Colorado Notary Rules Every New Notary Should Know

A Colorado notary can act anywhere within the state and is not tied to a county. For every notarization other than a remote one, the signer must be physically present with the notary, and both must be in Colorado at the time. The Secretary of State says violations of the presence requirement account for more than half of the complaints it receives. Documents that originated in another state can be notarized as long as the act itself happens here.

Unless you personally know the signer, you need satisfactory evidence of identity. For an in-person act that means a government-issued identification card or other government ID that is current or expired for one year or less and that shows the signer's photograph or signature. A signer without adequate ID can be identified by the sworn written statement of a credible witness who personally knows the signer and who is either known to you or identified by you with acceptable ID. Record the method in the journal; keeping a copy of the witness statement is optional.

Every notarization needs a complete certificate in English. The Secretary of State lists its required parts: the county and state where the act took place, the date, the type of act, the notary's official signature matching the one on file, the stamp, the title Notary Public, and the commission expiration date. Never date a certificate earlier or later than the actual act. When you fix an error in your own certificate, strike it in ink, write the correction nearby, and initial and date it; only the signer may change the document itself.

Section 24-21-517 governs the stamp: a rectangular ink stamp with a plain or decorative border, holding only your name exactly as on your commission, NOTARY PUBLIC, STATE OF COLORADO, your notary ID and your expiration date. Place it under or near your signature without covering signatures or text. Embossers are prohibited. Under section 24-21-518 you must destroy or deface the stamp when you resign or renew.

Section 24-21-519 requires a journal of every notarial act, including oral oaths. The one exception applies when your firm or employer keeps the original, a copy or an electronic record of the document containing everything a journal entry would hold, though the Secretary of State still recommends a journal. Each entry is made at the time of the act, and signers appearing together still get separate entries.

When a journal is finished or you resign, choose one of three options and tell the Secretary of State: keep it for 10 years after the last entry, send it to the Colorado State Archives, or leave it with an employer that agrees to keep it. Report a lost or stolen journal or stamp within 30 days.

The maximum fee for a notarization is $15 per document, covering identification, any oath and completing the certificate. Electronic and remote notarizations may be billed at up to $25 under section 24-21-529(2). Tell the customer all charges before you act, itemize extras like travel, mileage or copies, and give the signer written documentation of the fees, such as a receipt, invoice, closing statement or business card listing them. A notary working as an employee of a title company on title, closing or settlement services is exempt from the documentation rule, and no documentation is needed when nothing is charged.

You may not notarize a record in which you are a party or named, or from which you could gain more than the proper fee. The same bar applies when the interested person is your spouse or civil union partner, an ancestor, a descendant or a sibling, including half-siblings and step-siblings. Do not notarize a document with blanks; section 24-21-525(7) is the reference, and the signer should fill them in or line them out.

A few more rules the FAQs stress: you may not certify a copy of a record obtainable from a Colorado clerk and recorder, the Secretary of State, the state archives or a vital records office, though out-of-state vital records may be copy-certified. Form I-9 is never notarized. You may decline a notarization under section 24-21-508, but not for a discriminatory reason. Unless also an attorney, a notary may not prepare legal documents or give immigration or other legal advice.

Electronic notarization is a separate approval. The signer is still in the same room, the document is electronic, and each act carries a unique document authentication number, or DAN, issued by the Secretary of State under section 24-21-520(3). Remote notarization is another approval again, requiring separate training and an exam, a remote notary application (listed at $10 on the fee schedule) and an approved remote notarization provider. The notary must be in Colorado, the session must be recorded with the signer's express consent, the recording kept for ten years, and the act entered in a tamper-evident electronic journal. Records tied to the electoral process may not be notarized remotely, and wills are subject to separate restrictions.

An admonishment is the Secretary of State's non-disciplinary warning, issued when an incorrectly notarized document reaches the office. It goes into your history, is not usually public and generally cannot be disputed, but it may require you to act, for example by replacing a noncompliant stamp or filing a signature change. Complaints from the public must be made in writing on the office's complaint form. Separately, you must report a change of name, signature or home or business address within 30 days, and a notary who no longer wants the commission must resign rather than simply letting it expire.