Posted by FlaNotary2 on 2/20/12 11:07am
Msg #412387

Matricula Consular

I encountered my first Mexico Matricula Consular the other day. This was a wedding in my office. Now, ID requirements for weddings in Florida are more lax (actually, statute doesn't even require us to look at ID for weddings), but I still hold wedding ID standards to the same standards used for notarizations. The groom presented me his Matricula Consular and I couldn't help but notice how FAKE this card looks! I wouldn't have accepted it anyway, but it really looks like a cheap piece of plastic made in someone's home. I wound up using the guy's Mexican passport (acceptable ID in Florida), but has anyone actually seen one of these Matricula Consular cards?

Reply by A S Johnson on 2/20/12 11:45am
Msg #412391

Yes, I have. These are not acceptable I D in Texas.

Reply by HisHughness on 2/20/12 11:48am
Msg #412393

Am I getting this correct?

***statute doesn't even require us to look at ID for weddings), but I still hold wedding ID standards to the same standards used for notarizations.***

Why on earth would you impose upon someone stricter requirements in any area than those demanded by law?

Robert, you are not a legislator. You don't make the law. You are not a judge. You don't impose the law. You are a notary public. You follow the law. And you follow the law, wherever possible, in a fashion that helps the client get his business done.

Was it not you who was arguing just a few days ago that Florida notaries are <required> to take any business that comes through their doors? And now you are saying that you would refuse to perform a service because the client did not meet demands that YOU created?

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 2/20/12 11:56am
Msg #412394

Well...here from page 16 of our manual

"
The notary should check the expiration date of the license to ensure that the license is still valid. The notary should also require identification if the bride and groom are not personally known"

Sounds like ID is required, which makes sense - anyone can walk in with the marriage license - I know I'd feel better seeing ID - especially up here in my neck of the woods where "shotgun" and "wedding" are still very often used in the same sentence...

Reply by jba/fl on 2/20/12 12:17pm
Msg #412398

Re: Well...here from page 16 of our manual

Is that because the bride wants to marry the "baby daddy?"

It cracks me up every time I hear that phrase.

Reply by FlaNotary2 on 2/20/12 12:14pm
Msg #412396

Re: Am I getting this correct?

>>>Was it not you who was arguing just a few days ago that Florida notaries are <required> to take any business that comes through their doors? <<<

No, it was not me. We CAN refuse a notarization for a number of reasons, including plain ol' inconvenience. The manual says we should require ID of a bride and groom, therefore this is what I do.

I am all for making things as easy as possible for people requiring notarial service. However, I do this within the boundaries established by the Governor's Reference Manual for Notaries.

Reply by jfs/IL on 2/20/12 12:12pm
Msg #412395

For you Robert

New matricula contains useful information and offers protection against counterfeiting. The new matricula card was first introduced in major metropolitan areas in March 2002 and gradually was made available in consulate areas throughout the United States. It is wallet-sized, making it easy to carry on a daily basis. It is generally valid for five years and is bargain-priced at $28. The card contains the name, date and place of birth, a current photograph, and the holder’s signature. A new feature is inclusion of a U.S. address, which is information banks require and the police also want, even if someone is simply reporting a crime. A current address also is required to obtain local social services and access to community facilities.

Another new addition is the telephone number of the local Mexican consulate office, which is provided for two reasons. First, it is a way that local officials can verify the card’s authenticity. Second, it is a reminder to the police that a Mexican national in trouble has a right to call his or her consulate office for assistance.

In designing the new card, Mexico put emphasis on features to prevent counterfeiting. Some of them are visible, like the patterned green security paper and an “advantage seal” that in natural light changes color from green to brown and is superimposed over the bearer’s photograph.

Other anti-forging features are visible only in florescent or infrared light and others require a high-tech decoder to be seen. “At one angle, the decoder reveals the bearer’s name over the photograph. From other angles, the decoder reveals the bearer’s birth date and the letters ‘SRE,’ initials of the Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores, the Mexican agency responsible for issuing the card.”2

The Mexican government calls the new matricula card the “high security consular ID.” This phrase is used in conjunction with descriptions of its anti-forgery technology.

The counterfeiting safeguards certainly add to the matricula’s reliability, but they are not a substitute for other security measures, some of which Mexico has used to promote the matricula but has not yet delivered.

Reply by Barb25 on 2/20/12 4:23pm
Msg #412438

I have never seen one of these cards. I try not to "do" weddings if I can avoid it. My two cents.

Reply by FlaNotary2 on 2/20/12 6:31pm
Msg #412454

Why? Easy money... n/m

Reply by Barb25 on 2/20/12 6:41pm
Msg #412455

Re: Why? Easy money...

Good question. I've actually done one. Because the "bride" called me and I told her I would if she couldn't get anyone else. And she called back. I guess if someone calls me I will do it. I know when I moved back to FL several of the notaries involved in a networking group I joined started doing weddings as a full service business and very creatively. This is something that doesn't interest me. Another area they looked into was DNA testing. I did that several times and again it was a possibility for additional income in the beginning and then as companies called later and more people were doing it the pay was not worth it to me. So I just left the field so to speak. Must be all the big bucks I get doing Refis........lol