Understanding California's 2023 Notary Public Handbook (Part 8)

This is Part 8 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 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.

In Part 3, we touched on repercussions, identification, and the note on journal notes.

In Part 4, we examined our thoughts on the section of credible witnesses and determined we made some incorrect notes on the notes which were then adjusted.

In Part 5, we took an interim break where we had an inside look at the class and test experience, along with learning about the new data services website that I've been creating.

In Part 6, we looked at the journal entries section and the questions and comments I had in that regard.

In Part 7, we talking about responding to requests and diverted off into talking about different journal types.

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Note 14: Properly Maintaining the Journal

A notary public is guilty of a misdemeanor if the notary public willfully fails to properly maintain the notary public's journal. (Government Code section 8228.1)

I highlighted this section because I read it incorrectly the first time around. Similar to my issue with the "direct and exclusive control" section, my mind went to the worst case scenarios. What if someone pulls a switcheroo and sneaks it away from me? What if they slice open my bag and take it? These sound like ridiculous questions for unlikely and outrageous situations, right? Guess what word I missed when I read it the first time. Willfully. None of those situations would indicate that the notary public willfully failed to do something.

Note 15: When a notary public is no longer serving as a notary public

Within 30 days from the date the notary public commission is no longer valid, the notary public must deliver all notarial journals, records and papers to the county clerk's office where the oath is on file.

As someone who was educated in archives and records management, this little section made me happy to see included; instructions for what to do when your commission is complete. This goes hand in hand with the section that indicates the proper destruction of seals and what to do if a notary passes away. Personally, I plan to get a filing cabinet that will be dedicated to notary items. I also want to build my own locking shelf into my Ikea Billy bookcase, but that's a bit more ambitious. Who knew there were so many different types of hinges?!

Note 16: The Acknowledgement

The form most frequently completed by the notary public is the certificate of acknowledgement.

While this might seem odd to include as a stand-alone sentence, as a first-time notary, I REALLY appreciated the simplicity of it being the first sentence in the Acknowledgement section. Thank you.

However, in general, I'm finding the ordering of sections to be a little confusing as it isn't clear why certain bits of information follow others, when there are related pieces of information in other areas of the document. Perhaps this is intentional, but I imagine that is also why books such as the California Notary Primer (from the NNA) and the California Notary Public Handbook (from CNI Institute) are compiled and exist; to re-organize and de-mystify some of these concepts.

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This is the end of Part 8 of a multi-part series of articles on my notes and impressions of the California 2023 Notary Public Handbook. The previous posts on this topic can be accessed by clicking on the corresponding link below.

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5, Interim
• Part 6
• Part 7

Part 9 should be available within the week.

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