News from Virginia Notary Public Classes

Virginia Notary Public Classes eNews

Volume 2, Issue 4

April 2008

Notaries-at-large in the Commonwealth

Virginia notaries have the power to perform notarial acts in any city/county/town in the Commonwealth. In many states notaries can only notarize in the jurisdiction where they were commissioned. Please make sure you know the locality of the notarization.

For example, Acorn Sales Company has a Richmond address. Even though it appears to be in the City of Richmond, Acorn is located in Henrico County.

Virginia notaries have limited powers in performing notarial acts outside the Commonwealth. These limited powers are restricted to documents which are recorded in Virginia. For example, if you are a Virginia Notary Public who is visiting the Maryland office of your Employer and that office had a Deed of Trust document which is going to be recorded in Virginia, you can be physically in Maryland and notarize that document using your Virginia Notary commission and seal.

Recordable Document: 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.

Non-Recordable Document: 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.

MISSED AN ISSUE OF VNPC eNEWS? We now have an Archives. Our premier issue, October 2007, through March 2008 can be viewed at VNPC eNews Archives.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

My name is too long to fit on my embosser. What should I do?

Recently a notary public discovered that her middle name had not been spelled out when she purchased her embosser. Remember that your notary certificate name must match your notary inking seal or courthouse

embosser.

The average size of an embosser seal is 1 5/8". According to Adam Raidabaugh of Acorn Sales Company, if you have a longer name, please request a 2" embosser seal when your place your order. This should accommodate your full name.

My boss wants me to notarize documents using embossed gold foil seals. Are they photographically reproducible?

This question was recently asked in an ACE "Notary Basics" class. Having never used gold foils for official notary work, Bryce Hall decided to test gold foils to find out if they are photographically reproducible.

The initial results were that they copied completely black. You could not read any embossed wording. You can not darken them with ink because the ink doesn't absorb on the foil. However, if you have a high powered copier set on a very light setting, you can see a photographically reproducible seal.

Our recommendation is to always use both the inking seal and the embosser on all documents whether you are using foil seals or not.

I purchased a new notary inking seal and embosser. How do I destroy my expired ones?

Self inking seals can be destroyed by peeling off the rubber strip with the tip of your scissors, cutting it up, and then throwing it away.

Virginia Notary Law does not specify how to destroy a seal. The important issue is that destroying old seals protects you library

against possible theft and fraudulent use.

A suggestion to make your embosser unusable is to file down the letters in the insert so that no impression is made at all. You can always purchase a new insert to use with your embosser handle which reads"Library of" or has your name and address to use on your stationary.

Money Saving Tips from Bryce Hall

Miles per Gallon Calculator

13 Easy Ways To Save Money On Gas

ATTENTION EMPLOYERS: Are your Employee Notaries fully trained in Virginia Notary Public Law? Do you know what your liability as a Notary Employer is?

We offer "Notary Basics" and "Notary Law & Procedures Refresher" training at your location in order to accommodate you and your employee notaries. Be confident in your Employee Notaries' notary skills. Contact Bryce Hall at 804 240-3631 for complete details.

We also have Monday classes at Acorn Sales Company in Richmond on April 14th & 28th in order to accommodate Employee Notaries.

Notary Spotlight

Cynthia Cypress - Notary Public

Cynthia Cypress, a new Notary in Prince William County, is the owner of CJC TRAVEL SITE, LLC. Cynthia

Cynthia looks forward to expanding her professional abilities as a notary for her travel business and satisfying the needs of her communities. As a notary, Cynthia is committed to providing reliable and dependable service to her clients serving the Northern VA and surrounding areas.

Note: For more information about Cynthia's Travel Business, visit her website: www.cjctravelsite.com (Travel) or www.cdcgrouptravel.biz (Travel & Marketing). "Come join us as we change the way the world travels."

Mid Atlantic Mobile Notary Services - Golf Cart Service in Virginia & Maryland

One of the Virginia's best kept secrets is the quaint "Golf Cart" community of Colonial Beach, located in Westmoreland County, VA. Possessing the second largest beach front in the state, Colonial Beach's "Point" is on a peninsula. The Potomac River is under Maryland's control and Monroe Bay belongs to Virginia. That means when you are on the Potomac River you are actually in Maryland. The Riverboat restaurant located on courthouse

the Potomac River is a Maryland off track / keno establishment.

Bryce Hall of Mid Atlantic Mobile Notary Services travels around the beach each season in her golf cart offering her unique mobile notary services. Bryce, who is a commissioned notary public in both Virginia and Maryland, can provide notary services "by land or by sea".

In May, Bryce will offer Virginia Notary Public Classes in Colonial Beach. If you live in the Northern Neck and are interested in "Notary Basics" or "Notary Law & Procedures Refresher" classes, please call Bryce at 804 240-3631.

Reminder from the Notary Division: All Virginia notaries are notaries at-large and have authority to perform all notarial acts anywhere within the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Virginia notaries have limited powers in performing notarial acts outside the Commonwealth of Virginia. However, documents notarized out of the Commonwealth by Virginia notary publics must be recorded in Virginia. Virginia Notary Handbook - Section 47.1-13 , page 16

Meet Our Sponsor

Carol Butler - The Butler Company

Carol Butler of the Butler Company has been in the real estate business for over 30 years. She teaches a pre-licensing class for the Virginia title insurance underwriter's exam. It is a one-day class that prepares you for the Virginia State Exam. Carol's pre-licensing class is recommended as Step 1 for Virginia Notary Signing Agents who are seeking CRESPA registration.

Carol's class is available at a variety of locations and online. Please visit her website for dates and locations. There is still time to become a licensed title insurance agent before the law changes (proposed changes would be effective July 1, 2008) requiring 16 hours of mandatory instruction.

NEWS FROM THE VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY:

HB 431 - Title insurance agents; pre-licensing education course. Effective July 1, 2008, applicants for a resident title insurance agent license will have to complete, within the year preceding application and examination, at least 16 hours of instruction through a classroom or distance education. proposal will require 16 hours of prelicensing education (CRESPA, RESPA, Wet Settlement Act, etc.) before sitting for the title insurance exam..

Senate Bill 118: This bill was passed and reads "Under prohibitions: 3. Notarize a signature on a document without notarial certificate wording on the same page as the signature unless the notarial certificate includes the name of each person whose signature is being notarized." This bill is not in effect yet so remember you can NOT notarize "loose certificates" until the official announcement of the change which is expected July 1, 2008.

In This Issue

Discounted Notary Supplies

It's Spring!
Take A Class!

Bryce Hall takes our Mobile Classroom on the road monthly to teach "Notary Basics" and "Notary Law & Procedures Refresher" and notary signing agent classes.

Check out our complete Schedule of Classes for all class descriptions, dates, and locations nearest you.

04/07/08 - Springfield

Notary Basics

10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Notary Law & Procedures Refresher

1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

04/14/08 - Richmond

Notary Basics

9:00 a.m.- 11:00 a.m.

3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Notary Law & Procedures Refresher

12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.