Official Seal, Notarial Certificates, and Journal/Records
Seal
Hawaii notaries must use an official seal on notarial certificates. The seal must be legible and photographically reproducible and must identify the notary and the commission. It should include the notary's name, the words Notary Public, the State of Hawaii, and the commission expiration date. A notary may not use a seal after the commission expires and should not place the seal so that it obscures text.
Certificate content
A complete notarial certificate normally states the venue, meaning State of Hawaii, County of a named county, the date, the act performed, the signer's name, the notary's signature, the seal, and the commission expiration. The certificate must match the act: acknowledgment language for an acknowledgment, jurat language for a sworn statement. Missing venue, missing expiration, or a signature without a seal are common defects.
Journal and records
Hawaii requires notaries to keep a journal or record of notarial acts. A proper entry records the date and time, type of act, signer's name and address, identification relied on, and other details required by law. The journal is confidential in many respects and must be preserved for the statutory period; it may be inspected by authorized officials. It is not a substitute for the certificate, and the certificate is not a substitute for the journal.
Traps
Questions often test whether a seal is optional, whether the expiration date may be omitted, or whether a notary may keep records only in a computer without authorization. Another trap is a certificate that says notarized but omits the act. Worked example: A notary completes an acknowledgment but forgets the county in the venue. The certificate is defective; the notary should correct it properly, not backdate or alter the original after the fact.