I completed a signing on 7/17 for three people who were visiting from two separate states.
I just received an email saying that they need me to complete an acknowledgement for one of the documents that was signed that day.
The problem is the “personally appeared before me this day”…I know I cannot backdate the acknowledgement and it will have to be dated today (7/29) but they did not appear before me THIS DAY, the 29th.
How did you all handle this kind of situation so that they get the acknowledgement they need to record the document but without doing anything that we are not allowed to do. TIA
First of all, you don’t say what state you’re in – what state did the notarization take place in? Secondly, you don’t say why an Acknowledgment is needed for that document now. Was an Acknowledgment completed that day of signing and there’s an error on it? If so, did the hiring company send you a PDF of the error? Or, was there no indication at the time of signing that that document required notarization?
I don’t know about other states, but in California, we are not allowed to correct a notarization. It has to be redone.
Recommendation: If the error is yours, own it and redo this notarization with the parties available to you (in your state) with no charge to hiring party. If a signer is no longer available to you (back in another state), the hiring party will have to get another notary to get that signer’s signature notarized and will probably deduct that additional fee from your fee. IF, however, it’s the lender’s/title’s error (there was no indication that document required notarization), then cost of redoing that document should be borne by the lender/title (not the notary). New notarization will, of course, have current date.
Hope this makes sense. Good luck and let us know how this progresses!
@CDG1228Excellent Question. As no State was identified within your Original Post [OP], this Response will be a broad-sweeping overview providing you with professional guidance on your topic.
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I often express the following via threads/posts on the Notary Cafe forum:
Always employ critical thinking skills
Make decisions from a business owner viewpoint (not an employee)
Research & follow the Regulations & Statues within your own State for owning, launching, & operating a business
Utilize your individual State Notarial Handbook for insights & guidance for establishment of a foundational baseline to operate from for your business decisions
Undergo a reputable professional training & certification program; i.e., Notary2Pro
Review the Signing Order [SO] instructions in detail prior to reaching out to the hiring entity for clarifications
Seek out the guidance & support of fellow business owners via a reliable & professional online format; i.e., Notary Cafe
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GENERAL DECISION GUIDELINE:
Employ critical thinking skills
Consider the source
Evaluate the potential ulterior motive
Trust your instincts
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Certainly, it’s BEST to honor & follow the Guidelines, Rules, & Regulations found within the Notarial Handbook for your State.
That should be your baseline to operate from to ensure that you (as a Business Owner) follow the accurate protocol.
@CDG1228, Okay, so they’re gone now, from two different states? Sounds like they’ll need to find a notary where they are to get that acknowledgment. Oh, if you’re able to do Remote Online Notarizations (RON), you might still be able to help them out and on the acknowledgment use the current date of service.
I’m in NC. The property was in GA. The people were here vacationing from GA & SC.
There was GA Deed to Secure Debt & an Acknowledgement of Borrower’s Rights. Immediately after, there were two acknowledgements, which were both filled out. There were three signers. I used one ack for the husband & wife and the second ack for the third person.
They need a separate ack for the Ack of Borrower’s Rights.
They emailed a copy of the signed documents and a new shipping label.
Consulting with my SOS is useless. I called them a couple of years ago and they refused to answer any questions since it was for a loan signing. Said I needed to consult with an attorney.
I said so if I make a mistake, you’ll be the ones to possibly charge me (or at the very least, take my commission) but you won’t answer a question to prevent me from making that mistake. She said she was sorry but she could not answer my question.
@CDG1228 LOL - sounds like what I told our SOS - several years ago when I called and they told me to consult an attorney, I said “so, you issue the rules but you won’t tell me how to handle this issue? Why should I incur legal fees for your refusal to help”. I get it, believe me. Our SOS has gotten better these past few years but phew..it was tough when I started here.
Does NC require you re-visit the people to have them re-acknowledge the signatures? Under your scenario, if this was in FL and some were out of state, I’d have to re-visit the local ones and the others would need to find someone where they are. We can’t change or fix certs after the fact
I cannot find anything online or in my handbook that addresses this situation. A Google search for NC specifically came up with this:
If a correction is needed, the document should be re-signed and re-notarized, or if the correction is only to the notarial certificate, the notary can add a separate, correctly worded certificate and attach it to the document.
The document is correct and I am not correcting a previous certificate.
Okay…but I would not attach a new ack to a COPY of the document - I would only attach it to the original document, which they’d have to return to you…along with a shipping label for return shipping.
So the guy appeared before you, signed the document, and you forgot to include his acknowledgment when you shipped the docs.Then title asked where the missing document was. Why didn’t you just send them the completed acknowledgment?
@ewing_joe no..she said " There were three signers. I used one ack for the husband & wife and the second ack for the third person" They want an individual cert for each signer..not two signers cited in one ack.
