Posted by Michelle/AL on 9/20/08 5:58pm
Msg #264860

Question for North Carolina Notaries

Question #12 on the N.C. Notary Application Form requires a public official to reccomend the person applying to be a notary public. My cousin is getting her commission only because her job requires it - a bank. She asked me about it thinking this was a nationwide requirement for all notaries.

Is this true? Who did you contact to recommend you when you applied for your commission?

This would be hard for me. I don't think I know any public officials.

Reply by MW/VA on 9/20/08 7:15pm
Msg #264864

This was part of the application process here in VA, also. I took my application to the Court House, and the Clerk of Courts completed the recommendation. I don't know if this is a requirement in all states, and there are no national notary laws/requirements that I know of.

Reply by Cam/CA on 9/20/08 7:29pm
Msg #264865

Re: Not a requirement in California n/m

Reply by PAW on 9/20/08 7:31pm
Msg #264866

Not a requirement in FL either. n/m

Reply by CF on 9/20/08 8:07pm
Msg #264870

Used to a Michigan requirement but they dropped

it in 2004-2005 somewhere around there. There was a judge that you wrote a brief letter to in my county and he would send back the reccommendation and then when you took your oath- you presented it.

Reply by NCLisa on 9/20/08 9:05pm
Msg #264872

I despise that requirement! They don't know us so

how can they recommend us? You only need to do this for the initial application, not the renewal process. I had the Orange County ROD complete mine. I had to carry the application around with me for 5 days, everytime I went to a county to record, the ROD was out, finally I caught the Orange County ROD in the office. One of her minions took the application from me, brought it into her office, returned it to me about 3 minutes later, and that was it.

Reply by Susan Fischer on 9/20/08 10:21pm
Msg #264874

Not a req. in Oregon, thankfully. n/m

Reply by Roger_OH on 9/20/08 10:33pm
Msg #264875

Apps are rubber stamped by your county judge in Ohio. n/m

Reply by Michelle/AL on 9/20/08 11:08pm
Msg #264877

Thanks Everyone

Lisa, I cannot believe they really require this! Unbeweaveable (shaking my head). I will let my cousin know. Thanks.

Reply by Hugh Nations Signing Agents of Austin on 9/21/08 1:54am
Msg #264886

Isn't a notary public a public official?

Reply by WDMD on 9/21/08 5:16am
Msg #264889

MD The State Senator For Your District Has To Recommend You n/m

Reply by NCLisa on 9/21/08 9:10am
Msg #264901

Has to be an elected public official.

Reply by Susan Fischer on 9/21/08 11:56am
Msg #264908

Yes, in Oregon. Notary Public is commissioned by the state

and is an officer of the state; a ministerial officer, with duties narrowly defined to prescribed acts of limited scope. with limited discretion. A notary's whole purpose is to detect and deter fraud.

Reply by LynnNC on 9/21/08 9:52am
Msg #264903

I asked a member of the school board...

...to recommend me. I wanted to meet her anyway to discuss the problem of bullying at my daughter's middle school. I invited her to lunch, we had a nice talk, and she signed my form!

Reply by Frank Carpentier on 9/21/08 4:36pm
Msg #264922

It's really not a difficult issue. A visit to the County Court house generally results in someone directing you to one of the elected officials. My experience was that they were quite happy to sign the necessary papers to help you get the Notary commission. The difficult part comes afterward when your counter parts accept $40 and $50 signings.

Reply by Julie/MI on 9/21/08 7:12pm
Msg #264934

I think back in the day, the population was smaller and elected officials probably did know most of the people they recommended.

As Mia said they used to have a similiar requirement in MI, and when I applied the office employee, just took a stack of notary applications to a judge once a week for the prior week's applications. It's not like the judge really knew me or any of the others, just an outdated formality and state specific not nationally specific.

Reply by RalphNC on 9/21/08 8:00pm
Msg #264936

I got the Registrar of Deed for our county to recommend me... but, then, I have known him all my life. ;-)

Just about any elected official will be glad to oblige you, it garners votes.