What is the Notary Public Code of Professional Responsibility? It is a document, used by the National Notary Association, which helps to outline the responsibilities of notaries. The Notary Public Code of Professional Responsibility is an essential tool for all U.S. notaries too.
While notarization is primarily required to eliminate fraud, there are many documents that are not enforceable if they are not notarized. For example, if you have a power of attorney for an elderly parent and need to make a bank deposit for medical expenses, the bank will not process the check without a completed and notarized power of attorney.
Why do you need to get a document such as a car title notarized? The person who is buying a vehicle gets the protection that the person who sold the vehicle is the rightful owner and willingly sold the vehicle for the price included in the document.
The very earliest notaries - back in the time of Cicero in ancient Rome - were respected citizens who worked in conjunction with judges and were considered assistants of sorts to officials of the state. Originally known as scribes, their title was changed notaries.
If you’re signing a document that requires an oral oath or affirmation in addition to your signature, typically the oath and signature must be witnessed by the notary. The notary then certifies the document was “sworn to before me this day.”
Notaries are expected to uphold a strict moral standard and to remain objective at all times. You can easily expect to be treated exactly the same as a notary would treat his or her own family member when authorizing documents.
