Powers, duties and conduct

Study notes · 50 practice questions · 30 in the mock pool

Core powers

• Administer oaths and affirmations, take affidavits and depositions, take acknowledgments and proofs, and protest commercial paper.
• Jurisdiction is co-extensive with the boundaries of the state.
• Powers exercised for another jurisdiction require naming that jurisdiction on the certificate.
• An attorney notary may, in their discretion, take their own client's oath, affidavit or acknowledgment.

Fees

• $2 for an oath or affirmation; $2 per person for an acknowledgment or proof; $2 to swear each witness.
• 75 cents for a protest plus 10 cents per notice, capped at five; the seal is affixed free.
• $25 for an electronic notarial act, inclusive of the notary's costs.
• No fee at all for the oath of office of a public officer or employee, including an inspector of election.
• Charging above the allowance risks prosecution, civil suit and removal — plus treble damages under Public Officers Law 67.

Duties and prohibitions

• The duty to officiate on request: refusing an oath a notary may lawfully take is a misdemeanor.
• Liability to injured parties for all damages caused by misconduct in office.
• Fraud or deceit in office is a misdemeanor and a ground for removal; so is holding out without an appointment.
• A non-attorney may not give legal advice or draw legal papers — deeds, wills, contracts, leases, pleadings.
• Advertising in a language other than English requires the prescribed disclaimer; foreign terms implying attorney status are prohibited.