Notary Journal Record Keeping Flashcards

An Arizona notary performs both traditional paper notarizations and Remote Online Notarizations (RON). How must the notary maintain their journal(s) for these different types of acts?

Answer: One paper journal for tangible records and a separate electronic journal for remote online notarial acts.

Arizona law (A.R.S. § 41-319) requires notaries to keep a paper journal for notarial acts on tangible records and allows for either a paper or one or more electronic journals for acts on electronic records. However, a remote online notarial act may not be recorded in the required paper journal. The RON platform creates an electronic journal entry.

A signer brings you five separate but identical affidavits to be notarized at the same time. The signer has not appeared before you in the last six months. Which of the following describes the most efficient, legally compliant method for recording this in your paper journal?

Answer: Make one journal entry, note that five affidavits were notarized, and have the signer sign the journal once.

According to A.R.S. § 41-319(D), if a notary performs more than one notarization of the same type for a signer on similar records at the same time, the notary may group the records together and make one journal entry for the transaction. The signer would only need to sign the journal once for this grouped entry.

An attorney asks a notary in their firm to handle a notarization for a client. The notarization is related to a sensitive legal matter, and the attorney states the journal entry should be kept confidential under attorney-client privilege. What is the correct procedure for the notary?

Answer: Maintain a separate journal specifically for non-public records, such as those protected by attorney-client privilege.

A.R.S. § 41-319(E) specifies that if a notary performs notarizations that are not public records (e.g., due to attorney-client privilege), the notary must keep a separate journal for those non-public entries. This allows the notary to comply with public records requests for their standard journal while protecting confidential information in the separate journal.

A notary in Arizona resigns their commission. The notary's employer paid for the commission, the bond, the seal, and the journal. The journal contains only entries that are public records. What must happen to the notary's journal?

Answer: The journal must be delivered to the Secretary of State by certified mail or other means providing a receipt.

Upon resignation, A.R.S. § 41-317 requires the notary to deliver their journal and seal to the Secretary of State. A journal containing only public records is the property of the notary, not the employer, regardless of who paid for it. However, upon cessation of the commission, it must be surrendered to the state.

A person presents a written request to view a specific entry in your public notary journal from three months ago. Upon review, you realize you inadvertently omitted the fee charged for that specific notarization. What is the correct course of action?

Answer: Provide a certified copy of the entry as it is, but cover the entries above and below it.

A notary must furnish a certified copy of any public record in their journal when a proper written request is made. The notary should not alter a past entry. The correct procedure is to provide a copy of the requested line item while protecting the privacy of other signers by covering the surrounding entries.

When identifying a signer using a single credible witness, which piece of information regarding the credible witness is NOT required to be recorded in the notary's journal entry for the notarization?

Answer: The credible witness's residential address.

While the journal entry must contain details to identify the principal signer, and the credible witness must be properly identified by the notary, Arizona law (A.R.S. § 41-319) does not explicitly require the credible witness's residential address to be recorded in the journal entry for the primary signer's notarization. The entry must include the witness's name and signature, and the notary must record how the witness was identified, but the witness's address is not a mandatory element for the principal's entry.