Notary Plus

03/21/2023

Notary Fun Fact:
Notaries are empathetic and anticipate client needs. In addition to being skilled at writing, notaries are detail-oriented and conscientious. These legal experts provide sound professional advice and are meticulous at every stage of their professional relationships.

08/14/2022

Bringing My Business To You!!!
At Notary Plus we offer after hour and traveling mobile notary services. Minimum fee for service is $75.
This fee includes:
✅Travel to the signer’s location at the time and date requested
✅The first two notarizations
✅Additional notarizations, services and travel out of Montgomery County will incur an additional fee.
Contact us for specific quotes. ✅Mobile notary services must be paid via debit card/credit card, cash or electronic transfer at the time service is requested.

07/17/2022

What are the responsibilities of a Texas notary?
🗣The primary responsibility of a Texas notary public is to prevent fraud This is accomplished by:
➡️Confirming that the signer is who he or she claims to be
➡️Ensuring that the signer acknowledges, in the presence of the notary, that he or she understands and has voluntarily signed a document on a given date
➡️Placing the signer under oath
➡️Taking an affirmation of the truthfulness of a statement made

12/23/2021

In 2018, Texas became one of the first states to permit remote “online notarization” of documents, by notaries who have been specially commissioned as an “online notary public.”

08/31/2021

Notaries frequently encounter situations in which the name of the signer on a document does not match the name on the identification the signer furnishes. It is a common myth that notaries should accept an identification using a "less, not more" rule - i.e., if the document says John Quincy Smith but the identification says only John Q. Smith, the notary shouldn't perform the notarization. However, there is no law in any state stipulating such a rule.

Unless a document preparer has specific instructions requiring the name on the document to exactly match the name on identification, generally speaking, some name discrepancies can be overlooked. This is especially true in the example above. If the first and last name match, and the photo and signature match that of the signer, the notary should proceed with the notarization. Another common situation is when an ID contains a woman's maiden name instead of her married name. These types of discrepancies can be ignored if the notary reasonably believes the signer to be the person he or she claims to be.

Satisfactory evidence is often defined by state law to be the absence of any information contrary to the individual's declaration of his or her identity. This means that, unless there is some form of evidence that gives the notary a belief that the person appearing before him or her is not the person he or she claims to be, the notary should not refuse to notarize.

In the vast majority of cases, if the photo on the identification matches the face in front of you, the request appears to be legitimate, and the person is not behaving in a peculiar manner, there is no reason you can't continue to notarize with the identification provided. There is no law in the United States that standardizes what a person considers to be his or her “full legal name.” However, you may be interested to know that the Social Security Administration considers a legal name to be only the first and last name.

If you have any doubt about the signer’s identity, ask for another form of identification. If you are still not satisfied, you have the right to decline.

Names on identification and documents should be reasonably similar, but they need not be an exact match, and a middle initial on a driver’s license does not disqualify a constituent from signing his or her full middle name on a document or vice versa.

Always complete the notarial certificate using the signer’s name as written on the identification presented to you and not as printed on the document. When recording the notarial act in your notary journal, explain the name discrepancy in case you are ever questioned.

04/29/2020

Texas Governor Abbott Temporarily Allows For Appearance Before Notary Public Via Videoconference For Real-Estate Instruments

Governor Greg Abbott has suspended a statute concerning appearance before a notary public to acknowledge real-estate instruments such as mortgages. This suspension temporarily allows for appearance before a notary public via videoconference when executing such documents, avoiding the need for in-person contact during the COVID-19 pandemic. The conditions that will apply whenever this suspension is invoked can be found here.
"Texas is providing flexibility in the notarization process by way of this temporary suspension to ensure Texans can continue to stay home as much as possible to keep themselves and others safe," said Governor Abbott. "Allowing for appearance before a notary public via videoconference will aid in our continued efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and protect public health."
This suspension will remain in effect until the earlier of May 30, 2020, or until the March 13, 2020 disaster declaration is lifted or expires. Documents executed while this suspension is in effect, and in accordance with its terms, will remain valid after the termination of this suspension.

04/23/2020

Although many states have closed or suspended court functions, litigators still need to have clients to sign affidavits and verifications for cases to progress. Notary laws generally contain the requirement for the notary and the principal signer to be in “close physical proximity” during a notarization. With a little thought and preplanning, notaries can employ social distancing practices to reduce the amount of physical contact and time they need to spend with the signer.

Wear gloves and a mask and provide them for the principal signers.
Eliminate physical contact. Do not shake hands.
Do not share pens. Have all parties bring their own and sanitize after usage or gift them.
Always keep a safe distance from the principal (minimum of six feet). Standing at the opposite ends of a six-foot conference table or passing documents through a bank teller’s glass window satisfies the personal appearance requirement.
Do not touch the identification. View it from the desk or tabletop
Arrange the documents such that each document needing to be notarized is grouped together, so that the amount of time being spent with the signer can be dramatically reduced.
Have the signer sign all signatures that require an acknowledgment prior to meeting the notary. (Acknowledged signatures do not need to be signed in front of the notary; they simply must be acknowledged.)
Identify each page requiring a signature to be notarized prior to the notarial act so you can have the signer acknowledge each signature simultaneously. Doing so will allow the notary to notarize in bulk: “Do you acknowledge that you willingly signed pages 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12?”
Law firms may also provide “drive-through” notary services so that clients do not have to leave their vehicles and may simply pass documents through a window.

12/03/2019

I would be very appreciative if you would do something for me that’s VERY easy! It only takes a few seconds, and will help my small business continue to grow!

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I would love it if you could go to my page- Notary Plus
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Click -> INVITE FRIENDS
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Wait 10-15 seconds for the invitations to send. It’s as simple as that!

𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑩𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆 SPENDING 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒚. 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒔!

Happy Holidays & thank you all for your support!
Nikita Terry , owner Notary Plus

11/17/2019

11/05/2019

Notarizing for Signers who Cover their Faces

As a public officer, a notary cannot discriminate on the basis of s*x, race, or religion. However, unintentional discrimination may arise when a woman who covers her face for religious reasons requests your notarial services. When this circumstance occurs, a notary must always act with the utmost caution to ensure that he or she does not discriminate but also follows the law. For this reason, notaries should always consult their own state's laws on matters concerning identification of persons with covered faces.

You must always ensure that the signer appearing before you is the person described on the identification presented. If this person’s face is visible on his or her driver license photo, you must be able to see it to positively ID the individual. You may explain that the law requires you to confirm visually that this person matches the identification he or she provides. If signers are ever uncomfortable with showing their face to you, you may want to suggest that they seek the services of a notary they personally know.

If the identification depicts the signer with a covered face, the notary must still confirm the identity of the signer. The notary should be able to reasonably conclude that the person appearing before him or her is the person who is named in the document requiring notarization. If the notary is uncomfortable with this transaction, the notary could politely tell the parties that he or she isn’t able to proceed due to a lack of positive identification.

To protect yourself, you should follow best notary practices, such as making a detailed entry in your record book that outlines the reasons you declined to notarize the document. This will help you jog your memory if you are ever questioned about this notarization.

As always, be sure to consult your state's notary laws or notary commissioning authority for specific information pertinent to your state regarding notarizing for signers with covered faces.

09/25/2019

A Notary Official Signature

The most critical element on a notarized document is the notary signature. The lack of a notary signature is fatal to the notarization. It is essential that the notary sign every notarial certificate that he or she notarizes. By signing the notarial certificate, a notary is certifying that the signer personally appeared before him or her, was properly identified, and signed the document for the purpose stated therein.

Even if the name of the notary public is spelled out in his official seal, even if he uses a rubber stamp that states his name, and even if his name appears pre-printed in the notary certificate, the lack of a notary signature is considered to be negligence that will render the notarization invalid.

One example of such a rejection occurred in Florida, where a candidate for re-election for the state legislature was denied access to the general election ballot due to one notary who failed to sign the notary certificate that accompanied the candidate's paperwork, followed by a second notary who failed to indicate in the notary certificate how he verified the signer's identity (which is a required item in Florida notary certificates). The result of these notary errors was that the candidate's district had to spend tens of thousands of dollars to hold a special election.

In states where notaries are required to file a specimen of their official signatures with their notary commissioning authorities, if that signature was legible cursive writing, the notary should not use an unreadable or scribble signature when signing as a notary. If his official signature includes his full middle name, the notary should not use just a middle initial when signing as a notary.

It is vital that the notary's signature match the signature on file with the commissioning authorities. When an apostille is requested, a matching signature is one way that the state government can verify that the notarization was done by the person whose name appears as the notary on the document. Additionally, matching signatures add consistency to all documents notarized during the notary commission term, which can cut down on notary identity theft. If the signatures are always the same, when a document is presented that has a different signature, this raises a red flag.

Consistently using your official notary signature on every document that you notarize avoids the problems outlined in this article. The laws governing notaries public vary greatly from state to state. Consult your own state's laws or commissioning authority for the specific laws concerning a notary's official signature