Prohibited Acts, Conflicts of Interest, and Ethics
The Integrity Core
Notarial authority is public trust. Connecticut law and the Secretary of the State's guidance prohibit acts that convert that trust into personal advantage or that create a financial or personal stake in the transaction being notarized.
Prohibited Acts to Know
- Notarizing your own signature or a document to which you are a party or in which you have a beneficial interest.
- Notarizing for a spouse, parent, child, or sibling, or where a family or financial relationship compromises impartiality.
- Overcharging beyond the statutory fee.
- False certificates or certificates completed without the signer present.
- Using the seal to advertise, endorse, or lend credibility to a product or service.
- Soliciting business using the notary title in ways the statute restricts; representing oneself as an attorney.
- Performing acts while impaired or where the signer appears coerced or confused.
Traps to Expect
- A question where the notary is also the real estate agent earning a commission - the beneficial interest bars the act.
- "The signer is my brother, but it's a simple form" - family relationship is still a conflict.
- Answers suggesting the notary may "witness as a favor" without a certificate or journal entry.
- Items implying that a notary who is also a paralegal may explain legal effect.
Rule of Thumb
Ask: Do I gain, or does someone close to me gain, from this document? If yes, decline and direct the signer to another notary. Impartiality is the product you are selling.
Worked Example
A notary's cousin asks her to notarize a power of attorney naming the cousin as agent. The notary should decline - the family relationship creates a conflict - and refer the cousin to an unrelated notary.