some point. Transferring ownership of real estate usually requires a notary, as does granting power of attorney or shifting control of a trust.
Jurats: A jurat is an oath in which you certify that the contents of a certain document are true. The oath is administered by a notary public and is often related to evidence presented in court.
Certifications of Copies (not all states): In some states, a notary has the ability to represent that a copy of a document is in fact an exact copy.
A Notary Public's background has been thoroughly checked, and they hold an office through the Secretary of State for the state their commissioned through.
Some Notary's have an office, others like myself are mobile. Which means I travel to you, be it your office, home, neutral location, hospital, even jails.
I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY LICENSEND TO PRACTICE LAW IN THIS STATE AND MAY NOT GIVE LEGAL ADVICE OR ACCEPT FEES FOR LEGAL ADVICE