Performing the notarial act

Performing the notarial act

Once you have confirmed the identity and mental state of the signing party, the notarial act can take place. The notarial act consists of 3 parts: recording the act in a notarial journal, performing the notarial duty, and completing the notarial certificate.

Recording the act in a notarial journal

As of July 1, 2018, Washington state requires that all notarial acts be recorded in a notarial journal.  The journal requirement protects notaries by creating a record of the notarial acts they perform.  The journal can be purchased anywhere notary and office supplies are sold, and while their format may vary, there are a few requirements that the journal must include: 

  • You must maintain 1, and only 1, physical journal for notarial acts at any given time.
    • The physical journal must be in a permanent, bound register with numbered pages.
  • If you have an electronic records notary public endorsement, you may also maintain an electronic journal.
    • This journal may not replace the physical journal, and can only duplicate entries in the physical journal. 
  • The journal must be kept in a locked and secured area, under the exclusive control of the notary, when not in use.
  • You must keep the journal for 10 years after the last notarial act recorded in it. 

There are a few required pieces of information that every entry in the journal must include. Beyond these, you should include whatever information you believe will be helpful in recording the notarial act, such as more details about the method of identification or the signing party’s fingerprint. There is no restriction on using short-hand or abbreviations, however if you choose to do so, you should include a key in case the journal needs to be inspected by a third party. The information required to be in each entry includes: 

  • The date and time of the act, 
  • A brief description of the document being signed and the act performed, and • The full name and address of each signing party,
  • The signing party’s signature (or the signature of that party’s proxy, see RCW
  • 42.45.070), and
  • A brief description of how you identified the signing party (“Driver’s license,” “Credible witness,” etc.)

Perform the notarial duty

Alongside recording the notarial act, it is important that you perform the duty that is being asked of you by the signing party and identified by the notarial certificate. The requirements for each of these duties are slightly different and are discussed below in more detail.

Complete the notarial certificate

An essential element to performing a notarial act is completing the notarial certificate, where your signature and seal will be placed. The certificate contains your verification of the act being witnessed. It may be a separate document, or it may be a section on an existing document.

Each certificate has a few required components that must be present; the minimum language is provided in state law, but the actual language may vary from document to document. As long as you can identify all 4 components in the notarial certificate, the language in the statement of particulars can vary from the language provided by state law. The components required for a notarial certificate include:

  • Venue: the state and county where the notarial act was performed. 
  • “Statement of particulars”: the statement of which notarial act is being performed, which must include who the signing party is, when they are signing, and what they are specifically attesting to.
    • For example, the statement of particulars for an acknowledgement may say, “This record was acknowledged before me on (date) by (name of signing party).”
  • Notary’s Signature:  there should be a space designated for your signature. 
  • Notary’s Stamp: there should also be a space designated for your seal or stamp.

It is important that a notary public who is not a licensed attorney should avoid making recommendations about adding certificates or changing substantive language in a notarial certificate because this may constitute legal advice. What exactly does or does not constitute legal advice depends on the facts of the situation, so the Department of Licensing cannot make specific recommendations regarding all situations.

Remember, though, that the unauthorized practice of law is a gross misdemeanor in the state of Washington and is subject to other regulatory bodies such as the Washington State Bar Association, which may have more detailed information or guidelines available. 
 
Given the need for notaries to avoid giving out legal advice, the Department sometimes receives questions about what a notary should do if a client presents them with incomplete documents. If a customer comes with a document that has no notarial certificate, you can provide the customer with all available certificates and have them choose the certificate they wish to add. Notaries are also allowed to correct clerical errors on a notarial certificate, such as spelling errors or an incorrect state printed on the certificate. Additionally, notaries can always seek advice from an attorney or suggest that the signing party do so if there are any specific questions.

The notarial certificate should be entirely on 1 page and should be incorporated as part of the document being notarized whenever possible. If the notarial certificate is on its own page, or is separate from the rest of the document, you should indicate on both the document being notarized and the certificate that the certificate is attached as a separate page.

A list of the notarial certificates provided by statute can be found later in this handbook.

Related laws