Hello, I would like to have a discussion about conflict of interest and when an attorney or a bank who is also a notary themselves as an employee or owner or management or ask another employee that is a notary to notarize documents from that company, for example to be more specific, if you were an attorney and a notary Should you call in your client and say possibly the opposing party if there is one and notarized for said party I always thought that that was a huge conflict of interest and a big no-no however, being a notary for so long Iâm realizing what a lot of notaries attorneys banks and loan officers are doing and I would really like to know how everyone feels about this I do know what the law is however, Iâm seeing as a lot of times people are not respecting the law and things go under the radar however, whenever a problem results from one of these notarizations it can be Devastating to not only the parties involved but the Notary as well as it relies solely on them. The responsibility is on the Notary to notarize only documentation that they are allowed to that being said if you can tell us what state youâre from and if youâre from an escrow state or Attorney state and how you feel about this, I would love to have a Friendly discussion
As long as youâre not notarizing your own signature, and it is allowed by your notary laws (as it is here in FL) then there is no conflict of interest unless precluded by those laws or the policy of the employer (example: RE Brokers/Agents who are also notaries many times are not allowed to notarize documents pertaining to the transactions handled by their office).
Thatâs a state specific question youâre asking so youâll get many responses. Please, also, let us know where you are from
Thank you for the response I was looking at hearing from different people from different states not from my state not necessarily looking for advice, but just really wanting to have a discussion and seeing what peopleâs perception is and the different states and theyâre requirements but I feel like as a general rule as you mentioned if you have a direct interest, you shouldnât be notarizing said document and of course never your own signature. What sparked my interest in hearing from everyone is lately Iâve heard from different people that have experienced problems that have stems from notaries that are also say attorneys or real estate agents notarizing for their clients and they have a direct financial interest as it is their clients documents, and the contents of the document is for their personal financial gain And I was just curious on what people thoughts were and what they experience from their state laws, etc.
Your question is approaching the line of asking legal advice, but generally speaking in Washington so long as an attorney remains impartial and is not personally involved in the transaction or named in the document it shouldnât be an issue in Washington for that attorney/notary to notarize their clientâs document but more than likely they would just delegate it to a notary in their office to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. Rules in Washington for notary public state that we cannot notarize documents which we have an interest or stand to gain financially. Same would go for an attorney, I would venture to guess. Happy to let any attorneys in here weigh in with actual legal advice.
Notaries are the first step at the bottom of a very tall legal ladder. I prefer to stay in my lane.
I prefer to have ZERO to do with the legal system. The fact that we can potentially be sucked into other peopleâs mischievous and illegal behavior is enough to say, âItâs not worth it,â and leave the industryâŠ..especially for the pittance that we get paid.
Like when you tag along with an attorney on a living trust signing and the client cuts you a check for 100 bucks and then another to the attorney for 1,000.
Or those Georgia signings where you have to call an attorney on the phone for a one-minute speech by them to tell you to call if you have any questions. For that, they get paid several times what the notary is getting paid for doing all the work.
Vermont has a law specifically acknowledgements taken by an employee, officer, or employee of a corporation:
§ 231. Acknowledgments by stockholder or officer
A person legally qualified to take acknowledgments shall not be disqualified to take such acknowledgments to an instrument in which a corporation is a party, by reason of his or her being a stockholder in or an officer or employee of such corporation.
I suspect that this would only apply if the instrument being notarized would not have any noticeable effect on the notary. If the transaction were going to save the company, or lead to a large commission for the notary, I imagine that would be a conflict of interest.
Law school cost money right?
Like Iâm fond of saying, in most States you hardly need to know how to spell notary public to become one.
I did that recently, and my fee was only xx since I wasnât technically doing anything other than the 1 signature. The attorney did double my request as I ended up being there well before their client and one of the witnesses. I appreciated that! I felt a little bad as I opted to stay (building those relationships) they were going through some of the documents and I recognized one was going to be incorrect for the state it was prepared in. Coming from the title side and working with most states, itâs hard hard to bite my tongue and let it go.
The only requirement in Texas is âcan you fog a mirrorâ.
I have a few law firms in my cadre that I handle notarizations. Iâve had opposing lawyers send me documents that need notarized signatures. After a conference call and a check of the notary laws, thereâs no conflict of interest as long as neither parties are aware of what the other party is doing. This applies only to Texas, and should not be considered legal advice.
Your input will only confuse those less informed about notary laws then you are. Not sure why you posted if your notes only apply in Texas and are not to be taken as legal advice.
Notaries arenât lawyers.
Some notaries are lawyers. Some lawyers are notaries. Some notaries think they are lawyers. 
I had a renewing student in one of my notary classes that insisted on advertising as a Notario. The question came up when I was explaining to the class that we couldnât use the term Notario because it implied that we were lawyers. She disclosed that if she didnât advertise that way, she wouldnât get any business. Iâm convinced I didnât change her mind.
Well Joe, you certainly did your duty by instructing her, warning her and arguing against it, so it is at her own peril and that of her client if she does. California Government Code (GC) 8219.5
Not unlike taking a driverâs ed class where weâre are all taught the rules of the road when we start driving, and yet there are the people who still willingly, knowingly, deliberately break the law.
Hope she learns her lesson before someone gets hurt or suffers the consequences.
A timely article from NNA regarding notaries advertising themselves as a NOTARIO: San Francisco fines Notary $600,000 for unauthorized legal advice to immigrants | NNA