It wouldn’t be a surprise that at one time or the other, you’ve been in need of help from a Notary Public without realizing you can hire one.
Have you ever encounter at some point an important piece of paperwork which needed to be “notarized”?
Well, let’s get dive into details on understanding who is a Notary Public and also go through some of the useful terms associated with it such as ‘notary public’ and ‘local notary services.’
What Is a Notary Public?
The basic definition of Notary Public will give you a glimpse of an idea about what Notary Public services comprise.
“A notary public is an individual that bears witness to the signing of documents important in lending legal credibility and authority through an official identification.”
Documents from the government, court-appointed purposes, and financial paperwork from companies may sometimes need to be notarized before getting finalized.
The moment a notary public notarizes a particular document, he or she will add a seal to it and sign it personally.
Common documents that require notarization include power of attorney transfer, financial contracts, affidavits, divorce papers, mortgage documents, deeds of trust, and other important situations or agreements involving multiple parties.
What Does a Notary Public Do?
Simply put, we can take notary public as a person who has been appointed by the government to present the acts of an impartial witness necessary in preventing fraud or illegalities involved in the signing of documents.
A notary public is essential in supervising or monitoring the signing process about to occur for you.
The exact role of notaries goes beyond watching people while they sign documents and bearing witness for the session. If this is the case, everyone would have been qualified to practice the role.
An examination is a requirement to earn recognition from the government as a professional notary public which is certified and licensed to undertake Notary Public Services.
The stages of a notary involve commencement of interactions with clients through verification of their identities, followed by issuing a dialogue with them regarding the documents they wish to get signed.
The Notary Public must ask questions to all the parties involved depending on the types of documents to ensure they fully understand what they are about to sign.
A notary can ascertain the level of pressure his/her clients are exposed to, as a result of the situations in view, and determine the level of understanding by asking a few simple questions to the parties signing in order to make sure they are ready and aware of what they are about to commit their signatures into.
He or she is committed to ensuring that you are signing the document base on your free will rather than being forced; that the parties in place were actually the right party in question, to prevent impersonating the person responsible for signing the documents(identify theft); that you understand what it is that you are signing; and can even administer an oath if the need arises.
The presence of a notary agent is meant to do away with disagreements about the authenticity of a signature and to protect people from being cheated or misled.
Notarization aids in minimizing the number of lawsuits and other legal cases which could arise as the result of having no impartial witnessing from a third party.
Why and When Do You Need One?
For certifying the signatures in documents such as mortgage, deeds, transfer of sale in addition to other legally binding contracts, you may need public notary service.
However, there is actually no comprehensive list of documents that will never require being notarized at all.
As the case may be, you may be asked at times to sign a document which will require a notary seal.
Other times, you may have to look into your concerns toward the parties agreeing to sign the documents, your state laws, and the contents of the document for you to predict if you really need notary personnel or not.
Below are three broad categories of where notary could be requested for:
Jurats
A jurat is a form of an entrusted oath that affirms the truthfulness of the contents of a document to a Notary or notarial officer.
Authentication of Copies (some regions)
A notary public can serve as a protocol within the jurisdiction of some states, to prove authenticity by representing a copy of a particular document as the exact or original copy.
Acknowledgments
During the transfer of ownership of a property to a succeeding party, for example in real estate, it is likely you will need a notary at some point to acknowledge a given document.
Hope you now have a clue on who a notary public is and notary public services.
If yes, we are now ready to discuss where you can find a notary public and how you can find one, using different methods.
Where to Look for Local Notary Public Services?
There’s a possibility that you have one close to you at your workplace or surroundings.
Local notary services can be secured through popular joints for finding notary practitioners such as law firms or chambers, banks, mailing stores, shipping stores, and other offices that render professional services.
So, if you are looking for a local notary public near you, here are the best places you can expect to find one:
1. Educational Institutions: If you are a student, try asking someone in your college or university admissions office to know if they have staff that can notarize documents for students.
2. Bank: Since banks handle a lot of documents that must be notarized, it’s common for a bank to have some employees who are notaries. Feel free to check at your local bank if they offer notary services.
3. Library: Your local public library may as well have a notary which may offer free solutions depending on the documents and the time involved.
4. UPS Stores: Find out if your local UPS store offer notary services which I guess is common. This is because nearly all of the UPS Store owners are notaries.
5. Embassies: If you encounter a need of notary public while traveling then the best place to look for is your country’s embassy. They will be willing to help you out and assist you in all kinds of notary services you may be needing.
6. Asking a friend or colleague: Do you have friends working in financial institutions, law departments or estate agencies? Well if so, you may inquire from them if they are public notaries.
8. Within your company: Administrative assistants in your company are way likely to be licensed as public notaries which as a result, can notarize your documents for free or likely charge you a few bucks per signature.
9. Using an Authorized Notary Public Service: If your search for a local notary service physically fails, try doing a google search. You are most likely to find an authorized notary public near you.
If you are looking for an experienced, honest and certified notary public in Orange County and surrounding areas, give us a call. Hana Khan is a Certified Notary Public, insured, and bonded. Get in touch with us and set up a time at your convenience to get your documentation in order. We guarantee 100% satisfaction to clients who are seeking accurate documentation and prompt response at affordable rates.
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Conclusion:
As quite many services can be rendered online, notary services are inclusive but not without their limitations.
It is important to note that almost all states do not endorse the idea of “virtual notarization” (notarization not carried out physically or in person). As a result, you have to be careful with anyone that offer notarization services online without knowing the viability of such service with respect to your respective state and laws. This is because some states will not recognize such an effort.