The Governor’s signature on Senate Bill 841, on April 20, authorized the use of remote notarization technology to complete notarial acts when the notary and the signer are not in the same physical location. Agent service providers under contract with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) CANNOT use their online provider’s software to perform remote online notarizations.
[Read more…] about Online Agents Need to Know the Difference About RONKnow-How
Have You Checked Out PAN’s YouTube Channel?
Our YouTube channel has videos to help you as a Pennsylvania notary. Each video focuses on a particular topic and includes these titles:
- Who needs notary education in Pennsylvania
- Tutorial on combination weights
- Information on Real ID
- How to transfer a Pennsylvania title
- Notarizing documents with blank spaces
- Using a credible witness to identify your customer
- How to become a notary public
- To test or not to test – A guide for Pennsylvania notaries
- Standard vs. non-standard signatures for notarization
- RULONA overview
- Pennsylvania notary journal
- Certified copy
- Embossing seals
To visit PAN’s YouTube Channel, go to: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8z32HZph_xuSNg5nvaC04w
The Basis for Disciplinary Actions
In each issue of Notary Notes, our bimonthly newsletter for exclusively for PAN members, we include an article called “Disciplinary Actions.” This is a list of the disciplinary actions taken by the Department of State for violations of the notary public law. [Read more…] about The Basis for Disciplinary Actions
What to do when you have a name or address change
If you are a Pennsylvania notary and you’ve gotten married, divorced, changed your name in any way, or you’ve moved to a new home or your business has moved, you must notify the Department of State within 30 days.
The notice may be made in writing or electronically and should state the effective date of the change.
Notice of a change in legal name on file with the Department must be on a form prescribed by the Department and accompanied by evidence of the change, such as a marriage certificate, divorce decree or court order. Notice of a name change must also be made to the Recorder of Deeds of the county in which you maintain an office.
When you change your legal name, you may continue to perform official notary acts in the name in which you were commissioned until the expiration of your notary term. Application for reappointment as a notary must be made in the new name.
The Scoop on Electronic Journals
Notaries in Pennsylvania have the option of recording their notary entries in paper (tangible) or electronic journals.
RULONA Questions – Part 4
Here we go …
Q: Can’t I just say I’m witnessing everyone’s signatures instead of saying this is an acknowledgment or a verification on oath or affirmation, because I am actually witnessing it?
A: You cannot decide what notary act your customer needs. The customer must tell you what notary act they want.
Q: Can I still use my old register? The law says I can until my current commission expires.
A: Yes, you may continue to use your old register until your current commission expires. However, as of October 26, 2017, you are required to include the additional entries in your register, per the new notary public law – RULONA. PAN has a tutorial in the Member Portal of our Web site at http://www.notary.org on how to convert your register to include these new entries. Once you start your next commission, it is recommended that you obtain a journal.
Q: When a notary certificate says on oath or affirmation, if the document itself does not contain an affirmation, is the notary supposed to ask the customer to swear or affirm?
A: Yes.
Q: Now that the prior seals are being referred to as stamps, if we have the word “seal” after a signature line in a document, should we delete those going forward?
A: No. There is no need to delete the word “seal” after a signature line in a document. Your notary stamp is your official seal as a notary public.