The question on the test prep booklet is not well written for that particular question #23! For the notary signature, it should be allowed in blue or black unless specifically requested by title or lender.
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Well IMO, the answer should be C, notary can sign in blue or black ink but their answer B for question #23 in the booklet is also correct! Somebody needs to rewrite their question! 
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I found a court case about this issue. Itâs from the Queens County Supreme Court. In NY, ordinary trial courts are called supreme courts, and what other states call the supreme court is called the court of appeals in NY. So this decision doesnât carry the weight of precedence.
The case was about an election nominating petition. Rather than appearing before a notary to swear or give an acknowledgement (the case doesnât say which) the signers appeared before commissioners of deeds. Commissioners are regulated by a different, but similar, section of the law, and the court compared both sections. The commissioners affixed their signatures, or titles, or both, in a color other than black.
The court mentioned in passing that if they had appeared before a notary, the petitions definitely would have been valid because of a passage in the law that says âNo official act of such notary public shall be held invalid on account of the failure to comply with these provisions.â
The court held that the failure of the commissioners to follow the law was " inconsequential error or at best, a mere irregularity." The court denied the petition to invalidate the petitions because there was substantial compliance with the law.
As for the law, I agree with nypatriot that the legislature should fix it to either make it unmistakable which parts need to be in black ink, or remove the requirement. The parts of the law for notaries and commissioners should be word-for-word identical.
As for the outfit that published the pamphlet, it was bad to write a question about a section of the law that isnât asked about on real tests. I wonder how much they know about real tests. Also, itâs bad to indicate there is one right answer when the law is actually hard to interpret.
I think the court decision supports the idea that it isnât obvious whether notary signatures are supposed to be in black ink or not, just because they brought it up and didnât say one way or the other if it was OK. They just said a notary certificate with non-blank ink would be valid despite the error/irregularity.
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you follow the lender closing instructions -
unless you are notarizing a document on your own time - you always follow the lender closing instructions
You follow the laws of your state, and if the instructions from the party that hired you fall within the laws of your state, then you follow the hiring partyâs instructions. The hiring party often indicates you should follow the instructions from the lender or title company; if so, you follow those instructions, but only if they fall within your stateâs laws.
In the case of New York law, there is a plausible interpretation that the notary must sign in black ink. If thatâs the interpretation the notary believes, or if the notary doesnât want to take a chance that the black ink interpretation is correct, then the notary should sign in black ink and decline to follow any instructions to the contrary.
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MI and WI black ink is rquired
I donât see anything about ink color in the WI notary handbook, the WI notary law, or the WI administrative code.
I notice that the WI law was changed in 2019; is it possible you were referring to an outdated information source?
Another possibility is that in WI to record a land record it must be written in black ink, even the signatures. If that is the case, then WI notaries could use blue ink on documents that wonât be recorded in WI, and out of state notaries would need to use black ink for documents that will be recorded in WI.
I donât know if there is a law about MI notaries that tells them what color ink to use, but there is a law about recording land records that creates ink color requirements. Signatures must be in black or dark blue ink, and printed information must be in black ink.
This land record law would apply just as much to out-of-state notaries notarizing documents that will be recorded in the MI land records as it does to MI notaries. I donât know what would happen if a notary from a state that requires the seal to be in a color other than black notarized a document that is to be recorded in MI.
I reviewed a few instructions from a few different SS and they note the ink required as being black for those states that I mentioned
The only thing I can think of is that its their âpreference.â Been using my "down time (LOL) to try and find a SOS Statute that regulates âNotary Signatureâ ink color. Lots of states though, so Iâm back at it!
That refers to the stamp color, not the signature color. Some states allow purple ink for the seal. The color of ink that is used to sign loan documents is state specific. Sometimes it is Lender specific or the type of document. Many Loan Mods require black ink only. California, where I work, will accept blue or black ink for signatures. In cases where specific instructions are given, I go with them. Otherwise the default color I use for signing documents is blue. I bring a pack of blue pens with me because many people only have black ink pens in their possession, especially anyone affiliated with a government job.
The Statue only says the i formation such as your printed name, commission information must be in black. The statute does not say you or signers must sign in a black ink. It is pretty clear, no ambiguity.
I carry both blue and black pens. I had a signer throw a fit ) Military man) because the lender requires blue ink and he insisted that he only use black pens⊠call was made to the lender and they told him blue ink or no sign that was his only option⊠you can guess how the rest of the appointment went from there.
Although there probably needs another comma, this is saying the stamp must be in black ink below the signature. IMO.
In Wisconsin, up to this year, all text was to be in black or red and signatures and initials could be in either black or blue. Blue is now acceptable for all signatures, initials or text.
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