HI Notary - Hawaii Notary Notarial Record Book Requirements Questions and Answers 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A Hawaii notary public's commission expires. According to Hawaii law, what is the required action concerning their notarial record book?
- The notary must destroy the record book to protect the privacy of the signers.
- The notary is required to deposit the record book with the Attorney General within 90 days. (Correct answer)
- The notary must transfer the record book to another commissioned notary public.
- The notary must keep the record book indefinitely for future reference.
Correct answer: The notary is required to deposit the record book with the Attorney General within 90 days.
Hawaii Administrative Rules require that upon the expiration of a commission, the notary public must deposit their record book with the attorney general within 90 days. Failure to do so can result in fines and suspension of a future commission.
Question 2: A client presents a document for notarization and asks you not to record their home address in your record book, citing privacy concerns. How should you, as a Hawaii notary, proceed?
- Agree to the request and leave the address field blank.
- Record the client's work address instead of their home address.
- Refuse the notarization until the client agrees to provide their address for the record book. (Correct answer)
- Inform the client that while the address is required, you will redact it after the notarization is complete.
Correct answer: Refuse the notarization until the client agrees to provide their address for the record book.
Hawaii Revised Statutes §456-15 explicitly requires the notary to record the address of each person whose signature is notarized. Failing to record this required information would be a violation of notarial law. The correct procedure is to explain the legal requirement and refuse the notarization if the signer will not comply.
Question 3: Which of the following is NOT a required element to be recorded in a Hawaii notary's record book for each notarial act?
- The signature, printed name, and address of each person whose signature is notarized.
- The fee, if any, charged for the notarial service. (Correct answer)
- The type, date, and time of day of the notarial act.
- The manner in which the signer was identified.
Correct answer: The fee, if any, charged for the notarial service.
While it is a common practice to record the fee charged, Hawaii Revised Statutes §456-15 does not list the fee as a mandatory element for the record book entry. The other three options—signer's details, type/date/time, and method of identification—are all explicitly required.
Question 4: A Hawaii notary discovers their record book has been stolen from their locked office. What is the notary's first required action according to Hawaii Administrative Rules?
- Purchase a new record book and continue performing notarizations.
- Wait to see if the record book is returned before taking any action.
- Notify the Attorney General in writing within ten days of the discovery. (Correct answer)
- Publish a notice of the theft in a local newspaper.
Correct answer: Notify the Attorney General in writing within ten days of the discovery.
Hawaii Administrative Rules §5-11-18 and HRS §456-9(c)(6) require a notary to deliver written notification to the Attorney General within ten days after the loss, misplacement, or theft of a record book. They must also inform a law enforcement agency in the case of theft and provide a copy of the report to the Attorney General.
Question 5: Regarding the physical specifications of a tangible notarial record book, Hawaii law requires that the book must be:
- A three-ring binder with loose-leaf, numbered pages for easy removal.
- Bound with a hard cover and not exceed 8.5 by 11 inches.
- A permanently bound volume with pre-printed, sequential page numbers. (Correct answer)
- Any format, as long as the entries are kept in chronological order.
Correct answer: A permanently bound volume with pre-printed, sequential page numbers.
Hawaii Administrative Rules §5-11-9 specifies that the record book shall be bound and that the pages shall be consecutively numbered. This requirement ensures the integrity of the record book and prevents the removal or insertion of pages.
Question 6: A Hawaii notary who also holds a commission as a Remote Online Notary (RON) must maintain which of the following regarding their notarial records?
- Only an electronic journal for all notarial acts, both traditional and remote.
- A tangible (physical) journal for traditional notarizations and a separate electronic journal for remote notarizations. (Correct answer)
- The choice of either a tangible or an electronic journal, but not both.
- Only an audiovisual recording of each remote session, as a journal is not required for RONs.
Correct answer: A tangible (physical) journal for traditional notarizations and a separate electronic journal for remote notarizations.
Hawaii law requires remote online notaries to maintain a tangible journal, just like all other notaries. In addition to this, they must also keep an electronic journal and an audiovisual recording for all remote online notarizations performed.
HI Notary - Hawaii Notary Notarial Record Book Requirements Questions and Answers 1
A Hawaii notary public's commission expires.
According to Hawaii law, what is the required action concerning their notarial record book?