Notary Public Self-Quiz
Although this notary public self-quiz is not mandatory, we recommend that you read the handbook and take it. If you have any questions or concerns after taking this quiz and reviewing the handbook, please contact the Notary Section of the Secretary of State’s office.
T___ F___ 1. A Montana notary’s commission is for four years.
T___ F___ 2. A notary public commissioned by the State of Montana may perform notarial acts anywhere in the state of Montana.
T___ F___ 3. A notary public commissioned by the State of Montana may perform notarial acts in Wyoming and North Dakota as well as throughout Montana.
T___ F___ 4. A notary public may use an ink stamp as a substitute for his/her signature.
T___ F___ 5. A notary may not act as such in a transaction in which the notary is named or has a direct interest.
T___ F___ 6. A notary public need not require an individual to personally appear before them when they are executing an acknowledgment, and the person’s handwriting is well known to the notary.
T___ F___ 7. The date set forth on the acknowledgment may be different from the date set forth on the document to which it refers.
T___ F___ 8. The size of the notary’s seal is established by law.
T___ F___ 9. If a notary changes employment before his/her commission expires, the commission is automatically terminated.
T___ F___ 10. If a notary moves out of the state before his/her commission expires, the commission is automatically terminated.
T___ F___ 11. There are nine elements required by Montana statute for a proper notarization.
T___ F___ 12. The Secretary of State’s office will provide each notary with a current Certificate of Commission, showing the notary’s official name and term of commission.
T___ F___ 13. A notary may perform his/her duties only in the county in which he/she either works or lives.
T___ F___ 14. The surety bond, which Montana notaries are required to post with the state, will protect the notary from any monetary damages caused by his/her improper notarial acts.
T___ F___ 15. A notary may copy a document and certify it as a true and correct copy.
T___ F___ 16. If a notary has a change of name, he/she must notify the Secretary of State’s office before obtaining and using a new seal and/or stamp.
T___ F___ 17. A jurat notarization is used when the signer not only acknowledges the signature, but also swears that the information contained in the document is truthful.
T___ F___ 18. The $25 fee that is sent to the Secretary of State’s office pays for the notary’s seal which will be sent within two weeks of the Certificate of Commission.
T___ F___ 19. At the beginning of the notary statement where it has “State of Montana, County of ___________”, the notary should put the name of the county where he/she works.
T___ F___ 20. If a document from another state has a pre-printed notarial block that does not require one or more of the nine elements of a correct notarial block in Montana, a Montana notary should only fill in the elements required by the state issuing the document.
T___ F___ 21. If a person who is unknown to you requests that you notarize his signature, you can do it only if he provides his birth certificate and a credit card with his signature on the back.
T___ F___ 22. In Montana a notary may act as a signing agent for out-of-state companies only.
T___ F___ 23. You may notarize the signature of a person you know very well even if you didn’t see that person actually sign the document, as long as they fax you written permission to do so.
T___ F___ 24. A notary cannot notarize a document that has only been signed by one of the two individuals who are required to sign the document.
T___ F___ 25. If you are asked to notarize a signature and there is not enough room by the signature, the next best place to put the notarial block is on the back of that piece of paper.
T___ F___ 26. A Montana notary is required to have an embosser (crimper) seal.
T___ F___ 27. When completing a notarial block, you should write your commission expiration date as month/day /four digit year.
T___ F___ 28. A Montana notary may notarize his/her spouse’s signature.
T___ F___ 29. If you have obtained your bond from the insurance company, but have not yet received your Certificate of Commission with your new commission dates, it is OK to perform notary functions.
T___ F___ 30. The statutes regarding notaries in Montana are found in Title 1, Chapter 5 of the Montana Code Annotated.
Answers can be found on the next two pages, and throughout this handbook.
ANSWERS TO THE NOTARY PUBLIC SELF-QUIZ
1. True. See MCA 1-5-403.
2. True. See MCA 1-5-415.
3. True. See MCA 1-5-605, and the FAQ # 11.
4. False. See MCA 1-5-416(1)(e).
5. True. See MCA 1-5-416(2)(b).
6. False. See MCA 1-5-603(1 – 3). The requirement is that “person appearing before the officer…”.
7. True. See MCA 1-5-603(1). By definition, an acknowledgment is done after the document was signed, and the person appearing before the notary is swearing that he/she is the person who signed the document previously. However the date of an acknowledgement must be the same or after the date the document was signed.
8. False. MCA 1-5-416(1)(d) makes no mention of the size or shape of an official Notarial Seal. See page 2 of this handbook for further clarification regarding the requirements for the official Notarial Seal.
9. False. Under MCA 1-5-404 only the Secretary of State may revoke a notary’s commission and then only upon 10 days notice for just cause. An employer is not given that authority. As long as the notary continues to meet the criteria established by MCA 1-5-402, the commission would continue. However, under MCA 1-5-409(1) the notary must inform the Secretary of State’s Office of the change of employment, as well as any other business or personal contact information.
10. True. See MCA 1-5-402, “…must continue to reside within the state of Montana. Removal from the state…vacates the office and is equivalent to resignation.”
11. True. See MCA 1-5-416(1)(e – f) and 1-5-609 and p. 27 of this handbook. All nine elements must be present on each and every notarization!
12. True.
13. False. See MCA 1-5-415.
14. False. See MCA 1-5-406, and the answer to FAQ #13.
15. True - unless it is a document issued by a public entity. See MCA 1-5-603(4) and MCA 1-5-416(2)(c) and the clarification on page 7 of this handbook.
16. True. See MCA 1-5-409(2).
17. True. See Notary Terms, and further clarification on Fundamental Notarial Acts of this handbook.
18. False. The Secretary of State’s Office does not provide the notarial seals or stamps. The notary must obtain them him/herself.
19. False. See MCA 1-5-609(1). Also see Notary Terms Venue of this handbook, and the Checklist for Proper Notarizations, Step 1.
20. False. See MCA 1-5-609(1). Also see FAQ #4.
21. False. When determining the identity of an unknown individual, a notary should request current, signed, and pictured ID. These include a driver’s license, a military of student ID, a passport or other government-issued ID. Birth certificates, social security cards, green cards, and other documents which do not have a current picture and signature of the bearer, are of no use in identifying an individual. Credit cards and other privately issued documents may not have required an adequate level of identification for issuance and should not be relied upon.
22. False. Montana statutes do not currently regulate signing agents per se. A Montana notary is acting on behalf of the State of Montana regardless of the type of notarial act being performed.
23. FALSE!!!!!!!!! See MCA 1-5-603(3), “the notarial officer shall determine…that the signature is that of the person appearing before the officer…” [Emphasis added].
24. False. A notary does not notarize a document. See MCA 1-5-416(1)(a – e) and MCA 1-5-603(1 – 5). It is perfectly acceptable to notarize only one (or less than all) of the signatures on a document. In the description of the type of notarial act (Step 3 of the 9 elements of a proper notarization) the notary should very clearly state exactly who appeared before him/her and whose signatures were notarized.
25. True. If there is absolutely no room for the notarial block near the signature, the next best place is on the reverse of the document. If that is not possible, a notarial block may be placed on a separate sheet of paper, but it is very important that the notary very clearly identify the type of document, the date of the document and any other pertinent data, as well as the name of the person whose signature is being notarized, so that there is no possibility of the notarization being applied to a different document. That paper should then be attached to the document.
26. False. See MCA 1-5-416(1)(d). Either a crimper or an ink stamp is acceptable. See page 2 of this handbook for additional information.
27. True. See MCA 1-5-416(1)(e).
28. True – with conditions. See MCA 1-5-416 (2)(b). If a notary is named in the document or has an interest from which the notary will directly benefit as a result of the transaction, he/she may not notarize the signature – regardless of whose signature it is.
29. False. The Certificate of Commission is the official proof that notary has been commissioned by the Secretary of State, and provides notice of the official name of the notary and the dates of his/her commission. Until, and unless, you have received it you may not assume your notary commission has been issued. (The notary bond is to be submitted to the Secretary of State’s office with the completed application and filing fee – you should not have the original bond in your files.)
30. True. A copy of these statutes, current through the 2005 Legislative session, can be found at MCA.
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