Part 6, Section 5
Liability Issues

As a notary public, you alone are responsible for your notarial acts.  A charge of notarial misconduct could be the result of something you did by mistake or something you did intentionally.  Either way, you must take responsibility for it.

Unless you are an attorney, you must never make legal determinations or explanations regarding the documents you are notarizing.  It is not for the non-attorney notary to decide whether a document requires an acknowledgement, a jurat, or some other type of notarial act.  You can only perform notarial acts that are requested and/or placed in front of you. 

If a person comes before you with a document in hand and requests that you notarize it, unless there is a notarial certificate attached, the signer must request a specific notarial act.  Never automatically assume that the document needs an acknowledgement, or because it is an affidavit, it needs a jurat. It is not your decision to make, and making such a decision opens you up to legal liability.  If your notarization is challenged, you could be held liable for practicing law without a license, which carries serious legal ramifications.  If someone asks you for advice or to explain something to them that is in a document, you should refer them to an attorney.

Also, unless you are an attorney, be very careful what you say because you do not want anything to be construed as legal advice.  You alone are responsible for your words.

If someone ever asks, coerces, or otherwise tries to influence you to improperly maintain your notarial journal or perform an improper notarial act, that person is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Government Code § 8225

Of course, liability issues are all around.  Refer to your notary training, your common sense, and good judgment to protect yourself the best you can.  Liability comes in many forms.  You could be faced with liability issues if you make a mistake on a notarial certificate, forget to check a signer’s identification or accept identification that is not valid, fail to make a journal entry or take a thumbprint, give legal advice (even if it was inadvertent), and the list goes on.  The California Secretary of State publishes a Notary Public Disciplinary Guidelines, which is available online at http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/notary/notary_gdlnes_first_page.htm

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