The letter of the law here in CA doesn't directly address either issue. It just states what information must be recorded for every notarization. Other sections of our state law require that, for every notarization, we must be able to provide a copy of the journal entry which includes ALL the required info. So it would make sense that the use of ditto marks or diagonal lines (in any type of journal I can imagine) would make that impossible.
In addition to the legal verbiage of the law itself, in the past several years or so the SOS office provided, via newsletters and training materials, their interpretation of how to accomplish what the law requires, i.e. one line per notarization and no ditto marks or diagonal lines for signatures.
BTW, the only notarizations that require a thumbprint in this state are those that deal with POAs or anything related to real property. Many notaries make it a practice to get thumbprints for everything in the interest of safety, but it's not necessary. We're free to use our discretion for anything beyond what's required.
|
