FAQs

  • What is a Notary Public?
  • What is a Notary Signing Agent?
  • What kind of Notarial Acts can be performed by a notary in Arizona?
  • Foreign Documents Notarization?
  • What is Apostille?
  • What is the National Notary Association?




A: An Arizona Notary Public is a public officer commissioned by the Secretary of State to perform notarial acts. A notary is an impartial witness.
A: A Notary Signing Agent is a Notary specifically trained to facilitate mortgage closings. Mortgage lenders, title firms and escrow companies are paying Notary Signing Agent professionals to make loan closings as convenient as possible for borrowers by couriering loan documents, collecting and notarizing signatures and delivering settlement checks.

A: There are four notarial acts that a notary can perform in Arizona:

 

  • Acknowledgments
  • Jurats
  • Copy Certifications
  • Oaths or Affirmations

 

Q: Foreign Documents Notarization?

A: If a document is presented to a Notary and it is written in a foreign language, the Notary needs to refer the person to the appropriate foreign consulate office unless the Notary is fluent in the language in the document.
We are notarizing documents in Russian.
A: An apostille from the secretary of state in the form prescribed by the Hague convention of October 5, 1961 abolishing the requirement of legalization of foreign public documents.
A: Established in 1957, the National Notary Association is the leading authority on the American Notary office and is dedicated to educating, serving and advocating for the nation’s 4.8 million Notaries. With hundreds of thousands of members, the NNA imparts comprehensive notarial knowledge and understanding, and bolsters consumer protection by promoting best practices.

 

Q: Is it required for a signer to have their thumbprint recorded?

It is not required for a signer to have their thumbprint recorded in a notary journal in most cases. However, in California and a few other states it is required if the document being signed is a deed effecting real property, and in some cases powers of attorney as well. The purpose of the journal thumbprint is to prove the identity of the signer. Identification cards and signatures can be falsified. Additionally, some notarizations take place using credible witnesses instead of identification documents which create more ambiguity about the exact formal name of the signer. Therefor, thumbprints deter fraud by making it hard to imposter another person, and they definitively prove the identity of the signer.

It is also possible to put a thumbprint on many standardized acknowledgment and jurat certificates in the lower right corner. Its optional, but makes a show of thoroughness and formality if its there. That is one way to impress your clients as being the best notary around.

A journal thumbprint should be of the right thumb, but if that is missing, a left thumbprint can be taken. If the left thumb is missing, then a right index finger's impression should be recorded in the journal. It should be documented in the journal which thumb or finger's print is being recorded if its not the right thumb.

 

Additionally, California notaries have to be fingerprinted so that they can be screened by the FBI and DOJ. Physical fingerprinting has been phased out while electronic livescan fingerprinting are the new norm and standard. The benefit of electronic fingerprinting is that you can retake a particular finger if the print doesn't come out clearly the first time.

 

 

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LEGAL DISCLAIMER Notary is not an attorney and therefore cannot offer any legal advice or interpretation of any document. Proper identification is required for any notarization performed.