Often when I'm out visiting clients to perform notarizations, people always tell me this: "Nobody has ever done that before". I ask them: what? They say that a Notary Public has never asked them to raise their hands and swear that the contents of a document are true. I am always amazed when they tell me that. Why? Well, because there are 2 kinds of notarizations: Acknowledgements and Jurats. Both types are quite common, and both types are frequently found in loan document packages. I am quite sure that in the case of Jurats, many notaries do not perform the oath, which is required by California law (and other state laws, as well).
Once I trying to do business with a company that signed up people to mortgage loans. This company had the ability to lend through many institutions- WAMU, Countrywide, and more. This financial company received commissions when they sold mortgage loans with these lenders. They proposed to me that I might start notarizing their loan documents, but told me that they would turn all the pages, the signers would sign the documents, and I would simply stamp everything and not say a word. "What about giving the clients the oath on Jurats?", I asked. "What are you talking about?", they wanted to know. I told them that by California law, the Notary must see the signers sign the documents, and the Notary must give an oath to the clients". "David, you had better never give any client an oath. You'll scare them. [The President of the Company] would have a heart attack if you did that", I was told. "Well, I don't know what your Notary has been doing, but if they haven't been giving oaths to your clients, they are not doing their JOB!" I said. I wound up not doing any notarizations for that company, mainly for this reason. (I was also lied to initially and told that I would be paid $200 per notarization- then I found out that they would only pay me $100, and their company would keep the other $100).
Another time, I was called into a Mortgage Company, which couldn't reach its regular Notary. When I performed a Jurat for the clients and gave an oath, the loan officer asked me why I was doing that. "It is required by law for a Jurat", I said. I was told that their Notary never did that. Again, I told them that the Notary wasn't doing their job. It seems to me that because Notaries compel people to tell the truth when giving Jurats, many companies, who often lie themselves and don't care about the law or the truth, will frequently use Notaries who don't challenge them. Listen up, Notaries: failure to perform the oath on a Jurat can come back to seriously bite you. If it ever comes out in a court or administative hearing from the Secretary of State that you failed to administer a required oath for a Jurat, you will be subject to a huge fine- something like $7,500 (I have to check the Secretary of State's website for the exact amount, but it is substatial.)
In closing, Notaries should respect themselves and their job, and do everything that is required by law. In doing your job well, you will feel pride in your work and know that you are doing the right thing. The mortgage companies look out for themselves. Your signers rely on you to do your job correctly.
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