How Not To Perform Notary Service in California

This video shows that even with mandatory education, notaries still do not follow the law. The beginning of this video the notary pulls his journal and stamp from an unlocked drawer. California law says your journal and stamp must be in your exclusive control, in a safe and locked location.

The next mistake is that the notary chooses the type of service "Let's just do a jurat then." That is unlicensed practice of law. The notary cannot choose which service to perform.

He then says that it is best to fill out the document prior to signing it. IT IS REQUIRED that the document be filled out. You cannot notarize a document with blanks left unfilled.

The other problem is during the journal entry, he does not hide the previous entries. The journal is limited public record and you cannot give away the information on previous journal entries without written request of the Name of the person, Month of Notary Service and Document Name.

He also fails to put the person under oath. You must swear or affirm to the contents of the document.

Please, no matter whether you are in California or Alaska or any other states, take one of our classes so you know what you are doing.