I have brought this subject up before. This time I would like to find legal documentation about this matter. If you are a notary that lives in a bordering state of California, you might have been asked to notarize a document called a "Statement of Delivery Outside of California". This is when a person purchases some type of vehicle in California and plans to use the vehicle in another state. This is a way for the buyer to NOT have to pay double sales tax.
The problem lies with a large number of trucking companies that expect notaries to either place their stamp on each page of their vehicle purchase package or recently my team has been asked to place their stamp on a "cover page" where there is a large empty box that says "Notary Stamp". When I called our Nevada Secretary of State's office and asked them how to handle the situation, I was quoted NRS statute 240.1655. Basically it states that you cannot place your stamp over written material.
No matter what, I always decline when asked to place my stamp on any of their papers that aren't properly signed with acknowledgements or jurats following. I understand that it is a $1,500 fine and possible termination of your notary license. The part that I am perplexed over is why doesn't it specifically say that you cannot place your stamp on anything but a page you are notarizing. If the NNA or any state Secretary of States office would write a specific statute for this situation, it would make it much easier to show this law to the party asking you to stamp their paper and would give you the appropriate "out" to say no.
If you are a new notary and do jobs for Title Source, you are not to fall into the trap of placing your stamp on the Identity Verification and Acknowlegement Certification form. The form asks you to place your notary stamp as proof of commission. DO NOT PLACE YOUR STAMP THERE. The borrowers aren't signing that document. YOU ARE, and you can't notarize your own signature.
So can anybody in the forum come up with some type of documentation from the NNA or your SOS office that states that a notary cannot place his/her notary stamp on a document that does not require notarization. I would love to hear from anyone who can help. Thanks. |
