A No Nonsense Guide for the Texas Notary Public

A practical guide for notaries public commissioned in the State of Texas. It is an important and useful guide for paralegals, bank employees, insurance agency employees and anyone who serves as a notary public. -- WHAT IS A NOTARY PUBLIC? -- A notary or notary public is one of a class of persons authorized by law to serve as an official witness and/or one authorized to administer oaths. Others who may perform such functions can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but also may include military officers, court reporters, judicial officers, court clerks, law enforcement officers and other government employees. The specific definition of a notary public varies from source to source, but the various definitions given are similar. One national law encyclopedia, Corpus Juris Secundum, gives the following definition: A notary or notary public is a public officer whose function it is to attest and certify, by his hand and official seal, certain classes of documents, in order to give them credit and authenticity in foreign jurisdictions, to take acknowledgments of deeds and other conveyances, and certify them, and to perform certain official acts, chiefly in commercial matters. 66 C.J.S. Notaries, Section 1 Another national law encyclopedia, American Jurisprudence, Second Edition, offers a slightly different definition, which is also cited by Texas Jurisprudence, Third Edition, a state law encyclopedia by the same publisher, as follows: A notary public is a public officer who, in the performance of the notary public’s duties, exercises a delegation of the state’s sovereign power, as in attesting the genuineness of any deeds or writings in order to render them available as evidence of the facts therein contained and in administering oaths and attesting to the authenticity of signatures. Am. Jur. 2d Notaries Public, Section 1 Tex. Jur. 3d Notaries Public, Etc., Section 1 -- THE IMPORTANCE OF THE NOTARY PUBLIC -- Modern technology has profoundly increased the speed and volume of many human interactions. For the most part, these increases have resulted in positive improvements to life. The increased speed and volume of business activity creates more jobs, increases consumer satisfaction and reduces wasted time. For example, being able to e-file a tax return can save everyone concerned time and trouble. However, two important issues remain important in human interactions such as commerce (business activity). First, there is a continuing need to verify the identity of someone who is the party to a commercial, legal or governmental transaction. While verification technologies, ranging from PIN numbers to photographs to fingerprints, are useful, they are not always practical. In this regard the notary public plays an essential role in verifying the identity of people who sign a variety of documents, ranging from wills to deeds to releases of claims to powers of attorney. Secondly, there are times in the course of human interactions where sworn statements are important. History has made certain human frailties clear. One such human frailty is lying. People lie. People exaggerate. People embellish. However, sometimes telling the truth is essential in order for society to be able to rely upon business transactions, legal rights and so forth. For this reason, the practice of requiring that certain statements be made under oath or affirmation is used to signify the importance telling the truth under specific circumstances. Ultimately, the importance of the notary public today is reliance. Many people and businesses of all kinds daily rely upon a notary public’s certification that a particular person signed a particular document or that a particular statement was made under oath.