Powers and Duties of a Notary Public
Scope of authority
An Indiana notary is an impartial public officer with limited authority. Core powers include administering oaths and affirmations, taking acknowledgments, taking jurats and affidavits, taking depositions, certifying copies of documents in permitted circumstances, and protesting negotiable instruments where authorized. A notary must act only when the signer appears personally before the notary, is identified by satisfactory evidence, and indicates willingness to sign. The notary must not act if the signer is absent, unwilling, or not understood.
Duties and limits
- Require personal appearance; remote notarization is allowed only under the separate statutory procedures and technology rules.
- Identify the signer through personal knowledge or satisfactory identification.
- Administer the oath or affirmation when the certificate requires it; do not merely watch a signature.
- Complete the certificate at the time of the act, with venue, date, notary signature, name, commission number, expiration date, and seal.
- Certify copies only of documents the notary is allowed to copy; do not certify public records that a custodian must certify, such as birth certificates or court records.
- Do not notarize the notary’s own signature or a document in which the notary is a party or has a beneficial interest.
- Do not give legal advice, choose a certificate type for the parties, or prepare legal documents.
Worked example
A bank asks Pat to notarize a copy of a customer’s passport. Pat may make a copy certification only if Indiana law permits that document to be copy-certified by a notary. A passport is a federal public record, and copy certification of public records is outside a notary’s authority; the customer should obtain a certified copy from the issuing agency. Pat should decline and explain the limit rather than stamping the copy.
Traps
- Believing the notary certifies truth or authenticity; the notary certifies the act performed.
- Notarizing without personal appearance because the signature “looks genuine.”
- Using the seal to endorse a product or add credibility to a business document.
- Treating copy certification as unlimited.