The notary public application asks about every applicant’s criminal history to determine their fitness for a notary public commission. If you report a criminal history, your application will not be automatically rejected; each application is examined to determine the fitness of each candidate.
The reasons that the Department may deny an application are listed in RCW 42.45.210 and RCW 18.235.130. Some of the most common of these reasons include:
Generally, the Department examines whether the application demonstrates that the applicant has the honesty, integrity, competence, and reliability to uphold the position. If there is some information that you need to disclose, it is recommended that you include a detailed summary of the facts to allow for a more complete review.
With regards to driving under the influence (“DUI”), the notary public application asks about felonies and gross misdemeanors, but does not ask for traffic offenses. In Washington, driving under the influence is not strictly a traffic offense; it can be charged as a gross misdemeanor or felony. For this reason, any convictions should be reported on the notary public application. As above, any disclosure on the application should be supported by a description of the facts.
No. In Washington State, the signing party must be in the physical presence of the notary. This is a common error and can put a notary at risk for disciplinary action and/or civil liability for improper notarization.
No. RCW 42.45.230(6) states that a notary public may not keep copies of documents that they notarize, unless they are a licensed attorney or other legal professionals as specified in the law. By keeping a notarial journal that meets the requirements of RCW 42.45.180 and WAC 308-30-200, a notary should have sufficient record of their notarial acts.
Yes. A notary can charge up to $10 per notarial act. They may also charge for travel expenses if the amount is agreed upon by the person requesting the notarization prior to the travel. See WAC 308-30-220.
No. You always have the authority to refuse to perform a notarial act unless refusal is prohibited by another law, such as Washington anti-discrimination laws. A notary has the authority to refuse to perform a notarial act if the notary is not satisfied with the evidence of a party’s identity or if the notary is not satisfied that the individual signing a record is competent, has the capacity to sign the record, and is doing so knowingly or voluntarily. See RCW 42.45.050 and RCW 42.45.060.
The I-9 employment form asks for a signature from for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services an individual as a business representative, not a notary. Because of this, an I-9 form does not need to be notarized.
Certificate of life forms, which generally ask for signature by a public official to confirm that an individual is alive to receive pension benefits, generally may be notarized by a notary public. Washington State allows a notary public to certify that an event has occurred or an act has been performed and this has been interpreted to include verifying that an individual appeared before the notary on a specific date while alive. As always, please check with your specific clients and/or other appropriate authorities to confirm whether a specific form requires notarization.
For other specific forms, the question can be answered by determining if there is a notarial certificate that needs to be filled out as part of the document and if that certificate falls under one of the notarial duties discussed above and authorized by chapter 42.45 RCW listed above. If there is a notarial certificate that conforms to state requirements, or if a certificate can be logically attached to the document, then it is probably appropriate to notarize the document.
While generally a notary’s journal is considered private property, the journal entries that a notary public creates during the course of work as a state or local government employee in Washington are likely public records, due to the nature of government employee’s work and Washington public disclosure laws. The Department recognizes that this may create difficulties for state or local government employees who perform notarizations both while working and outside of work.
A notary may be able to argue that specific journal entries are not public record, because they were created outside of the scope of their employment. In order to prove this, though, the notary is responsible for demonstrating which entries are work-related and which are not. To help prove which entries are public record, the notary public can segregate their state-work notarizations and after-hours notarizations into different sections of the journal, such as recording all of the after-hours notarizations in the back of the journal. Color coding journal entries may be another way to distinguish which entries are public record.
The Department advises any notary who works for the state or a local government agency in Washington to consult with their agency’s public records advisor on these issues.
The terms “Notario Publico” or “notario” are similar to notary public commissions as we understand them in Washington, but a notary public should be careful not to confuse them. It is illegal under RCW 42.45.230(3) for a Washington notary to advertise themselves as a notario publico or notario.
In some foreign countries, notario publicos serve similar functions to notary publics, but have additional authority similar to licensed attorneys. There have been several cases of American notary publics advertising themselves as notario publicos, which may lead some people to believe that a notary public is capable of offering legal advice, which is not the case.
Because the term notario publico has been associated with legal practice, a notary public must avoid advertising themselves as a “notario” or “notario publico” unless they are also a licensed attorney.
At this time there is no education requirement or examination as part of the notary public commission application. The Department of Licensing strongly recommends notaries public seek out education regarding their commission and there are a number of organizations that provide notary education. Additionally, we recommend that notaries keep a copy of this handbook and refer to it if they have any questions about the notary practice.
Finally, a notary with questions may reach out to the Department of Licensing by phone or email to get answers to questions that aren’t answered elsewhere.
Generally, a notary public should not perform a notarial act for a spouse or family member.
Under Washington law, a notary may not notarize their own signature nor perform a notarial act if the notary’s spouse or domestic partner are a party or will have a direct beneficial interest. While not expressly prohibited by chapter 42.45 RCW, it is also generally inadvisable for a notary to notarize a document for extended family members. A notary that performs a notarial act for a family member may be seen as having a conflict of interest in the transaction, which could call the notarial act into question.
There is nothing in state law that forbids a notary public from notarizing a document written in a foreign language or for a signing party that does not speak English. However, the notary must be sure they can still meet the requirements for performing a notarial act.
A notary is generally not responsible for confirming the contents of a document (outside of certifying a copy, but that has unique standards), however, they do need to make sure the correct notarial certificate is on the document. As of July 1, 2018, all notarial certificates must either be in English, or in dual-languages where one of the languages is English, so the notary should be able to identify the certificate on a document being notarized.
A notary should also be aware of the inherent additional difficulty associated with confirming the identity of a signing party when they do not share a common language. Speaking different languages can make it difficult for a notary to properly identify the signing party and what is being asked of them. If the notary has access to a translator that they can rely on, it can help to alleviate this risk.
Remember, a notary has the right to refuse to notarize a document if they cannot confirm the required information for that notarial act, including the identity of the signing party.
When documents will be used outside the United States in courts or other official capacities, they usually must be verified through a process called an apostille. Apostilles are performed by the Washington Secretary of State’s office, who verify the commission of the person who notarized the documents.
One of the key differences between apostilles and notarizations is that notarizations are handled by notaries public, whereas apostilles are handled by the Secretary of State’s office. A notary cannot perform an apostille. You can find more information about apostilles through the Secretary of State’s website.