The Branch Manager's Verification of Deposit
Elena is a notary employed as a loan assistant at an Arkansas bank; her commission and bond are current, and the bank paid for both. On Friday her branch manager, Greg, asks her to notarize his signature on a "Verification of Deposit" form. The form states that the bank "has verified the depositor's balance of $412,000" and expressly names Elena as the employee who performed the verification. Elena verified nothing; Greg filled in the figure from memory. Greg says the loan closes Monday and the underwriter "just needs a stamp." Greg then asks Elena to notarize his signature on his own affidavit of identity for a personal home purchase, and to notarize a signature card for an account held by Greg's wife, "because she can't get away from work."
1. Analyze the Verification of Deposit request. What exactly would Elena be certifying, and may she proceed?
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She may not proceed.
A notarial certificate speaks only to the signing - that Greg appeared, was identified, and acknowledged the signature. It does not vouch for the truth of the content. That distinction does not save Elena here, because the problem is not the certificate but her role in the instrument: the form names her as the person who verified the $412,000 balance. By completing the certificate under her name and seal she would be placing her official authority behind a document that attributes a false statement of fact to her, and she has a direct interest in whether that statement is true.
Refusing a document in which the notary is a party or named participant, or has a beneficial interest, is squarely within the prohibited-acts provisions of the Notary Public Act. The fix is a corrected form prepared and verified by someone who actually checked the balance - not a stamp.
2. What about Greg's personal affidavit of identity and his wife's signature card?
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Affidavit of identity: generally permissible. Being Greg's employee does not disqualify Elena; familiarity through work is a normal basis for notarial practice. She must still have Greg appear, identify him with satisfactory evidence or personal knowledge, administer the oath properly (a jurat, not an acknowledgment), and journal the act, including the ID details. She should pause only if she has a genuine stake in his purchase - e.g., if she were a co-borrower, the loan officer on that file, or a beneficiary.
Wife's signature card: no. The wife must appear personally with satisfactory identification. "She can't get away from work" is precisely the situation in which the appearance requirement does its job; Greg's presence and his assurances prove nothing about her identity or voluntariness. The wife can sign before a notary near her office, or use a mobile notary.
3. If Elena refuses the Verification of Deposit and Greg suggests her job is at risk, how should she reason about that?
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A notary commission is personal to the notary, not to the employer. The bank may set internal policy, but it cannot make the commission a tool of the branch: responsibility for each act, and liability on the bond, stays with Elena.
- Performing a prohibited act to keep a supervisor happy exposes her to commission suspension or revocation, civil liability, and a bond claim; following the Act is not insubordination.
- The correct move is to decline in writing, say why in neutral terms (the form misstates who verified the balance and names her), and route the request to the bank's compliance officer.
- She should keep her own dated record of what was asked and what she refused.
Her obligation runs to the Act first. An employer's urgency or a closing deadline does not create an exception.