Out of state paperwork to be acknowledged

Beginner's Questions
1

Newbie quick question…When notarizing a document from another state, why is it ok to acknowledge without the disclaimer box present?

2

Are you referring to the disclaimer box required when California notaries take an acknowledgement of a document in California, and the document is going to be used in California? Are you a California notary?

3

yes. Ca notary. Is the disclaimer only necessary if the document is recorded in CA.

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4

I am a VT notary, not a CA notary. I have seen numerous forum discussions. The points people usually make are

  • The notary certificate specified in the CA law for an oath or affirmation must be used, no exceptions
  • The notary certificate specified in the CA law for an acknowledgement must be used unless the document will be used in another state, and a different certificate is required.
  • It isn’t clear who, in the other state, can “require” a different certificate. The other state? A lawyer in the other state? A county recorder in another state?
5

thank you so much for your help

6

This is a really interesting question - and I would refer you to your SoS for clarification as there appears to be a discrepancy in your handbook. Your handbook states, on page 11:

“A notary public may complete a certifcate of acknowledgment required in another state or jurisdiction of the United States on documents to be fled in that other state or jurisdiction, provided the form does not require the notary public to determine or certify that the signer holds a particular representative capacity or to make other determinations and certifcations not allowed by California law.”

However, it then goes on to state:

“Any certifcate of acknowledgment taken within this state shall be in the following form:” - NOTE it states “any* certificate…” and the "following form contains the disclaimer box.

For this reason, you should confirm with your SoS, point out this discrepancy and get their response/advice in writing (which in my reading other notaries have received written guidance from the CA SoS which is great to keep for your records).

Best of luck

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7

Yes. When the disclaimer became law I had Harry at NotRot make me a stamp to use with my acknowledgements. It took years for escrow to catch up on the change. If you’ve ever stapled a loose California compliant acknowledgment to a deed then received a stern message from escrow stating you forgot to include the deed in the loan package, understand that the clerk that packaged the loan forgot to remove the staple and the copier “ate” the document.

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8

Or the IT technician is still digging it out of their scanner.

9

That disclaimer is California’s way of attempting to solve a raging UPL problem.

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10

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