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As a public officer, a notary must be prepared and willing to carry out his or her duties for a client who requests a notarial act that is both lawful and authorized. By acting as an impartial witness to the execution of documents, notaries help to deter fraud and promote the integrity of document transactions. There exist however, certain conditions and situations when a Florida notary is bound by law to refuse notary services.

Whether you are an experienced Notary, a first time commission holder, or simply serve as the Notary for your workplace, you can expect your signers and coworkers to see you as the go-to expert on notarization. Therefore you have an obligation to conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the office you hold. Upholding your state’s notary laws and conforming to professional notary standards will help you remain an ethical and responsible notary throughout your career.

Notarial terminology and phrases can get confusing especially for a first-time notary. To make it easier for notaries joining the business and a refresher for the veteran notaries, we have created a list of terms and their definitions.

Notaries have a legal and professional responsibility to “keep up” with their commission status and notary tools. Changes in personal information, criminal history, or eligibility to hold office are all details that must be reported.

The notarial certificate is a written statement, signed and sealed by the notary public, certifying the facts of a notarial act. The two most common notarial acts a notary will be asked to perform are administering oaths and taking acknowledgments. Oaths and acknowledgments are two different notarial acts, therefore each will require its own certificate wording. Always check with your state’s commissioning authority to make sure you use acceptable notarial language.

Notaries are trusted to be unbiased and impartial in every notarial act they perform. Conflicts of interest can occur when a Notary has additional interests such as gaining a financial or material benefit from the transaction. A Notary acting out of self-interest can compromise trust in the notarial act, and raise questions about the transaction. They can also be held financially responsible for damages.

Notaries Public in all U.S. jurisdictions are authorized to administer oaths and affirmations. Oaths and affirmations both function as solemn promises of truthfulness, and both are statements made under the penalty of perjury. The key difference between an oath and an affirmation is that an oath invokes a higher power.

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