Caption/venue - Is it considered a correction?

Minor issue, but I’d like to hear what everyone else has to say.

I pride myself on good preparation and proofing documents before I leave a signing, so I look at any exception carefully and revise my process.

Like yourselves, my peers, I don’t want to have failed signings or mandatory callbacks affect my profitability or ability to get signings.

I received a call from a closing agent for what the lender considered a defect. I don’t think it was. Regardless, I sent the closing agent written authorization to insert the initials on my behalf (A reasonable solution, I felt).

Here’s the details:

  • I am a notary in both NY & NJ.
  • The issue in question occurred in NY, in the county of my commission
  • The lender’s paperwork had the state (other than the one in which I was notarizing) in the caption of notary jurat; the county was left blank.
  • I crossed out the state that was printed in the caption, put “New York”, filled in the county and executed the notarization.
  • This applied to both acknowledgements and sworn statements.

If correcting the caption to comply with the state, is/are the signature/initials of the notary required as if it were a correction to the substance of the document?

I never needed to do this on other , and I tend to think it does not require signature/initials.

Thanks,

HWB.

Unfortunately, that’s one of ‘those Lender/TC-specific desires’. It’s just ‘long-term easier’ to add initials when correcting venue. My opinion only–as I’ve never had someone complain about ‘unnecessary initials’.