VA Governor has appointed me to another term as Notary Public

The Governor of the Commonwealth has appoint me to another term as Notary Public for the Commonwealth at Large. My term runs through 3/31/20015. I elected to be sworn in at the Alexandria Circuit Court.

With the letter announcing my appointment there was a document entitled IMPORTANT GUIDELINES FOR VIRGINIA NOTARIES:
Some of the main points are:
1)A notary is a public official appointed by the Governor. No employer or supervisor may impose requirements pertaining to a notary that are contrary to Virginia's laws or regulations pertaining to notaries
2} "A notary can not notarize his or her own signature , the signature of his or her spouse, or a document in which the notary or notary's spouse may benefit."
3)" Every effort should be made to have complete notarization on the same page as the signature(s)being notarized. If the notarization is on a separate page from the signature(s), the notarial statement must include the name of each person whose signature being notarized."
4)Any new notary laws will be posted on July 1 on the web site www.commonwealth.virginia.gov/OfficialDocuments/Notary/notary.cfm

Mother Giving Up Child Custody ; Relinguishment of Custody of a Child

When a mother gives up or relinquished custody to a private out of state adoption agency, there is no current requirement requiring the notary to be presented with a birth certificate. I am working at making this a requirement. If the birth certificate states the father's name this should alert the notary to a problem; especially if the mother denies knowing the name in a jurat statement. Furthermore, if the child is only a day old, the mother maybe still under the effect of medication given her during delivery of the child and not be competent to do a jurat or any other notary procedure. In my opinion, notaries should call child protective service, VA State Police, and local authorities if they detect any issues during custody relinquishment. A competent VA court can then sort out custody of the child in VA. I am strongly advocating all VA notaries insist on seeing a birth certificate during a relinquishment of a child by either parent.

According to the Washington Post. a child was removed from Virginia without permission of the father and adopted by a Utah family. A VA court awarded custody to the father. The case is being litigated in Utah under the Federal Parental Kidnapping Act. The case is going to the Utah Supreme Court. Based on news articles, proper resolution of the case consistent with the application of Federal Parental Kidnapping laws will only occur at the US Supreme Court or in Federal Court.

I think adoptions are great and I work with adopting families regularly. I am also impressed with a Census co working who kept her baby and the thoroughly integrated parenting plan she has with the father and the grandparents that allowed her to be a full time Census Enumerator!!!!!!She is going to NOVA in the Fall and will do an RN major a radiological technician degree or both.

Apostle or Authentication Explained By VA Secretary of the Commonwealth

This is from the Web Page of the Scretary ofVirginia
"Authentications

The purpose of authentications is to verify for foreign governments that a Virginia official is in good standing. These officials include notary publics, clerks and deputy clerks of Virginia courts, registrars and deputy registrars of the Department of Health and the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission. Please note: Various states and embassies refer to the Authentication process differently; it can also be described as Legalization or Certification.

Authentication of a notarized document is required for conducting international business by individuals and corporations in Virginia. All documents for Authentication must be less than one year old. This means that the issue date on Vital Records must be less than one year from the day that we process it. On all documents signed by a notary, Deputy Clerk, or any other Virginia official, that signing must have taken place less than one year from the day that we process it.

The Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth does not regulate what documents are required by the foreign country. To verify the required documents, contact the embassy of the country to which the documents will go.
International Authentication – Individual Use

For international acceptance, the official state registry of birth, death, marriage and divorce must be obtained from the Department of Vital Records. For information on obtaining a copy, call Vital Records at (804) 662-6200. These Vital Record documents should only be signed by a State Registrar or Deputy State Registrar, and not notarized.

Marriage certificates can also be obtained from the Circuit Court in the city where the marriage was recorded. These black and white certificates must be accompanied by a Triple Seal Page, also called an Authentication of Record. This is a separate sheet of paper from the Court with the signatures and seals of the Court Clerk and Judge. This additional page must be attached to your document prior to our office Authenticating it.

All other documents requiring authentication for foreign use should be notarized by a Virginia notary. These documents include Power of Attorney, school transcripts and diplomas, and copies of passports and immigration paperwork. Please follow the instructions below.

1. Enclose a cover letter with your name, address and phone number. Also include the country the you need the document authenticated for.
2. You may use our Authentications Request form as your cover letter (pdf, 18 k) or (word doc, 30 k).
3. The fee for this service is $10.00 per document, payable to the Secretary of the Commonwealth. For each authenticated document after the first document, if the testament bears the same name and on the same date the charge will be $5 for each proceeding document.
4. Please be sure to enclose a prepaid return mailer. This can be regular mail, Fed X, UPS, DHL, etc. We recommend using Fed Ex or UPS for both speed and reliability.

If you have vital records or other documents notarized from another state, you must send those documents to the Secretary of State for that state.

If you have marriage or birth certificates from another country, you must send those to the U.S. State Department, which can be contacted at 1-800-333-4636.

All documents besides Vital Records and Court Marriage Certificates must be notarized by a Virginia notary. Notaries must include ALL information required in the handbook. When there is no signature for a notary to notarize, such as passports, INS documents and academic records, notaries may notarize the documents as true and exact copies of originals. Specific information is found in the Acknowledgment Section of the Notary Handbook (pdf, 152 k) or (rtf, 436 k).
International Authentication – Corporate Use

In order to conduct business in other countries, certain documents are required by foreign governments.

Documents may include Certificates of Good Standing, Articles of Incorporation and Corporate Amendments and Resolutions. They may be obtained through the State Corporation Commission. These documents will bear the signature of the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission and do not need notarization. To obtain these records, contact the Clerks Office in the State Corporation Commission at (804) 371-9733. All other documents pertaining to international business must be notarized following the handbook procedures.
For further information/mailing address:

Betsy Anderson
Director of Authentications
Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth
1111 East Broad Street, 4th Floor
Richmond, Virginia 23219
(804) 786-2441

or use our Inquiry Form"

VA Notaries do not perform marriages or do fingerprinting

Va notaries are barred from performing marriages. Marriage Celebrants appointed by a VA Circuit Court are allowed to marry individuals within the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court. Other states do allow notaries to marry individuals; VA notaries need to lobby the VA legislature for a change in the VA Code. One person was visiting from Florida and ask me to perform her marriage ceremony. I explained to her that celebrants, not notaries, performed marriages in VA.

Notaries are not authorized to do fingerprinting in VA. Sheriff and Police departments offer fingerprinting service to their respective residents. Some states require notaries to fingerprint signers. Va does not. Aggressive examination of government issued id is what VA notaries should be doing. I requested addition id from an FBI agent who was wearing his FBI badge when his VA driver's license did not quite look like him. He had like many Virginia residents had renewed his VA driver's license on line for several years. His official FBI ID with photo looked like him. .Va has a new driver's license which will make all VA very happy.

VA is not a State;it is a Commonwealth

Va is a Commonwealth not a State. This error will not void the notarization; however, the notary is solely responsible for stating the location of the notary act. No I do not waste my time notifying the various entities that get confused about this. Commonwealth was considered to be a friendlier form of government than a State.

The Notary is not the other witness!!!

The notary sometime is asked to be a witness in additional to being the notary. The notary is the notary and not the other witness!!!!Politely decline and suggest the call a neighbor or friend. Though I am not required to check id of the witnesses, I do record all the witnesses information and their signatures in the book which I am not required to have. I do not charge for this service!!!When confronted with blank no witness, the client puts a line so it is clear that no witnesses gets added later. Sometimes the language of the document indicates that you are in fact notarizing the witnesses. Clearly, the notary can not notarize his (her) signature. In summary, the notary is the notary and not another witness.!!!!!

VA Notaries can do Notary Protests but should not!!!

VA code does authorize notary protests. A notary protest is allowed in some states and involves financial transactions. Even in states where it is allowed, the notaries are discouraged from doing a notary protest unless the individual has extensive experience in financial matters.After reading Oregon's protesting commercial paper http://ww.filinginoregon.com/notary/currenttopics/protesting.htm and the National Notary Article Notarize a Protest http.www.nationalnotary.org/news/index.cfm?text=newsnotary&ne...,I have concluded VA notaries should not do notary protests unless they are directly supervised by a lawyer very familiar with banking law!!!!!!!

Checking the ID Of Your Ninety Year Old Client

Checking the id of your ninety year old client can be challenging, Yes the client has a government issued picture id. However, the picture is old and it is difficult sometimes to determine if that picture is really the client. You can have someone known to the notary with their own id swear under oath that the client is indeed Jane Smith. Additionally, visit my blog entry NO ID NO Notarization? However, you can also check what cards the client has with the name on it. Power of attorney document with very broad authority need to be approached cautiously. Furthermore, make sure the client understands the document and trust the person who is getting the power of attorney

All Notaries Need to Contact the VA Legislature RE Electronic Notarization

All notaries need to contact the members VA legislature as soon as possible in regards to the stalemate on electronic notarization. The electronic notarization law got passed and was suppose to go into effect July 1,2008. However, the executive branch stated that standards had not been set for electronic notarization. The members of the VA legislature need to be encouraged to determine what standards need to be set. I am personally cautious about electronic notarization. The person still needs to appear before the notary!!!!However, a device is inserted into the computer in some states. If this device is lost or stolen, this could be huge possibility for fraud. In all probability, only notaries with huge corporate account where major filings occur will be using the electronic notarizing even when the legislature sets the standardss. The blog on the right side has a link to the VA legislature.

ROLE OF THE NOTARY NOTARY DURING THE NOTARIZATION

DURING THE NOTARIZATION, THE NOTARY, NOT THE LAWYER, IS IN CHARGE. THE LAWYER IS LIMITED TO ANSWERING LEGAL QUESTIONS FROM THE CLIENT. THE NOTARY IS LIKE A HARBOR PILOT GUIDING A LARGE VESSEL TO THE DOCK. WITH THE NEW CHANGES IN VA LAW, I THINK MANY INSTITUTIONS WILL CURTAIL THEIR NOTARY OFFERING SINCE THERE IS A CLEAR CRIMINAL LIABILITY FOR SUPERVISORS OF NOTARIES IF THE NOTARY DOES SOMETHING ILLEGAL. WHEN STATE PROSECUTORS DISCOVER US VS PARKS, THEY WILL TURN INTO PIT BULLS WITH LAW LICENSES!!!!

REPRODUCIBLE NOTARY SEAL MUST BE USED BY ALL VA NOTARIES AS OF JULY 1, 2008

AS OF JULY 1,2008, ALL VA NOTARIES MUST USE A REPRODUCIBLE SEAL WITH NAME, APPOINTMENT NUMBER & COMMISSION EXPIRATION DATE. THIS IS A MAJOR DEVELOPMENT SINCE VA HAS NOT REQUIRED A SEAL IN THE PAST. THIS IS A MAJOR REASON TO KEEP YOUR NOTARY SEALS UNDER LOCK!!!!! Visit my web site http://Stephenhhoffman.vpweb.com

Important Changes For All VA Notaries To Know

"Here are some important changes in Virginia law that will be effective July 1, 2008:
• You may notarize a document without the notarial certificate being on the same page as the signature(s) being notarized, however the notarial certificate must include the name(s) of each person whose signature is being notarized.
• You must now affix a sharp, legible, permanent, and photographically reproducible image of the official seal near the notary’s official signature on the notarial certificate on a paper document" There are now significant criminal consequences for both notaries and supervisors of notaries for criminal misconduct!!!!!

Changes in VA Notary Law effective July 1,2008

VA Notary Public class eNews is reporting the following:2008 Changes In Virginia Notary Law
Several changes will go into effect July 1, 2008

Notaries will not receive individual notifications of this year's changes. The changes will be posted to the Notary Registration Home Page at the end of June. courthouse

Expect to see changes in the following:

Notary application - the recommendation process is changing.

Loose certificate change - Currently notaries are required to notarize on the same page as the signer. Effective July 1, 2008 : The law says under prohibitions: Notarize a signature on a document without notarial certificate wording on the same page as the signature unless the notarial certificate includes the name of each person whose signature is being notarized.