Section 37(2) of the Notary Public Act provides that a notary public is not liable for the truth, form or contents of a record he or she notarizes. This protects a notary from civil and criminal liability if a court finds fault with a document's truth, form or contents.

However, a notary could be required to pay damages to someone whose damages are caused by the notary's negligence or misconduct when performing a notarial act. To minimize this risk:

• Always require document signers to appear before you at the time of notarization.
• Positively identify all document signers.
• Carefully complete the notarization including your name as it appears on your commission; the county of commission; commission expiration date; the statement "Acting in the County of ______" (if performing a notarial act in a county other than your county of commission); and the date of notarization.

If you did not find the information you need, enter a descriptive word or phrase in the Search field located in the upper right corner or send us an e-mail and we will help you get the information you need.