Posted by YumaAgent on 8/26/09 1:06pm
Msg #301760

Notary advertise services without State Commission...

This is a new one for me. I was looking to recruit new notaries in my area to assist with signings and found a newly listed notary who advertise her services without a state commission...huh!? I checked on-line at the state's website indicating no listing of the individual and followed up with contacting the SOS office to verify such and found that this person does not exist in their database. --although IMHO the application may be in process, IDK. But isn't it true that we all need to have a commission b/4 we advertise our services?

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Reply by Shoshana/AZ on 8/26/09 1:14pm
Msg #301764

I'll tell you what happened to me...

Before I moved from CA to AZ I inquired about a place on a certain site. I was told that I better get that space now, because somebody else just snagged the top listing. So, I paid for the space and just put my name and phone number. I started getting calls. So then I removed my phone number. Well, I still got calls from all the companies I worked for when I was in CA, because they recognized my name. Well, at that point, I was fit to be tied. I just endured it until I moved and was officially an AZ notary.
However, at no time did I ever pretend to be an AZ notary before I got my commission.
Just my experience.

Reply by MW/VA on 8/26/09 1:22pm
Msg #301767

I've heard the XYZ doesn't require proof of notary commission for their cert/bgc. I can imagine this is where a lot of this comes from. Maybe some even misunderstand that if they belong to the national org., they don't have to apply at the state level???????

Reply by thnotary_NY on 8/26/09 2:45pm
Msg #301779

How did this person think they could notarize without a stamp, and I thought you had to submit your information in order to get a stamp printed.

Reply by Todd/OH on 8/26/09 5:03pm
Msg #301797

I never advertised without my commission in hand but I was able to order my stamp without showing my commission. I asked if they needed to see my commission and they replied "Nah".

Reply by SharonMN on 8/26/09 5:28pm
Msg #301802

Same here, no requirement that I'm aware of for the stamp companies to ask for a copy of the commission. I used to order stamps for all the notaries at work and never had to provide a commission. You could order a notary stamp with Barack Obama on it if you wanted to. The control is at the county clerk where you lodge your signature so they can compare it if a question ever comes up.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 8/27/09 2:36am
Msg #301891

Procedure varies greatly by state

Some states apparently anyone can make and / or purchase a stamp. In CA, only certain companies can produce them - and they are required to obtain a Letter of Authorization issued by the SOS from the person ordering it before they can print it. All the stamps have the state seal, our commission number and the ID number of the creator of the stamp (among other things).

I don't imagine any system is foolproof, but they do make it pretty hard for anyone not commissioned to get their hands on a notary stamp. It seems pretty scary to me to think that anyone who wants to could just go into a Staples (or wherever) and order one in their name!

Reply by wisconsin on 8/26/09 2:10pm
Msg #301773

Did you contact that individual to find out if he/she is pretending to be commissioned or if he/she is not aware of the requirements?