California Notary Rules Every New Notary Must Know

For an acknowledgment or jurat you must certify the signer's identity based on satisfactory evidence under Civil Code section 1185. Personal knowledge alone is not enough; the handbook's example is a neighbor of 20 years, who still has to show identification.

Acceptable documents fall into two groups. The first may be relied on if current or issued within the past five years: a California DMV driver's license or ID card, a U.S. passport (the handbook confirms the passport card qualifies), and certain inmate identification cards for people in custody. The second group must also show a photograph, physical description, signature and identifying number: a foreign passport or consular ID from the person's country of citizenship, another state's driver's license or ID card, a Canadian or Mexican driver's license, a U.S. military ID, a California state or local government employee ID, or a tribal government ID.

If the signer has no acceptable ID, identity may rest on the oath of one credible witness you personally know, or on the oaths of two credible witnesses you do not know who each present ID. The witnesses must swear to the specific statements in section 1185(b), including that they have no financial interest in the document and are not named in it.

Government Code section 8206 requires one active sequential journal at a time, kept in a locked and secured area under your exclusive control. Each entry records the date, time and type of act; the character of the document; the signer's signature; how identity was established, with the ID type, issuing agency, number and issue or expiration date; and the fee charged, entered as zero or no fee if you charged nothing.

For a deed, quitclaim deed, deed of trust or other document affecting real property, and for a power of attorney, the signer must leave a right thumbprint in the journal (another finger if needed, noted accordingly). Failing to obtain a required thumbprint can bring a civil penalty of up to $2,500 under section 8214.23.

The journal belongs to you, not your employer. If it is lost or stolen, notify the Secretary of State immediately by a delivery method with a receipt. Answer a written public request for a line item within 15 business days, charging no more than 30 cents a page. When your commission ends without reappointment, deliver all journals to the county clerk where your oath is filed within 30 days (section 8209).

The acknowledgment certificate must follow Civil Code section 1189, including the boxed notice that the officer verifies only identity, not the document's truthfulness or validity. You sign it under penalty of perjury, and knowingly stating a false material fact can bring a civil penalty of up to $10,000. For a jurat (section 8202), the signer must appear, take an oath or affirmation and sign in front of you; an acknowledgment signer may have signed earlier but must still appear personally.

Your seal under section 8207 must be photographically reproducible and show the State Seal, the words Notary Public, your name as commissioned, the county where your oath and bond are filed, your commission expiration date, your commission number and the manufacturer's ID number. It may be circular up to two inches across or rectangular up to one by two and a half inches, with a serrated or milled border. Keep it locked; willfully failing to keep control of the seal is a misdemeanor under section 8228.1. Never affix your seal and signature without proper notarial wording.

Section 8211 sets ceilings, not required amounts. You may charge less or nothing, but any fee must be entered in the journal, and travel fees should be itemized separately.

You may notarize for relatives unless you would gain a direct financial or beneficial interest (section 8224). You have such an interest if you are named individually as a principal in a financial transaction or as a grantor, grantee, trustor, beneficiary, lessor, lessee or similar party in a real property transaction. Acting only as an agent, employee, escrow holder or lender does not create one. Take extra care with a spouse or domestic partner because of community property.

A notary may not draft or select legal documents or give legal advice. You must refuse an incomplete document (section 8205). A non-attorney who advertises notary services in another language must post the prescribed notice in English and that language, and may never translate Notary Public as notario or notario publico (section 8219.5). Advertising yourself as an immigration specialist or consultant is barred outright (section 8223).

California currently requires physical presence for acknowledgments and jurats; a video call is not a personal appearance under state law. You may notarize electronic documents if every paper-based requirement is met. The Online Notarization Act (SB 696) takes effect in stages: its commissioning and remote-procedure provisions start when the Secretary of State completes its Notary Automation Project 2.0, or on January 1, 2030, whichever comes first.

Report a change of business or residence address to the Secretary of State within 30 days; willful failure is an infraction with a fine of up to $500 (section 8213.5). Section 8214.1 lists grounds to deny, suspend or revoke a commission, including charging excess fees and failing to secure the journal or seal. Section 8214.15 adds civil penalties of up to $1,500 or $750 depending on the violation, refusing a peace officer access to the journal can cost up to $2,500 (section 8214.21), and knowingly notarizing a forged or false deed of trust on a home of up to four units is a felony (section 8214.2).