Notary Notes Blog

The latest notary news for Pennsylvania notaries

PAN

Five Simple Notarial Mistakes to Avoid

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Notaries are expected to uphold certain standards and act in accordance with the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (RULONA). Even the most minor mistakes can cause notaries a loss of commission, fines, or legal consequences. Here are five common mistakes that notaries made in 2020, so you can avoid them in 2021.

  1. Failing to keep a proper record of their notarial acts. Every notarial act that you perform must have an accurate, complete entry in your notary journal. Learn more about how to create a proper notarial journal entry in this video.
  2. Failing to require personal appearance. Unless you are a remote notary, you must require in-person appearance from the customer. Personal appearance is the first step to performing a notarization. If the customer is unable to come in person, you can refuse service or refer them to a remote online notary.
  3. Failing to maintain custody and control of your notary stamp. As a notary public, you are responsible for securing your notarial stamp. When you are not using your official stamp, put it with your notary journal in a secure place that only you have access to.
  4. Failing to include proper notarial language or venue. Notary wording must be present for you to notarize any document or perform any notarial act. If there is no notary wording present, you must add it. There also must always be a venue including the state and county where you and the customer are standing when the notarial act takes place. If there is no notary wording, inform the client and ask to add it to the document. If they do not allow you to add the proper wording, you must refuse to notarize.
  5. Failing to be familiar with the duties and responsibilities of a notary public. As a notary in Pennsylvania, there are certain duties and responsibilities that you must be familiar with to be able to do the job properly. Familiarize yourself with what is expected of you as a notary, how to perform notarial acts, and what your limitations are. PAN offers several options for obtaining the 3 hours of state-mandated education that will teach you what you need to know about becoming a notary in Pennsylvania, and how to notarize documents.

Being familiar with your duties and responsibilities to the public is the best way to keep yourself safe from legal consequences and losing your commission.

York County Reopening Plan

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On Monday, January 11, 2021, York County government reopened most buildings to the public following a suspension of public access dating back to December 21, 2020.

The York County Treasurer’s Office will remain closed to the public through January 29, 2021. Business with the Treasurer’s Office can be conducted by phone, mail, or email. The Treasurer’s webpage contains contact information.

Drop boxes for document delivery to the Administrative Center offices will continue to be available in the lobby of the Administrative Center during normal business hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The York County Human Services Center will remain closed to the public until at least February 1, 2021, with the opening date re-evaluated at that time. Offices within this building can still be reached and services are still being provided. Human Services can be reached by phone and email. The Human Services Center webpage contains contact information.

The commissioners remind the public that they are required to wear a mask while inside county facilities.

The press release where this information was accessed can be found here.

Notary Record Keeping Webinar

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PAN’s webinar “Notary Record Keeping” will be presented on Thursday and Friday, December 10th and 11th, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET. Learn how important it is to keep proper records to protect you and your customers.

The PAN Instructors will talk about the current record keeping requirements and how they differ from the old record keeping requirements. There will be a live question-and-answer session following the presentation.

Click here to register.

We have up-to-date information about how the ongoing COVID-19 crisis is affecting notaries on our Notarization and Coronavirus blog.

PAN recommends using Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox browsers to view the webinar. The webinar service allows more people to register than there are available virtual seats. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis for registered participants.

RON: What you need to know about Act 97 of 2020

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PAN Logo

Back by popular demand, PAN’s webinar, “RON: What you need to know about Act 97 of 2020” will be presented again on Thursday and Friday, December 3rd and 4th, at 11 a. m. and 1 p. m. ET. We are pleased to repeat this informative webinar, due to the overwhelming response we received after it first aired!

Governor Wolf’s signature on Act 97 of 2020 amended the notary law (RULONA) making remote online notarization permanent. The PAN Instructors will talk about the basics of Act 97 and what you need to know to comply with the law and properly perform a remote online notarization. As always, there will be a live question-and-answer session following the presentation.

Click here to register.

We have up-to-date information about how the ongoing COVID-19 crisis is affecting notaries on our Notarization and Coronavirus blog.

PAN recommends using Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox browsers to view the webinar. The webinar service allows more people to register than there are available virtual seats. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis for registered participants.

Notary Seminars Scheduled for Chambersburg

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(PAN) Pennsylvania Association of Notaries (www.notary.org) will hold several educational seminars in April for Chambersburg area notaries.

PAN’s First Time Notary Seminar (9 a.m. to noon) is state-approved and fulfills the three-hour mandatory education provision for new notaries. The Everyday Notary Challenges Seminar (1 p.m. to 4 p.m.) is offered in conjunction with the First Time Notary Seminar. The cost is $69 per seminar.

Notary Reappointment Seminar (9 a.m. to noon) fulfills the state’s educational requirement for reappointed notaries. It covers all the new aspects of the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (RULONA), which became effective on October 26, 2017, including the notary appointment process, identifying your customers, changes in notary equipment, and the new notary act – witnessing or attesting a signature.

The cost for the seminar is $69.

The seminars will be held at the Hampton Inn, 955 Lesher Road, Chambersburg, on the following dates:

First Time Notary Seminar and Everyday Notary Challenges Seminar – April 9.

Notary Reappointment Seminar – April 10.

Pre-registration is recommended.

About the Pennsylvania Association of Notaries (PAN) – We are a membership-based organization specializing in state-approved notary and motor vehicle education and offering step-by-step guidance on how to become a notary and renewing your notary commission in Pennsylvania. The Association’s customer service representatives answer over 200 questions a day from Pennsylvania notaries.

For more information call PAN at 800-944-8790 or visit the Web site at: www.notary.org/Education. You can access PAN’s Facebook and Twitter pages via our blog at http://blog.notary.org.

February Seminars in Reading Rescheduled

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PAN’s First Time Notary, Everyday Notary Challenges, and Notary Reappointment Seminars scheduled for Feb. 26 and 27 in Reading have been rescheduled to March 19 and 20.

The seminars will take place at the Hampton Inn, 1800 Peppermill Road. PAN’s First Time Notary Seminar will be held March 19 from 9 a.m. to noon; Everyday Notary Challenges will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on March 19.

The Notary Reappointment Seminar will be held March 20 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

If you have any questions, please call PAN at 1-800-944-8790 and speak with Ruth at extension 114.