Understanding California's 2023 Notary Public Handbook (Part 3)

This is Part 3 of a series where I am sharing my experience and notes from reading the the evaluation of the California Notary Public Handbook, a tool written to assist in the interpretation of the various Codes that impact the work of a notary public in California.

In Part 1, we examined notes that stood out to me in the categories of the timeline of the application, the locations in which a notary may practice, and the location of the relevant codification in the California Government code.

In Part 2, we looked at the section on Notary seals including where to keep them, embosser-style seals, and exceptions to using a seal. I'm looking forward to continuing and I'm glad you've come along for the ride! I understand that not everyone (probably many people, in fact) are not nearly as excited as I am about notarizations. I have not yet examined why I am so drawn to this and find it so fascinating, but I can delve into that later.

We begin Part 3 with consequences.

Note 7: Repercussions

As mentioned in Part 2, I think one of the biggest hesitations to getting involved in this sooner was the requirement to have the seal locked in a place that was fully under my control. Had I read the Handbook in 2013, I would have found this same wording that exists in the 2023 version

A notary public is guilty of a misdemeanor if the notary public willfully fails to keep his or her notary public's seal under the notary public's direct and exclusive control or if the notary public willfully surrenders the notary public's seal to any person not authorized to posses it.

[Underlined emphasis is mine]

I have trust issues. I don't always see the good in people. Sometimes that level of caution works in my favor. In this example, it did not. I wasn't sure my roommates wouldn't go into my room and take it. I couldn't afford a safe even if I had space for it at the time! I guess "locked and exclusive" control in my mind at the time equated to only "having a safe." To be fair, I was working at a job where physical security was of the utmost importance and had to be airtight. I wouldn't doubt that that played a big role in my perception of these requirements.

I added the underlined emphasis because there is still a little part in the back of my head nagging me saying, "Are you sure a locking travel bag is enough?" I really do appreciate the inclusion of the word "willfully" in this section, as it does alleviate a bit of that trepidation.

Note 8: Acceptable Identification

A phrased I noted while reading through the list of identification documents was that the notary could expect "reasonable reliance" to describe the ones listed. Coupled with the section I highlighted, it brought to mind a few questions not about what was included, but instead, what was omitted

2. (b) A driver's license issued by another state or by a Canadian or Mexican public agency authorized to issue driver's licenses;

I found it quite interesting that Mexico and Canada were specifically called out to where the driver's licenses would be accepted. Why only the North American mainland companies? What might be so different about South American or European licenses that US States wouldn't want to accept them as a general rule? Is the the overhead of examining their requirements and agreeing if it contains the correct info? Would it be considered too much for notaries to remember the nuances of each ID?

Already, looking at the list of accepted IDs there are a lot and if this takes off as a solo practice, I will certainly consider the the ID checking guides that are provided by the NNA. The have ones for International as well as for the US States and Canada.

Note 9: A Journal Note

This section is concerning to me, only for the fact that it is entered as a note, but contains some very important information!

Note: The notary public must include in his or her journal the type of identifying document, the governmental agency issuing the document, the serial or identifying number of the document, and the date of issue or expiration of the document that was used to establish the identity of the signer.

Since this says "must include," but then to be entered into the Handbook as a "note" feels like an oversight or perhaps miscategorized. From my point of view, if something is required, or a "must," I would not place it in a "note" at the end of a section. Seeing that this is how this is laid out makes me more likely to read all of these documents with a fine-toothed comb. Even finer than I already am.

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This is the end of Part 3 of a multi-part series of articles on my notes and impressions of the California 2023 Notary Public Handbook.

Part 1 can be found here; Understanding California's 2023 Notary Public Handbook (Part 1)

Part 2 can be found here: Understanding California's 2023 Notary Public Handbook (Part 2)

Part 4 should be available with in the week.

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