Attesting to Photocopies- Aaron Notary Appointment Services, Inc.

Attesting to Photocopies

 In Florida, notaries are authorized to attest to the trueness of photocopies of certain documents.

Although commonly known as certified photocopies, the notary law refers to these documents as

attested photocopies. A notary public may make attested photocopies if the following criteria, found in section 117.05(12) of the Florida Statutes, are satisfied.

• The document must be an original document. A notary public cannot make an attested photocopy from a photocopy, or from another certified copy.
•  The document cannot be a public record, certified copies of which are available from another public official. If a certified copy can be obtained from the official source, then the notary public should decline the request.
•  The making of the photocopy must be supervised by the notary public. It is not sufficient for the notary public to compare the photocopy with the original document. The notary public must actually make the photocopy or supervise another person while he or she makes the photocopy.

After making (or supervising the making of) the photocopy, the notary should complete a notarial certificate in substantially the same form as prescribed by law.

This notarial certificate should be typed, stamped or written on the front or back of the photocopy or may be attached as a separate page.

One of the most often asked questions concerning attested photocopies is whether a particular document is a public record. Notaries must make a determination about this question before attesting to the trueness of any photocopy. The following documents are examples of public records, copies of which cannot be attested to by a notary:

• Birth certificate
• Marriage certificate
• Death certificate
• Certificate of citizenship or naturalization
• Documents filed in a court proceeding
• Documents recorded by the Clerk of the Court
• Public records maintained in government offices
• Student records (transcripts, etc.) kept in public education offices
• Federal or state income tax forms, already filed
• Professional licenses issued by the State of Florida
• Any document for which photocopying is prohibited

This is not a complete list of public records. If the document is issued by a government entity, the notary should contact that entity to determine whether a certified copy is available. If one is available, then the notary public must decline to make an attested photocopy. Additionally, the notary should ask the person if the document has been filed in a court proceeding or in the official records at the courthouse.

The following documents can be photocopied from the original (if not officially filed or recorded) and attested to by a notary, because certified copies cannot be obtained from another public official:

• Florida driver's license
• Florida vehicle title
• Social Security card
• Diploma
• Medical record
• U.S. passport
• Bill of sale
• Contract
• Lease
• Resident alien card
• Personal letter

The maximum fee a notary may charge for making an attested photocopy is $10.

If you need additional information please visit us www.AaronNotary.com.

Keeping Records of Your Notarial Acts:

The Notary Journal

Notaries are not authorized to keep copies of the documents they notarize. The best way to protect yourself is to document your notarial acts in a journal (record book or log).

You may want to consider this option as well. Each time you perform a notarial act you should record the event your journal.

Numerous notary journals are available on the market today, and they all have similar features. We recommend that your journal be bound (not loose-leaf) and have consecutively numbered pages, so that a page could not be removed without being detected. Important information should be recorded in the journal including:

■ the date of the notarial act;

■ the type of notarial act: oath, acknowledgment, attested photocopy, marriage;

■ the name or brief description of the document;

■ the party’s printed name, exactly as he or she signed the document;

■ the party’s address;

■ the party’s signature;

■ the type of identification relied upon in identifying the party, including the serial number, expiration date, date of birth, etc.;

■ the fee charged for the notary service; and

■ any additional comments you consider important; for example, the person is blind and you read the document to him. GOVERNOR'S REFERENCE MANUAL FOR NOTARIES 43

When using a journal to record your notarizations, it is a good idea to complete the journal entry prior to the notarization to ensure that the party does not leave before the necessary information is recorded.

Other important considerations:

■ Journals can be used to refresh your memory about an event that occurred years earlier, and if

kept consistently, may be relied upon for court testimony.

■ Journals may also prove your compliance with the law.

■ To be reliable, make sure that you record every notarial act and any special circumstances of the notarization.

■ Do not share a journal with another notary.

■ Guard your journal. Keep completed journals for at least 5 years.

Notary journals are usually available from your bonding agency, an office supply store, or one of the two national organizations that provide educational assistance to notaries. Any notary who is concerned with liability may want to consider this protective measure to provide a permanent record of his or her notarial acts.

To order a Notary Journal, please click on the following link: http://www.aaronnotary.com/index_htm_files/stamp.pdf  or contact us at (305) 654-8887.

Aaron Notary Appointment Services, Inc.

P.O. Box 69-3002

MIAMI, FL 33269-3002