Every Pennsylvania notary public is required to have and to use a notary stamp.
The notary public seal is the exclusive property of the notary to whom it is issued and the notary is responsible for maintaining custody and control of the seal at all times. 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.
The notary stamp and seal must be kept in a locked and secured area, under the direct and exclusive control of the notary public and must not be surrendered to an employer upon termination of employment, even if the employer paid for the seal.
Pennsylvania also requires notaries to keep a journal. Every time you perform a notarial act, you must record the event in your journal.
Notary Public Stamp and Seal
A notary public must not use the official seal or the title “Notary Public” for any purpose other than the rendering of notarial service. Because of the legal requirement that the seal be photographically reproducible, the rubber stamp seal is required.
The official stamp of a notary public must have, in this order:
The words "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" and “Notary Seal”
The name of the notary public as it appears on their commission, along with the words "Notary Public.
The name of the county in which the notary public maintains an office.
The date the notary public's commission expiration.
The seven-digit commission identification number assigned to the notary by the Department.
The official notary stamp or seal must be stamped or affixed to the notarial certificate, near the signature of the notary or attached to or otherwise logically associated with an electronic record that contains the notary’s signature.
A notary shall not stamp over any signature in a record that is being notarized, nor over any writing in a notarial certificate.
A notary public shall not:
Perform a notarization without the signer personally appearing before the notary. The notary public’s most important job is to authenticate identity.
Alter or deface their official stamp
Use the notary public’s official stamp for any other purpose than performing a notarial act
Permit any other person to use the notary public’s stamp for any reason
Use any other notary public’s stamp, or any object in lieu of their own official stamp to perform a notarial act
You may use an optional impression seal (more commonly referred to as an “embosser”) or a crimped image in addition to the rubber stamp seal, but not in place of it. The embosser or crimped image must not be placed over any signature or printed material in a record to be notarized nor over any signature or printed material in a notarial certificate. You may not use another notary public’s embosser or any other object in lieu of an official stamp to perform a notarial act.
The impression seal is designed so that the signed original paper can be placed in the seal, then the handle is firmly squeezed leaving an impression. The seal embosses the document, effectively marking the document as the original. The impression seal may be used on any documents where requested, but it can never be used in lieu of the rubber stamp seal.
Notaries are responsible to make sure that the notary stamp leaves a clear impression and is legible. All elements must be easily discernible. The seal should not be placed over signatures or any printed matter on the document.
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 the notary public and at all times be responsible for maintaining custody and control of the seal. No notary public shall permit the use of the seal by any other person and shall be subject to penalties for impersonation of a notary public.
Upon resignation, expiration of the date set in the device, or adjudication of incompetency or death, the public notary, their personal representative, guardian, or anyone in knowing possession of the stamping device must disable it by destroying, defacing, damaging, erasing or otherwise securing it against use.
If a stamping device of a notary public is discovered lost or stolen, the notary public or the personal representative or guardian of the notary public must, within ten days, notify the Department that the device is lost or stolen in a written or electronic notification.
The notification must include:
A statement describing whether the stamping device is lost, misplaced, stolen or otherwise made unavailable;
The date the stamping device was discovered lost, misplaced, stolen or made otherwise unavailable;
A statement affirming the notary public does not have in their possession the stamping device, does not know who possesses it or where it is now located;
A statement affirming that if the notary public reacquires possession of the lost, misplaced, stolen or otherwise unavailable stamping device, then the notary public will file a statement with the Department within ten days after reacquiring the stamping device. The notary public must provide a written statement of explanation within ten days of reacquiring the stamping device.
Keeping A Journal
Notaries are not authorized to keep copies of the documents they notarize. The best way to protect yourself is to document your notarial acts in a journal and, in Pennsylvania, it is a legal requirement. Every time you perform a notarial act, you must record the event in your journal in chronological and separate order.
Each journal of a notary public must contain the following information in any order:
The name of the notary public as it is recorded on their commission.
The notary public’s commission number and the expiration date of their commission.
The notary public’s office address as recorded with the Department.
A statement which affirms in the event of the decease of the notary public, the journal will be delivered or mailed to the office of the recorder of deeds in the country where the notary last maintained an office.
Clarification of the meaning of any uncommonly abbreviated word or symbol used in recording a notarial act within the journal.
The notary public’s signature
A notary public’s journal must contain all of the notarial acts they perform, in chronological order. Each notarial act must be entered as a separate entry.
Journal entries must contain: The date and time of the notarial act performed
A description of the record, if any, and type of notarial act taken;
Full name and address of the individual for whom the notarial act is performed. For the purpose of journal entries, address means the city and state only.
If the identity of the individual is based on knowledge of that person to the notary, a statement to that effect is required
If identity is based on satisfactory evidence, a description of the method of identification and any identification credentials presented should be noted. Date of issuance and expiration dates of identification credentials should be included.
The fee charged for the notary service by the notary public. If no fee is charged or the fee is waived, indicate this fact in the journal entry. Clerical or administrative fees separate from the fee charged for the notary service must be separately itemized in the journal.
Journal entries may, but are not required to, contain the signature of the individual for whom the notarial act is performed, any additional information regarding specific transactions that might enable the notary to recall that transaction at a later date.
Journal entries may not contain any personal financial or identification information about a notary’s clients. This includes complete Social Security numbers, complete drivers’ license numbers, and complete account numbers. Terminal numbers (such as the last four digits of a social security number) may be used to clarify the individual or account involved in the transaction. Publicly available information lawfully made available to the general public from Federal, State, or local government records is not considered personal financial or identification information.
The journal of a public notary may be recorded within a tangible medium or electronically, and a public notary may maintain a separate journal for both tangible records and electronic records. Numerous notary journals/registers are available on the market today, and they all have similar features.
If using a tangible medium, your journal should be bound (not loose leaf) and should have consecutively numbered pages, so that a page could not be removed without being detected. The method of binding should be designed to prevent, insertion, removal or substitution of the cover or pages. Methods may include glue, staples, grommets, or other similar bindings, but should not include tape, paperclips or binder clips. It is a good idea to complete the journal entry prior to the notarization to ensure that the party does not leave before the necessary information is recorded. Page numbering should be consecutive from the beginning till the end, but if a journal provides two pages on which to record the required information for the same notarial act, then both of those pages may be numbered the same or numbered differently.
Make sure that page numbers are pre-printed.
If you are using an electronic medium then the journal can be in any form that still meets all the entry requirements of a tangible journal and is so designed to prevent the possibility of insertion, removal or replacement of an entry. Electronic formats must be stored securely and be recoverable in the event of a software or hardware malfunction. If a signer’s signature is being contained in an electronic notarial journal, that signature must be linked to the data in a manner that makes any later alterations detectable.
Other important considerations:
Journals can be used to refresh your memory about an event that occurred years earlier and, if kept consistently, may be relied upon for court testimony.
If your name, commission expiration date, or address changes before you finish using the journal you must add the new information following the old, and add the date of which the information changed.
Journals may also prove your compliance with the law.
To be reliable, make sure that you record every notarial act and any special circumstances of the notarization.
Do not share a journal with another notary.
Entries from the journal must be made available to the Department in a PDF format upon demand, and certified copies of the journal must be given to a person who applies for it.
An electronic journal delivered to the office of the recorder of deeds upon termination of office of a notary public needs to be delivered in a format prescribed by the recorder of deeds.
While it is your responsibility to maintain custody and control of your notary journal at all times during your commission, if a notary journal is lost or stolen, the department should be promptly notified within 10 days after it is discovered that the journal is missing.
The notification of a lost or stolen journal should include the following:
A statement describing whether the notary journal is lost, misplaced, stolen or is otherwise unavailable.
An explanation of how the notary journal was made unavailable.
The date the notary public discovered journal was lost, misplaced, stolen or made otherwise unavailable.
A statement affirming that the notary public does not have the journal and does not know who possesses it or where it is currently located.
A statement verifying that if the notary public subsequently reacquires possession of the lost, misplaced, stolen or otherwise unavailable journal, then the notary public will file a statement with the Department within ten days after the date the notary public reacquires possession of the lost, misplaced, or stolen journal. In which event, the notary public will provide a written statement of explanation.
Notary journals are usually available from your bonding agency, an office supply store, or one of the national organizations that provide educational assistance to notaries.
Notary journals are the exclusive property of the notary public and a notary public is required to maintain both control and custody of the journal throughout their commission. It must not be used by any other person and may not be surrendered to any employer of the notary upon termination of employment.
Upon request of any member of the public, a notary public must provide a certified copy of the notary page upon which the requested entry is recorded within 10 days of receiving the request. You may charge reasonable fees for copying and postage, but you should inform a requestor beforehand if doing so. In the event, that the scope of a request is unclear, then you can offer the requestor to come to the office and inspect the journal in order to identify the specific pages and dates they are seeking.
To make a certified copy of a record in a journal, the notary public photocopies the register page containing the requested entry and attaches a certificate stating, "This is a true and correct copy from my official register."
If a request for certified copies is made through an investigative inquiry from law enforcement, the Department or through a subpoena over the course of criminal/civil litigation a notary public should comply by the manner specified through the request or subpoena.
Upon revocation or expiration of a notary’s commission, or the death of a notary public, the notary or their personal representative or guardian has 30 days to deliver the notary public’s journal to the county recorder of deeds in the county where the notary public last maintained an office. If the journal was kept in an electronic format, then you should deliver it in a format prescribed by the receiving recorder of deeds. Notaries Public with expired commissions may renew their commission within those 30 days and keep their journal for the length of their new commission.
The Department of State has the authority to impose sanctions on a notary public if it deems there is a lack of integrity, honesty, and competence. This includes fraud and deceit. The Department may also impose a penalty on a notary public in the amount of $1,000 for each act or omission that constitutes a violation. Acts or omissions that constitute a violation are as follows:
Failure to comply with Pennsylvania Notary Law,
Fraudulent, dishonest, deceitful misstatement or omission on the application for a commission as a notary submitted to the Commonwealth,
Conviction of or acceptance of Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition by the applicant or notary for a felony or an offense including fraud, deceit or dishonestly,
A finding against or admission of liability by the application or notary in a legal proceeding or disciplinary action based on fraud, dishonesty or deceit.
Failure by a notary to discharge a duty required whether by Pennsylvania notary law, or by Federal/State law,
Use of false or misleading advertising or representation by the notary,
Violation of notary regulations,
Denial of a notary commission in another jurisdiction, suspension and/revocation, and
Refusal of a notary public to maintain the required bond.
Also, criminal penalties can be brought against any person who pretends to be a notary and/or uses a notary seal that is not theirs to perform a notary act.
Being commissioned as a notary public does not authorize the notary to assist persons in drafting legal documents or practice law unless they are a licensed attorney, act as an immigration consultant or representative. The notary is forbidden to engage in false advertising which includes the term “notario” or “notario public.” If a notary public advertises their services in print media, broadcast media or the internet, they must prominently display the following: I am not an attorney licensed to practice law in this Commonwealth. I am not allowed to draft legal records, give advice on legal matters, including immigration, or charge a fee for those activities.
Section Review
1.
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:
Leave the notary’s journal with the employer.
Give a full photocopy of the notary journal to the employer.
Relinquish the notary’s stamp, seal and journal to the employer.
Not surrender the notary’s stamp, seal or journal to the employer.
Correct
Incorrect
2.
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.
True
False
Correct
Incorrect
3.
Notary seals must be photographically reproducible.
True
False
Correct
Incorrect
4.
An embosser can be used in place of a rubber stamp seal.
True
False
Correct
Incorrect
5.
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:
10 days.
30 days.
45 days.
60 days.
Correct
Incorrect
6.
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.
$1,000, 0 Days.
$300, 120 days.
$3,000, 90 days.
$3,000, 120 days.
Correct
Incorrect
7.
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:
The notary public's employer.
The notary public.
The Secretary of the Commonwealth.
The county recorder of deeds.
Correct
Incorrect
8.
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.
True
False
Correct
Incorrect
9.
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.
True
False
Correct
Incorrect
10.
Journal/register entries must record:
The date of the notarial act.
The character of the notarial act - acknowledgment, affidavit, etc.
