Frequently Asked Questions

The following section consists of questions Notaries Public often have about their office. If you have any questions about notarizing a document, you should contact the maker of the document, the Notary Public Unit of the Secretary of State's office, or an attorney.

1. MAY I NOTARIZE MY SPOUSE'S SIGNATURE?
2. MAY I NOTARIZE FOR MY SPOUSE'S BUSINESS?
3. MAY I NOTARIZE FOR MY RELATIVES?
The basic rules are: the act of taking and certifying acknowledgments cannot be performed by a notary public financially or beneficially interested in the transaction; and one who is a party to an instrument, cannot act as a notary public. There is no specific prohibition against a notary public notarizing another spouse's signature or a notary public notarizing for a spouse's business. The facts in each situation will determine whether such action is proper.

4. MAY I ALTER OR CHANGE THE INSTRUMENT I NOTARIZE?

Some notaries use a seal embosser.

To answer this question, a distinction must be made between the instrument and the acknowledgment. A Notary Public is not authorized to change, alter or draft any instrument. However, a Notary Public may correct the certificate of acknowledgment to reflect the proper facts. For example, if an acknowledgment is taken in Webb County and the certificate shows Marion County, the certificate may be corrected as follows:

The State of Texas
County of Marion Webb

Before me, (Notary Public's name), a Notary Public, on this day personally ... etc.

5. MAY I PERFORM NOTARIAL ACTS IN OTHER COUNTIES?
Yes. A notary public has statewide jurisdiction and may perform notarial acts in any county in the state of Texas.

6. MAY I PERFORM FUNCTIONS OTHER THAN THOSE OUTLINED IN TEX. GOV'T. CODE §406.016 AND MAY I CHARGE FEES IN EXCESS OF THOSE AUTHORIZED IN TEX. GOV'T. CODE §406.024?
No. A notary public’s authority is limited to those acts authorized in §406.016. A Notary Public may not charge more than the prescribed fees for performance of notarial acts.

7. WHAT IF THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE DATE THE INSTRUMENT IS SIGNED AND THE DATE THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT IS ACTUALLY TAKEN?
To answer this question, an example is given. If an instrument ends with the wording: "Signed and executed at Tyler, Smith County, Texas, this 25th day of October, 2001," and the party whose name appears on such instrument appears before the Notary Public on October 27th, 2001, the Notary Public would fill in the acknowledgment with the true and correct date when the signer personally appeared before the Notary Public.

8. MAY I TAKE AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OVER THE TELEPHONE?
No. The person whose signature is notarized must personally appear before the notary at the time the notarization is performed.

9. MAY I CHANGE MY NAME FROM THE NAME SHOWN ON MY NOTARY PUBLIC COMMISSION?
Yes. A Notary Public may change the name on their commission by sending the Secretary of State a name change application, your current certificate of commission, a rider or endorsement from the insurance agency or surety, and a $20.00 filing fee. The above four elements must be sent at the same time. For an instruction sheet, please contact the Notary Public Unit at (512) 463-5705.

10. MAY I MAKE A CERTIFIED COPY OF A BIRTH CERTIFICATE OR A MARRIAGE LICENSE?
No. Birth certificates and marriage licenses are recordable documents. A recordable document is one that is recorded with some type of entity whether it be the Secretary of State's Office, a court of law, a county clerk, or the Bureau of Vital Statistics. Certified copies may be obtained by contacting such entities.

A non-recordable document is one that has not been nor will ever be recorded with any type of entity. For instance, a letter is not recorded with anyone but there are times the sender of the letter would like to obtain a certified copy of that letter for his or her file.

11. MAY A NOTARY PUBLIC DETERMINE WHICH TYPE OF NOTARIAL CERTIFICATE SHOULD BE ATTACHED TO A DOCUMENT?
No. A Notary Public who is not an attorney should only complete a notarial certificate, which is already on the document or type a certificate of the maker's choosing. If a notary public is brought a document without a certificate and decides which certificate to attach, that notary public would be "practicing law." However, a notary public is provided copies of sample notarial certificates with his or her notary commission. A person for whom a notarization is performed may choose the notarial certificate, and the notary may add such certificate to the document.

12.SHOULD A NOTARY PUBLIC RELY ONLY ON A CREDIT CARD IN DETERMINING THE IDENTIFICATION OF A SIGNER?
No. If the signer is not personally known by the Notary Public or identified by a credible witness, the Notary Public must use an identification card issued by a governmental agency or a passport issued by the United States to identify the signer.

13.IS A NOTARY REQUIRED TO ADMINISTER AN OATH TO A DEPONENT SERVED DEPOSITION UPON WRITTEN QUESTIONS?
Yes. The deposition officer ("notary public") must: record the testimony of the witness under oath in response to the written questions and prepare, certify and deliver the deposition transcript in accordance with Rule 203 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.

14. WHO PAYS FOR THE COST OF THE APPLICATIONS FOR A NOTARY PUBLIC, AND THEN IF A NAME CHANGE IS NEEDED WHO PAYS THAT COST?
The State Agency can only pay $11 for an employee to become a notary. This is the entire fee for a Notary without bond, or a partial fee for a Notary with Bond (The employee would be responsible for the SOS's bond filing fee of $10 and the bond itself of $50 if they choose to be bonded). State Agencies are not prohibited from paying the Secretary of State’s name change fee. However, it should be noted, the name change procedure is optional. The notary public may continue to sign the name that is shown on their commission until that commission expires and change their name when they renew their term. See instructions on the back of the name change form(s) - #2305 (S.O.S. website) or #2305A (MS Word).

Link to Texas Administrative Code

15. IF A PERSON TERMINATES WITH THE STATE OR CHANGES AGENCIES, WHAT SHOULD BE DONE? CAN THEY TAKE THEIR STAMPS WITH THEM OR DO THEY BELONG TO THE AGENCY THEY WORKED FOR?
SORM should be notified of any changes in state employment of a Notary Without Bond by using FORM# SORM-204 (MS Word, HTML). It is encouraged for a Notary Without Bond to voluntarily resign his/her commission upon termination with the state. The stamp is considered state property. Therefore, the agency should retain the stamp if the employee is leaving (terminating) employment with the state all together. However, if the employee is transferring to another state agency, the two state agencies should decide on what they want to do (keep the stamp and have the new agency purchase another one, have the new agency purchase the stamp from the old agency, etc.) The rules do not specify how agencies should handle the stamp if they are transferring from one agency to another. However, it appears to be of financial benefit to the State to allow the employee to take the stamp with them to the new agency.

Link to Texas Administrative Code.

16. WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW IF MY AGENCY HAS ME CHARGE FOR THE NOTARY SERVICE?
You will then need to go to the S.O.S. web page to find out more information on the fee book, and the itemized costs associated with performing notarial services.

See link to Texas Government Code below:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/gv.toc.htm

17. WHAT IS CONSIDERED IN THE COURSE AND SCOPE OF MY EMPLOYMENT?
The law is silent on “Course and Scope”. This must be discussed and determined at the agency level by Legal and Human Resource departments. Some factors that might be considered: your duties as indicated by your job description, agency rules, advertising to the general public/students of the availability of a notary at the agency/university, etc…