A Notary Public is a public servant with statewide jurisdiction who is authorized to take acknowledgments, protest instruments permitted by law to be protested (primarily negotiable instruments and bills and notes), administer oaths, take depositions, and certify copies of documents not recordable in the public records.

The primary duty is to show that a disinterested party (the notary public) has duly notified the signer of an instrument as to the importance of such document, and the signer of such document has declared that the signer’s identity, signature, and reasons for signing such instrument are genuine. The signature and seal of a notary public do not prove these facts conclusively, but provide prima facie (proof of them) and allows a person in trade and commerce to rely upon the truth and veracity of the notary as a third party who has no personal interest in the transaction.

A notary is personally liable for negligence or fraud in the performance of the duties of the office. The notary public may be subject to criminal prosecution and the revocation or suspension of his/her notary public commission by the Secretary of State’s office.

The Secretary of State’s office may revoke or suspend the commission of any notary public for good cause subject to Tex. Gov’t Code Ann.§406.009 and the notary public rules.