7 mistakes that can get notaries sued for fraud and malpractice
Be aware of how these situations happen — and how they can put notaries at risk.
The purported author, Stepfanie Romine, forgot one. Trusting web sites without evidence the web site is reliable. So let’s check this one out. It is part of the usatoday.com domain, and USA Today used to be a decent (but not top-notch) newspaper. But this is obviously an ad masquerading as a story. So, demerits for both Stephanie and USA Today.
Next, we have this statement:
[Notaries] provide certified copies of priceless paperwork, including diplomas, passports and birth certificates.
Diplomas? Notaries generally aren’t forbidden of certifying copies of diplomas, or taking the oath of the diploma holder that the copy is genuine. But usually employers, universities, and others receiving this sort of document want a transcript directly from the school, and won’t trust a copy certified by a notary.
Passports? That part’s OK.
Birth certificates? The notary’s state, or the state that issued the certificate, or both, are likely to have a law against a notary certifying a birth certificate. Sometimes even making a copy is illegal, without any certification. The agencies that would want to receive a copy of a birth certificate usually won’t accept a copy certified by a notary.
That’s enough for me to give this website a failing grade.
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I ran into their website when I was searching to see if a Signing service company can get sued if a notary representing them is being sued!
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