PA Notary Study Guide latest updated

A notary commission which began on January 1, 2017 (12:00 a.m.) will end on: - ANSWER-January 1, 2021 (11:59 p.m.) A notary public is not licensed to practice law and may not, under any circumstances, give legal advice unless he/she is a licensed attorney. - ANSWER-True You must be employed in or a legal resident of Pennsylvania to be eligible to become a notary public in this state. - ANSWER-True The notary public term of office is ______ years. - ANSWER-Four Applications for reappointment should be filed at least ________ prior to the expiration of the commission - ANSWER-Two to three months Notaries public are required to execute a _______ bond following appointment. - ANSWER-$10,000 Pennsylvania requires notaries to file a security bond no later than ______ days after the beginning of the prescribed commission term. - ANSWER-45 Days The state application filing fee is ______. - ANSWER-$42 A notary journal/ register is required by law. - ANSWER-True Administrative suspension or revocation of one's commission may result for failure to comply with notarial procedures and laws. - ANSWER-True If a notary public secured his/her notary appointment while employed and the employer paid for the costs incurred, and the notary's employment is subsequently terminated, the notary must: - ANSWER-Not surrender the notary's stamp, seal or journal to the employer. The use of a notary public seal by a person who is not the notary public named on the seal is considered an impersonation of a notary public and subject to the penalties set forth by law. - ANSWER-True Notary seals must be photographically reproducible. - ANSWER-True An embosser can be used in place of a rubber stamp seal. - ANSWER-False Upon a notary public's, disqualification, revocation or expiration of a commission, the notary public seal must be surrendered to the Department of State or destroyed within: - ANSWER-30 Days Upon a notary public's resignation, disqualification, revocation or expiration of a commission, the notary public seal must be surrendered to the Department of State. Any person who fails to comply with this requirement shall be guilty of a summary offense and upon conviction shall be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding ______ or to imprisonment not exceeding ______ , or both. - ANSWER-$1,000, 0 Days The notary seal, the notary commission certificate, and any other papers belonging to the notary public, i.e., a record book or journal of notarial acts, are the property of: - ANSWER-The notary public It is acceptable if the stamp of the notary seal is placed over the notary's signature, but not over the document signer's signature. - ANSWER-False Journal/register entries must record: - ANSWER-The date of the notarial act, The character of the notarial act - acknowledgment, affidavit, etc. , The name of the parties to the instrument, and The fee charged for the notary service. The charging of a fee and the amount of the fee charged is at the discretion of the notary public or the notary public's employer provided: - ANSWER-It does not exceed the maximum fees stated by law. The resigning notary's journal and all other public papers must be delivered to the office of the recorder of deeds of the county in which the notary maintained their address, within _______ days. - ANSWER-30 Days The maximum fee that can be charged by a notary public for acknowledgments, affidavits, oaths, and affirmations is ________. - ANSWER-$5.00 The Secretary of the Commonwealth must be notified in writing of any change in the notary's principal place of business or residence within _______ after the change. - ANSWER-30 Days If a notary public changes his/her place of business address to a new county, the notary public's signature must be registered with the prothonotary of the new county within: - ANSWER-30 Days The Secretary of the Commonwealth and the recorder of deeds of the county of appointment must be notified in writing of any change in the notary's legal name within _______ of the change. - ANSWER-30 Days A resigning notary public's journal and all other public papers must be delivered to the office of the recorder of deeds of the county in which the notary maintained their business or residence address within: - ANSWER-30 Days A notary's authority extends to all counties in the Commonwealth and notarizations may take place at any location within the Commonwealth. - ANSWER-True When a notary changes his/her legal name, the new commission name and signature can incorporate titles, such as Dr., Mrs., or Ms. - ANSWER-False The personal representative must also deliver all notarial records and papers to the Department of State, Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation within _______ after the date of the notary public's death. - ANSWER-30 Days The reliance on the presentation of a current, government-issued identification card bearing a photograph or signature or physical description and serial or identification number or the oath or affirmation of a credible witness who is personally known to the notary and who personally knows the individual can be referred to as: - ANSWER-Satisfactory evidence. Having an acquaintance, derived from association with the individual, which establishes the individual's identity with at least a reasonable degree of certainty can be referred to as: - ANSWER-Personally known Satisfactory evidence of identity consists of a current state or federal government-issued photo identification document and includes presentation of which of the following documents? - ANSWER-Federal Government Issued Photo Identification, Military Photo Identification Document, U.S. Passport, State Issued Photo Identification Document, or State Issued Driver's License If the notarial certificate contains the word "acknowledged," the notary act is one of: - ANSWER-Acknowledgment If the notarial certificate contains the words "sworn to" or "subscribed to," the notary act is one of: - ANSWER-Affidavit. The ____________ is the most commonly used form of notarial act. - ANSWER-Acknowledgment The document's date on an acknowledgment should: - ANSWER-Either precede the date of the actual notarization or be the same as the date of the notarization. A notary public can perform by telephone those notarial acts which require a personal appearance as long as the notary personally knows the signatory. - ANSWER-False The document's date on a affidavit: - ANSWER-Must match the actual date of notarization. Once you complete a notarization and return it to the document signer, if you must amend the certificate: - ANSWER-You may NOT amend the certificate or use white out or tamper with the document in any way Documents such as mortgages, deeds, contracts, and powers of attorney typically require an acknowledgment. - ANSWER-True Affidavits and depositions generally require an oath, rather than an acknowledgment. - ANSWER-True A notary may loan his or her notary public seal to another notary through mutual consent. - ANSWER-False A notary may provide legal advice only if the notary public: - ANSWER-Is also a state-licensed attorney. A notary public may notarize a transaction in which the notary has a direct financial or beneficial interest as long as: - ANSWER-A notary public may not notarize a transaction in which they have a direct financial or beneficial interest. When performing an electronic notarization, the requirement of the signer to "personally appear" is waived. - ANSWER-False Electronic Notary Seal (ENS) refers to: - ANSWER-The digital certificate. Pennsylvania notary public education courses are required to have a core curriculum which includes electronic notarization. - ANSWER-True The Electronic Notarization Initiative began on January 30, 2006 and is authorized for up to one year. - ANSWER-True