A Notary Public by law is a Public Officer. As a Notary Public I can perform the following professional services or "notarial acts":
- Witness or Acknowledge the signature and identification docs of any person signing a document.
- Administer Oaths and Affirmations.
- Issue Jurat for Affidavits and Depositions.
- Certify a "True Copy" of any original document. A Notary Public cannot certify a "true copy" of an original document, if the document being examined and compared is not the original but is a copy of the original, or a copy of a copy. Notaries cannot certify copies of copies.
- Witness the opening of a safety deposit box or safe and take an official inventory of its contents, verify or certify an odometer reading on an automobile, or perform other verifications of fact.
Code of Virginia §47.1-12. Powers.
Each notary shall be empowered to perform the following notarial acts: (i) take acknowledgments, (ii) administer oaths and affirmations, (iii) certify that a copy of any document, other than a document in the custody of a court, is a true copy thereof, (iv) certify affidavits or depositions of witnesses, (v) perform verification of fact, and (vi) perform such other acts as may be specifically permitted by law.
Here is a very good video below which discusses what types of documents may (and may NOT) be notarized, and what type of identification documents are (and are NOT acceptable). This video below is applicable to California notaries public, but the principles and information is substantively the same for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Question: Can a Virginia Notary Public perform a notarial act outside of the Commonwealth of Virginia, or "extra-territorially" ?
Answer: Yes, a Virginia Notary can perform a notarial act "extra-territorially" in another State (outside the Commonwealth of Virginia); even internationally too, as the Code of Virginia does not clearly and unambiguously define what "outside the Commonwealth" actually is.
The Code of Virginia does in fact authorize me to perform Notarial Acts outside of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Note that section (B) of the Code (provided below) does not define “outside the Commonwealth” as meaning solely within the geographic boundaries of the United States or its territories; therefore I am authorized to perform a Notarial Act even internationally while abroad on TDY.
Code of Virginia §47.1-13. Jurisdiction; Virginia notarial powers outside the Commonwealth.
A. The powers of any notary commissioned pursuant to this title may be exercised anywhere within
the Commonwealth of Virginia.
B. Any notary commissioned pursuant to this title may likewise perform notarial acts outside the
Commonwealth, where such notarial acts are performed in accordance with this chapter.
C. An employee of the federal government authorized to perform notarial acts may perform notarial
acts in accordance with this chapter.
D. An electronic notarial act performed in accordance with this chapter shall be deemed to have
been performed within the Commonwealth and is governed by Virginia law.
Question: How much do you charge?
Answer: $5.00 USD + reasonable travel expenses TBD and agreed upon between the parties.
The maximum fee I can charge under Virginia law is $5.00 USD; however,
Code of Virginia §47.1-19 (D) stipulates that:
“a notary may recover, with the agreement of the person to be charged, any actual and reasonable expense of traveling to a place where a notarial act is to be performed if it is not the usual place in which the notary performs his office.”
Question: Hi Brian, I went to my local Bank (Bank of America) to have something notarized and the Notary Public there did not have a seal. When I inquired about this requirement, the Notary Public said they get their Notary Public commission from the bank branch manager and they are not required to have a seal. Is this correct?
Answer: ABSOLUTELY NOT. In the first place, a Virginia Notary Public's authority or commission comes from the Governor of Virginia through the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Pursuant to Code of Virginia §47.1-8, the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth is responsible for commissioning notary publics in Virginia. It has absolutely nothing to do with the bank period whatsoever.
Furthermore, when a Notary Public picks up their official commission or Certificate of Authority from the Governor of Virginia, they pick that up and take an oath and are sworn in at the local Circuit Court where they also attest to the fact that they have read or are fully familiar with the Virginia Notary Handbook which covers all the laws as well as the duties and responsibilities of a Notary Public in Virginia.
As far as affixing a seal, it is NOT an option but is MANDATED by Virginia law. Specifically, Code of Virginia §47.1-16 (C) clearly an unambiguously states the following:
"The notary shall affix a sharp, legible, permanent, and photographically reproducible image of the official seal" - Note the word "shall" which means MUST, and not "may" which means optional.
If a Virginia Notary Public tells you their authority comes from anywhere else but from the Governor through the Secretary of the Commonwealth, or tells you they don't have a seal or one is not required; then that Notary Public should have their commission permanently revoked.
To File a Complaint Against a Notary:
Anyone who wishes to make a formal complaint against a notary public for incorrectly performing a notorial act must submit in writing a brief description detailing the complaint and a copy of the notarized document in question. Once the complaint is received the notary department will determine if a violation has been committed. If the complaint is deemed valid, the notary will receive a letter of warning advising them of the improper notarization. The notary is also sent a letter of acknowledgement to sign and return to our office.
This office is not able to investigate any possible wrongdoings by a Virginia notary, nor are we able to determine a conflict of interest. Please contact an attorney or the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office to obtain information for any possible Virginia Code violations or legal issues.
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Notes Regarding the use of Notarized Documents in other Countries
Apostille vs. Legalization
If you are going to use a document which has been notarized by a Notary Public in the United States and want to use that document in another foreign country; you must first ascertain whether the country where you intend to use that document is a participating member of the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. The Apostille Convention, or the Apostille Treaty is an international treaty drafted by the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Secondly, you must determine what type of document it is that you are sending or using in a foreign country.
- court documents
- administrative documents (e.g. civil status documents)
- notarial acts
- official certificates which are placed on documents signed by persons in their private capacity, such as official certificates recording the registration of a document or the fact that it was in existence on a certain date and official and notarial authentications of signatures.
- If the country where you intend to use the document IS a participating country (such as Mexico) in the above referenced Hague Convention International Treaty, then your document notarized in the United States may require an "Apostille" certification attached to it.
notarization in domestic law.
b) Apostilles are affixed by Competent Authorities designated by the government of a state
which is party to the convention. In the United States, the Secretary of State of each state
and his or her deputies are usually recognized or considered "competent authorities". In
Virginia, it is the "Secretary of the Commonwealth"
c) The Apostille itself is a stamp or printed form consisting of 10 numbered standard fields.
On the top is the text APOSTILLE, under which the text Convention de La Haye du 5
octobre 1961 (English: Hague Convention of 5 October 1961) is placed.
Pictured below is a sample Apostille
(click on thumbnail image below to open larger view)
d) For Authentications or Apostilles in Virginia, the purpose of an authentication by the
Secretary of the Commonwealth is to verify to foreign governments that certain Virginia
officials are in good standing. Depending on the destination country, the authentication is
issued either as a Great Seal or an Apostille. The authentication only verifies that the
Virginia Notary, Virginia Clerk of Court, or Virginia Deputy State Registrar is listed in the
system and they have notarized or issued your document correctly. Authentication at the
state level is not required for documents to be used within the United States or its territories.
The Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth does not regulate what documents are
required by the foreign government. Documents issued by the FBI would be authenticated by the US State Department, not by the Virginia Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Documents must be properly notarized by a Virginia notary (as allowed by law) within the
past 12 months prior to presenting to the Secretary of the Commonwealth for
authentication. If the document is not properly notarized by a Virginia notary, it will be
returned for correction/completion.
2. If the country where your U.S. notarized document is NOT a participating member (such as
Indonesia) of the Hague Convention Abolishing the Legalization of Foreign Public Documents;
then your document needs to be "Legalized" rather than certified through an Apostille. The
document must be "legalized" by the foreign ministry of the country where the document
originated, and then by the foreign ministry of the government where the document will be used;
one of the certifications will often be performed at an embassy or consulate. In practice this
means the document must be certified twice before it can have legal effect in the receiving
country.
a) for example, in order for a document which was notarized in the United States to be fully
recognized in Indonesia (a country not a member of the Hague Treaty), it would have to first
"legalized" or validated by the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications; then it
would need a second "legalization" or validation from the Consulate General at the
Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in America.
Below are further resource links on the subject of Apostille & Authentications:
