{"id":632,"date":"2012-04-23T20:51:29","date_gmt":"2012-04-23T20:51:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/?p=632"},"modified":"2015-02-07T11:12:08","modified_gmt":"2015-02-07T19:12:08","slug":"my-notary-public-profession","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/?p=632","title":{"rendered":"My Notary Public Profession"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a California Notary Public<\/strong> since 1996, I am obliged to share some insights into this profession…<\/p>\n

Often referred to as a “Notary Re<\/strong><\/em>public,”\u00a0 there is no such thing.\u00a0 The professional title is\u00a0“Notary Public<\/em>.”\u00a0\u00a0 No big deal.\u00a0 An easy customer correction.\u00a0 To enlighten and clarify misgivings, the definition of a Notary Public is as follows:<\/p>\n

“A notary public<\/strong> (or notary<\/strong> or public notary<\/strong>) in the common law<\/a> world is a public officer[representative of a United State]\u00a0constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business. A notary’s main functions are to administer oaths<\/a> and affirmations, take affidavits<\/a> and statutory declarations<\/a>, witness<\/a> and authenticate the execution of certain classes of documents, take acknowledgments of deeds and other conveyances, protest notes and bills of exchange, provide notice of foreign drafts, prepare marine or ship’s protests in cases of damage, provide exemplifications and notarial copies, and perform certain other official acts depending on the jurisdiction<\/a>.[1]<\/a><\/sup> Any such act is known as a notarization<\/strong>. The term notary public<\/em> only refers to common-law<\/a> notaries and should not be confused with civil-law notaries<\/a>…”\u00a0 Wikipedia.com.<\/p>\n

Okay.\u00a0 Well put.\u00a0 Therefore, as I am a representative of the State of California<\/strong><\/span> in the capacity of a Notary Public,\u00a0\u00a0I do not take the responsibilities of this profession \u00a0for granted.\u00a0 In my attempts to maintain this profession of choice, I wonder if the general public, in need of\u00a0notarial services, are aware of the processes (plural) that a notary must be familiar with, maintain, and respect<\/em>.\u00a0 Respect<\/strong> is a key word.<\/p>\n

For instance, first and foremost, for a person to even consider becoming a Notary Public,\u00a0particular requirements must be met: be a\u00a0legal resident of any state; be 18 years\u00a0old or better; and have no felony convictions.\u00a0 Next, a commission application and Notary exam are adamantly necessitated.\u00a0 These are conveniently accomplished through a candidate’s schedule.\u00a0 As I have been a member of the National Notary Association for these many years,\u00a0I am in contact with\u00a0them for\u00a0notarial guidance (800) 876-6827 or www.sos.ca,gov<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Furthermore,\u00a0a\u00a0state-approved, six-hour\u00a0education course with examination is mandated.\u00a0\u00a0 A score no less than 70% is acceptable. \u00a0 If not scoring well, another time may be scheduled – but at a price!<\/p>\n

Another cost involves electronic fingerprinting of a candidate along with the purchasing of several tools to lawfully and efficiently carry out notarial duties (e.g., notary seal, journal, jurat\u00a0stamp, venue stamp, fingerprinting device,\u00a0notarial certificates, and Errors and omissions Insurance).\u00a0 There’s more, but you get the gist.<\/p>\n

My business operations through personal advertising\u00a0as an Independent Notary Public – meaning I work for myself –\u00a0 people frequently\u00a0contact me via telephone\u00a0to notarize\u00a0their certain documents. \u00a0I immediately ask when is a good time for them to have this done, are they 18 years of age or older, do they have an\u00a0updated<\/em>\u00a0picture identification, what\u00a0is the title of the document, do they understand the document (coherence), would they prefer to come to my office or shall I meet them somewhere at their convenience?\u00a0 Phew!\u00a0 I need to know!<\/p>\n

Before answering, a typical “quid-pro-quo<\/em>”\u00a0conversation ensues\u00a0with\u00a0“Do I have to make and appointment?\u00a0 Can I just come by now?\u00a0 How much does it cost?\u00a0 Can I have a discount?” and “This’ll only take about ten minutes, right?”<\/p>\n

Hmm, people are always in a hurry!\u00a0\u00a0I respect that and do my best to comply.\u00a0\u00a0 Anxiety about a notarizing process\u00a0is always expressed as well.\u00a0 I reply with: “Yes, you have to make an appointment.\u00a0 No, you cannot come by now.”\u00a0 As a sole-proprietor, my staff consists of one person – me.\u00a0 In oder to gain\u00a0your full attention to\u00a0a notarial matter, my attention is undivided and I will set aside time for a customer.\u00a0\u00a0 This is a ‘special, undivided\u00a0time’ with one customer at a time.\u00a0 \u00a0The subject of ‘cost<\/em>‘ is addressed with my explaining that “I offer a senior citizen\u00a0discount,\u00a0along with\u00a0active<\/span> military, active<\/span> police officers, active<\/span> fire personnel, active<\/span>\u00a0emergency\u00a0medical technicians (EMTs), and active<\/span>\u00a0sherriffs’ discounts as in being free<\/em>.\u00a0 “Active” is the key word.\u00a0 Not their wives.\u00a0 Not their children.\u00a0 Not their other\u00a0family and\/or extended family members.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Just them.\u00a0 Directly.\u00a0 Oftentimes\u00a0a grunt may follow.<\/p>\n

Ten minutes?!\u00a0 That’ll never happen.\u00a0 At least twenty minutes – at least<\/em>\u00a0– are required to review documents without advising.\u00a0 Many processes are as follows: filling-in-the-blanks when necessary; meticulously examining\u00a0photo identifications and signatures for validation and to avoid identity theft; notarizing\u00a0the document(s) (placing my seal in the proper place); filling out and having\u00a0the customer sign and thumbprint my journal (record of transaction); giving an oath or affirmation and knowing the difference; attach, sign, and notarize\u00a0an “acknowledgment’ or ‘jurat’ if needed; \u00a0and the accepting of\u00a0agreed upon payment.<\/p>\n

My being attentive to details is very important!<\/p>\n

Along with the aforementioned\u00a0responsibilities, so so so many people are unfamiliar with a notary’s’ further detailed\u00a0responsibilities to fulfill the objectives of this profession.\u00a0 For instance, are you aware that there are laws, many laws, pertaining to Notaries Public?\u00a0 How about familiarity with your Secretary\u00a0of State, a notary’s’ ‘boss?’ Or the involvement of a County Clerk?\u00a0 Bureau of Vital Statistics?\u00a0 Hague Convention?<\/p>\n

How about having to be familiar with Government Codes?\u00a0 Business and Professions Codes?\u00a0 Civil Codes?\u00a0 Code of Civil Procedure?\u00a0 Elections Codes?\u00a0 Family Codes?\u00a0 Penal Codes?\u00a0 Probate Codes?\u00a0 Health and Safety Codes?\u00a0 Uniform Commercial Code?\u00a0 United States Codes?\u00a0 How about knowing where to look up all this stuff?!<\/p>\n

Sound pretty overwhelming, doesn’t it?\u00a0 Well, it’s worth it, really.\u00a0 Having been a California Notary Public for the last sixteen years, I am honored to be of service to the State of California.\u00a0 I am honored to assist the general public in this capacity and I enjoy the knowledge obtained, the responsibilities sworn to, and the\u00a0acknowledgment of knowing I am doing the\u00a0right thing.<\/p>\n

Just sayin’…<\/p>\n

Sincerely, Andrea K. Roth, CA Notary Public at your service!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a California Notary Public since 1996, I am obliged to share some insights into this profession… Often referred to as a “Notary Republic,”\u00a0 there is no such thing.\u00a0 The professional title is\u00a0“Notary Public.”\u00a0\u00a0 No big deal.\u00a0 An easy customer … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[86,88,87],"class_list":["post-632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-notary-public","tag-secretary-of-state","tag-state-representative"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=632"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1125,"href":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632\/revisions\/1125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}