22 Procedures & Recordkeeping Practice Questions & Answers

1. 1. Under the Model Notary Act (2010), which sequence correctly describes a completed acknowledgment on a paper document?

   • A.The signer appears and is identified, declares the signature was made voluntarily for its stated purpose, and the notary completes the certificate.✓ Answer
   • B.The signer appears and is identified, signs the document while the notary watches, and then swears an oath that its contents are true.
   • C.The notary signs and seals the certificate in advance, and the signer later signs the document and returns it to the notary by mail.
   • D.The notary reads the document aloud and explains its legal effect, then identifies the signer and watches the document being signed.

   An acknowledgment requires personal appearance, identification, and the signer's indication that the signature was affixed voluntarily for the purpose stated. The signer need not sign in the notary's presence and takes no oath; adding an oath and signing in view describes a jurat instead.

   Ref QB-UAPSNSSource: Model Notary Act (2010) §2-1 (Acknowledgment); §5-2Report a problem with this question

2. 2. Under the Model Notary Act (2010), a jurat is properly performed in which order?

   • A.The signer appears and is identified, signs the document in the notary's presence, and then takes an oath or affirmation.✓ Answer
   • B.The notary administers the oath first and mails the certificate so the signer may sign the document at home later.
   • C.The signer appears and is identified, and then acknowledges that the signature already on the document was made freely.
   • D.The signer appears with two witnesses who swear the document is true, and the signer then signs it before the notary.

   A jurat has four elements at a single time and place: personal appearance with the document, identification, signing in the notary's presence, and an oath or affirmation vouching for the truth of what was signed. Dropping the presence requirement or the oath turns it into a different act.

   Ref QB-BTGM3SSource: Model Notary Act (2010) §2-7 (Jurat)Report a problem with this question

3. 3. A notary properly identifies a signer, watches her sign an affidavit, and completes and seals a certificate reading 'Subscribed and sworn to before me.' No oath was ever spoken. Under the Model Notary Act (2010), how is this notarization judged?

   • A.It is valid, because signing an affidavit under a 'sworn to' heading is itself the legal equivalent of an oath.
   • B.It is valid, because personal appearance and proper identification satisfy every element that the act requires.
   • C.It is defective, because the certificate attests to a sworn statement that the notary never actually administered.✓ Answer
   • D.It is curable later, because the signer may swear to the affidavit before the court clerk who receives the filing.

   The certificate recites facts the notary is attesting to. Certifying that a statement was sworn to when no oath or affirmation was administered makes the certificate false, which the Act treats as an improper certificate and official misconduct.

   Ref QB-TABFGRSource: Model Notary Act (2010) §5-8(a) (Improper Certificate); §2-7Report a problem with this question

4. 4. Under generally accepted notarial standards, what satisfies the requirement that a notary administer an oath or affirmation?

   • A.The signer initials a printed line stating that the document was sworn to before the notary who sealed it.
   • B.The notary silently reads the oath wording on the certificate before signing and sealing it for the signer.
   • C.The notary puts a spoken question to the signer, who answers aloud and affirms the truth of the document.✓ Answer
   • D.The signer raises a hand while signing, and the notary records that gesture in the journal as the oath given.

   An oath or affirmation is a ceremonial exchange: the notary asks and the signer responds, making a conscious vow of truthfulness on penalty of perjury. Printed wording, a silent reading, or a gesture alone is not a vow the signer has actually made.

   Ref QB-AT5AWQSource: Model Notary Act (2010) §2-11 (Oath); §2-2 (Affirmation)Report a problem with this question

5. 5. A signer speaks only a language the notary does not understand. The signer's cousin offers to interpret, and a phone translation app is also at hand. Under the Model Notary Act (2010), what governs?

   • A.The cousin may interpret if he signs the journal and states that his translation was complete and accurate.
   • B.The notary and the signer must communicate directly in a shared language, so this act cannot be performed.✓ Answer
   • C.The app may be used, because software has no interest in the document and cannot influence the signer.
   • D.The act may proceed if the certificate notes that an interpreter conveyed the notary's questions to the signer.

   The Act requires the principal to communicate directly with the notary in a language both understand, because the notary must personally judge awareness and free will. A relative is also an interested party, and no note on the certificate cures the missing direct exchange.

   Ref QB-SAY4BQSource: Model Notary Act (2010) §5-2(5)-(6) (Prerequisites)Report a problem with this question

6. 6. Under the Model Notary Act (2010), a notary may notarize a signature by mark only if which condition is met?

   • A.The mark is made before the notary and two disinterested witnesses, who each sign their own names beside it.✓ Answer
   • B.The mark is made before the notary alone, who then prints the signer's full name beside the mark and initials it.
   • C.The mark is made before the notary and one witness related to the signer who confirms that the mark is genuine.
   • D.The mark is made before the notary and two witnesses who are named as parties in the document being notarized.

   The Act requires the mark to be affixed before the notary and two witnesses who have no interest in the document, both of whom sign beside the mark. The notary then writes the prescribed statement below the mark and performs an acknowledgment, jurat, or signature witnessing.

   Ref QB-9TSXQPSource: Model Notary Act (2010) §5-3 (Signature by Mark)Report a problem with this question

7. 7. A signer is mentally alert but physically unable to hold a pen. Under the Model Notary Act (2010), when may the notary sign the signer's name on the document?

   • A.When a close family member directs the notary to sign for the signer and that request is recorded in the journal entry.
   • B.When the signer nods in agreement and the notary signs later that day, noting the physical disability in the journal.
   • C.When the signer directs the notary to do so before two disinterested witnesses and the notary signs in their presence.✓ Answer
   • D.When the signer executes a power of attorney naming the notary as agent, and the notary then signs in that capacity.

   A proxy signature is allowed only on the principal's own direction, given in the presence of two witnesses with no interest in the document; the notary signs in front of the principal and the witnesses, both witnesses sign beside it, and the notary writes the prescribed statement.

   Ref QB-RAMS5PSource: Model Notary Act (2010) §5-4 (Signing for Principal Unable to Sign)Report a problem with this question

8. 8. A contract is dated the 1st of the month and states that it takes effect on the 1st of the following month. The signer appears before the notary on the 10th. Under the Model Notary Act (2010), which date belongs on the certificate?

   • A.The 1st of the month, so that the certificate date agrees with the date printed on the contract.
   • B.The 10th, the day the signer personally appeared and the notarial act was actually performed.✓ Answer
   • C.The 1st of the following month, when the contract and the notarization both take legal effect.
   • D.Either the 1st or the 10th, whichever date the parties to the contract ask the notary to use.

   The certificate must state the date of the notarial act, which is the day the signer appeared before the notary. A document's own date or effective date belongs to the parties' agreement and has no bearing on when the notary acted; using either would make the certificate false.

   Ref QB-8TEMJNSource: Model Notary Act (2010) §9-1(a)(4) (Notarial Certificate: date of the notarial act)Report a problem with this question

9. 9. A notary performs an acknowledgment at a hospital in a county other than the one where her office sits, on a deed that will be recorded in a third county. Under the Model Notary Act (2010), what venue belongs on the certificate?

   • A.The state and county where the deed will be recorded, because the recording office relies on that certificate.
   • B.The state and county where the notary's commission was issued and where the notary's business office is located.
   • C.The state and county where the signer appeared before the notary, which is the county containing the hospital.✓ Answer
   • D.The state and county where the real property described in the deed is physically situated, per the legal description.

   Venue records the place the notarial act actually occurred, not where the notary is commissioned or where the document is later used. If a preprinted venue names the wrong county, the notary lines it out and enters the correct state and county.

   Ref QB-QA9FYMSource: Model Notary Act (2010) §9-1(a)(3) (Notarial Certificate: venue)Report a problem with this question

10. 10. Under the Model Notary Act (2010), how must a loose notarial certificate be attached to a paper document?

    • A.By paper clip after the signing, so the receiving office can move it to whichever page turns out to need it.
    • B.By staple or another method leaving evidence of removal, at the time of the act and in the signer's presence.✓ Answer
    • C.By tape to the back page after the notary leaves, with the seal on a second sheet when space runs short.
    • D.By whatever method is convenient later that same day, provided the certificate repeats the document's title.

    The attachment must leave evidence of any later detachment, must be made only by the notary at the time of the notarization and in the principal's presence, and all required certificate elements must appear on the same sheet, which is what deters substitution.

    Ref QB-SWCBM4Source: Model Notary Act (2010) §9-2 (Attaching Notarial Certificate)Report a problem with this question

11. 11. A document carries a preprinted acknowledgment certificate, but the signer says the receiving agency wants a sworn statement. The notary is not an attorney. Under the Model Notary Act (2010), what is the proper course?

    • A.Select the jurat for the signer, since the notary is the person trained to know which wording a document needs.
    • B.Ask the signer which notarial act is wanted, then complete and attach the matching certificate at that time.✓ Answer
    • C.Refuse until the receiving agency sends a written instruction naming the notarial act it wants performed.
    • D.Complete the printed acknowledgment as it stands, because a preprinted certificate may never be set aside.

    A non-attorney notary may explain in general what each act involves but may not choose the act or certificate for the signer, since that choice affects the document's legal effect. Once the signer chooses, the notary completes and attaches the correct certificate during the act.

    Ref QB-AEJG75Source: Model Notary Act (2010) §5-12(b) (Unauthorized Practice of Law); §9-2Report a problem with this question

12. 12. Two days after a notarization, a signer emails a scan of the certificate showing that the notary left the county out of the venue, and asks her to fix it and email the page back. Under the Model Notary Act (2010), what does a correction require?

    • A.A corrected page printed from the scan and emailed back, since an omitted venue is a clerical matter only.
    • B.A signed statement from the signer confirming that the act took place in the county the notary now names.
    • C.Written permission by email for the signer to fill in the county, with that exchange noted in the journal.
    • D.Return of the original certificate and document to the notary, who verifies the error against the journal entry.✓ Answer

    The Act lets only the notary who made the error correct it, and only after the original certificate and document physically come back, with the error corroborated by the journal entry, the document itself, or other determinative written evidence. Emailing a corrected page is not permitted.

    Ref QB-RWZYE3Source: Model Notary Act (2010) §9-3(1)-(2) (Correcting Notarial Certificate)Report a problem with this question

13. 13. A notary has the original document back and has confirmed from her journal that a signer's surname was misspelled on the certificate. Under the Model Notary Act (2010), how is the correction made?

    • A.Line through the error legibly, enter the correct name, initial and date the change in ink, and note the journal.✓ Answer
    • B.Retype the whole certificate page, attach the new page over the original, and leave the journal entry as written.
    • C.Cover the error with correction fluid, write the correct name over it, and reseal the certificate beside the change.
    • D.Erase the misspelled name, write in the correct one, and have the signer initial the change when next convenient.

    The corrected certificate must remain legible and self-explaining, so the notary strikes through the error, writes the correct text, and initials and dates it in ink, or replaces the certificate outright. A notation of the nature and date of the correction is then appended to the journal entry.

    Ref QB-9E7624Source: Model Notary Act (2010) §9-3(3)-(4); §7-2(e)Report a problem with this question

14. 14. Weeks after a signing, an employee of the company that received the document telephones the notary and asks her to change the date on the completed certificate to match the company's file. Under the Model Notary Act (2010), what must the notary do?

    • A.Agree, provided the employee confirms the requested date in writing and the notary keeps that request on file.
    • B.Refuse, because the certificate states the date of an act that occurred and only a genuine error may be corrected.✓ Answer
    • C.Agree, because a date change is minor and a notary may amend her own certificate any time before recording.
    • D.Refer the request to the commissioning official, who alone may authorize a change to a completed certificate.

    Correction is limited to errors the notary actually made, verified against written evidence. Altering an accurate date to suit a third party's records would make the certificate false and amounts to an official act performed with intent to deceive.

    Ref QB-UW3ZX6Source: Model Notary Act (2010) §9-3; §5-10 (Official Act with Intent to Deceive)Report a problem with this question

15. 15. A signer returns and says the agency rejected his acknowledgment because it required a sworn statement. The notary still has her journal entry from the first appearance. Under the Model Notary Act (2010), what may she do?

    • A.Replace the certificate with a jurat and carry over the original date, since the same signer has already appeared.
    • B.Add the oath wording to the existing certificate and initial the change, relying on the original journal entry.
    • C.Issue a second certificate for the same act, since one appearance can support both forms of notarial wording.
    • D.Perform a new notarial act, with the signer signing again and swearing, dated the day of this new appearance.✓ Answer

    The correction rule covers errors within an act, not a change in the nature of the act itself. Substituting a jurat for an acknowledgment requires the signer to sign in the notary's presence and take an oath, so a new notarization with a new certificate date is the only route.

    Ref QB-CE96J7Source: Model Notary Act (2010) §9-3 and Comment (change in the nature of the notarial act)Report a problem with this question

16. 16. An office manager asks a notary to leave a stack of certificate forms already signed and sealed so staff can fill them in as signers come by, and suggests a rubber stamp of her signature to speed things up. Under the Model Notary Act (2010), how should she respond?

    • A.Provide the pre-signed forms only, since the notary still reviews each one before staff release it to a signer.
    • B.Refuse both: signature and seal belong on a completed certificate at the time of the act, and must be handwritten.✓ Answer
    • C.Adopt the signature stamp only, since a stamped signature is still the notary's own mark and saves genuine time.
    • D.Allow both if the office keeps a log showing which staff member completed each certificate and on what date.

    The Act forbids signing or sealing an incomplete certificate, doing so other than at the time of the act in the principal's presence, and handing a signed or sealed certificate to someone else to complete. It also defines the official signature as handwritten, so a facsimile stamp is never valid.

    Ref QB-TWQNS5Source: Model Notary Act (2010) §5-8(b)-(d); §8-1; §2-14 (Official Signature)Report a problem with this question

17. 17. Under the Model Notary Act (2010), when is the journal entry made and what identity information does it contain?

    • A.At the time of the act, with a photocopy of the credential pasted beside the signer's own signature in the journal.
    • B.At the close of the business day, noting only that the signer produced a current government-issued photo credential.
    • C.At the time of the act, noting the identification's type, issuing agency, number, and issuance or expiration date.✓ Answer
    • D.Whenever the notary next has time, noting the signer's date of birth and full Social Security number as the record.

    Entries are made at the time of notarization, while the details are fresh and the signer is present to sign the journal. Identity is recorded either as a statement of personal knowledge, or by the document's type, issuing agency, number and date, or by the credible witness's signature and address.

    Ref QB-BEWTC6Source: Model Notary Act (2010) §7-2(a) (Journal Entries)Report a problem with this question

18. 18. Under the Model Notary Act (2010), which statement about the contents of the journal is correct?

    • A.A request the notary declined is left out of the journal, and the signer's Social Security number is entered as proof.
    • B.Only completed notarizations are recorded, and a credit card number may be entered when a fee has been collected.
    • C.A declined request goes in a separate refusal log, where the signer's Social Security number is also kept on file.
    • D.A request the notary declined to complete is still recorded with the circumstances, but never a Social Security number.✓ Answer

    The journal is a chronological record of what the notary did and did not do, so the circumstances of any act not performed or completed must be entered. The Act flatly forbids recording a Social Security or credit card number, because the journal may lawfully be inspected by others.

    Ref QB-NWXYWXSource: Model Notary Act (2010) §7-2(b)-(c) (Journal Entries)Report a problem with this question

19. 19. A stranger walks in and asks to look through a notary's journal for 'anything signed by' a person he names. Under the Model Notary Act (2010), what is the correct handling?

    • A.Show only entries he names by month, year, document type and signer, once he is identified, covering the others.✓ Answer
    • B.Refuse every inspection, because the journal is private property and no outsider may ever be shown a single entry.
    • C.Photocopy the entire page holding those entries, because a requester is entitled to the full context of each act.
    • D.Hand over the journal for browsing, because a notary's journal is a public record open to any member of the public.

    The Act treats the journal as quasi-public: inspection happens in the notary's presence, the requester must be identified, must sign a separate dated entry, and must specify month, year, document type and name, and all other entries on the page are covered to prevent disclosure.

    Ref QB-6E56HYSource: Model Notary Act (2010) §7-3(a) (Inspection and Copying of Journal)Report a problem with this question

20. 20. After completing a certificate, a notary sees that the seal impression came out smeared and partly across the signer's printed name. Under generally accepted notarial standards, what should she do?

    • A.Leave the smeared impression as it is and write 'seal illegible' beside it, initialing that note for the recipient.
    • B.Send the signer to another notary, who may add a clear impression of her own seal next to the smeared one.
    • C.Photocopy the page so that the smear looks lighter, sign the copy, and give that copy to the signer as the original.
    • D.Place a second, legible impression in a clear area of the same certificate page while the signer is still present.✓ Answer

    The seal is prima facie evidence of the act, so its impression must be legible and must not obscure text or signatures; a recording office or agency will reject an unreadable one. The remedy is a fresh impression by the same notary during the act, or a new loose certificate if there is no clear space.

    Ref QB-RJME4ESource: Model Notary Act (2010) §8-2(a) (Official Seal); NNA Notary Public Code of Professional ResponsibilityReport a problem with this question

21. 21. A notary discovers that her official seal has been stolen from her desk drawer. Under the Model Notary Act (2010), what must she do?

    • A.Report the theft to law enforcement, then notify the commissioning official within 10 days by a means giving a receipt.✓ Answer
    • B.Notify the commissioning official within 30 days and, in the meantime, keep notarizing using only her handwritten signature.
    • C.Order a replacement seal from any vendor the same day and report the loss when her commission next comes up for renewal.
    • D.Notify her employer, which holds the purchase record for the seal and reports such losses to the state for its notaries.

    A missing seal can be used to fabricate notarizations, so the Act sets a 10-day deadline: inform law enforcement in a theft, then notify the commissioning official by a means providing a tangible receipt, supplying the police report. A new Certificate of Authorization is then issued for a replacement seal.

    Ref QB-83F9HDSource: Model Notary Act (2010) §8-2(e) (Official Seal: loss or theft)Report a problem with this question

22. 22. A notary's commission expires and she leaves the employer that paid for her seal and journal. Under the Model Notary Act (2010), what becomes of them?

    • A.The seal may be kept as a souvenir of the office and the journal is shredded once its last entry is a few years old.
    • B.Both belong to the employer that bought them and are handed over with the rest of the office equipment on her last day.
    • C.Both stay in her desk for the next notary the employer hires, who may keep using the same seal and the same journal.
    • D.The seal is destroyed or defaced and the journal goes where the commissioning official directs, not to the employer.✓ Answer

    The seal is the notary's exclusive property and is defaced or destroyed at the end of the commission so it cannot be misused, while the journal and notarial records are delivered to the office the commissioning official designates by a means providing a tangible receipt. Who paid for them is irrelevant.

    Ref QB-QJ94XCSource: Model Notary Act (2010) §8-2(f); §7-5 (Disposal of Journal)Report a problem with this question

Practice questions cover uniform notary principles (Model Notary Act). Not affiliated with any state and not legal advice. Fees, term lengths, and statutes vary by state — study your state's official notary handbook. About notaries →