Posted by James Dawson on 3/8/11 12:29pm
Msg #375459

Ca Notaries why it takes so long for commission

I just got this letter (just a part) after taking my reappointment exam one month ago. My commission expires in June of this year.

"Congratulations! You have passed the State of California notary Public Examination.
Your application and fee have been forwarded to the Secretary of State. You will receive your
commission once your application has been approved AND AFTER you have completed and
passed a background check. If you have not received your commission packet or a letter requesting
additional information approximately ten to twelve weeks after you had your fingerprints taken, you
may call the Notary Public Section, Office of the Secretary of State, at (916) 653-3595............."

Twelve weeks from know is when my commission expires........go figure.

Reply by James Dawson on 3/8/11 12:32pm
Msg #375460

meant to say twelve weeks from NOW n/m

Reply by LKT/CA on 3/8/11 12:53pm
Msg #375466

Maybe because the exam date and your commission expiration are too close (4 mos.). I took the exam at the end of February but my commission expires in September (7 month difference). Hopefully, there won't be a gap in your commission and they'll send the renewal before the expiration of your current commission.

Reply by rengel/CA on 3/8/11 1:15pm
Msg #375468

I have found that more often than not, it doesn't take as long for a 'renewing' commission - they have been sending out the new commission approx. 30 days prior to the expiration of your previous commission.

Reply by James Dawson on 3/8/11 1:32pm
Msg #375473

Not really worried about it just giving an example for those "thinking" about it so maybe they will decide to do it earlier. The State isn't doing the background check thank god, just waiting on results before they push the O K. button.

Reply by James Dawson on 3/8/11 1:34pm
Msg #375474

LKT has the right idea. IMO I didn't know I wanted to renew seven months ago.

Reply by rengel/CA on 3/8/11 1:39pm
Msg #375475

Yeh, they recommend taking the test at least six months in advance of renewing.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 3/8/11 4:33pm
Msg #375525

I plan on taking mine a full 12 months ahead. By law the exam results are good for a full year, so I'm not going to mess around.

You'd think they would be processing these things faster now that we're down to 177K notaries.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 3/8/11 4:54pm
Msg #375529

Yeah but with the budget cuts they're down to 2 people in the office!!!...LOL

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 3/8/11 5:16pm
Msg #375532

And if Governor Laser Beam has his way, it will be down to one or none.

Reply by LKT/CA on 3/8/11 7:12pm
Msg #375544

Not complaining by any means but why is CA down to 177K Notaries?

Just thinking out loud but maybe the "get rich quick" crowd wasn't getting rich quick enough? OR....

Some have a checkered past and couldn't pass the background check?

Some only were Notaries for their employer and had no interest beyond that, so when they quit they let the commission expire?

Incidentally, one of the things taught in the live notary class that I recently took said that if a Notary was commissioned as a result of their employer that is specifically a school or the government, when the Notary quits that school/government job, they relinquish their commission and turn in their journals to the county recorder. If they want to continue being a Notary they must reapply from scratch.

If they were already a Notary and got the school/government job after, even though notarizing for the school/government employer, that rule does not apply. But if they became a Notary specifically FOR the government/school job - when they quit that employer - they relinquish their commission.

That supposedly only applies to a school/government employer and not any other employer. Any other employer - regardless of who pays, the commission goes wherever the Notary goes.

Has anyone seen anything in the handbook that speaks to this?

Reply by Stephanie_CA on 3/8/11 5:21pm
Msg #375535

I have always started the process 6 months in advance of expiration and never had any issues receiving it after my commission expired.