The Vacation Notarization
Alan is a Kansas notary who lives in Hays. He takes a vacation to Destin, Florida, in June. A friend, Priya, who is also vacationing there, asks him to notarize two documents: a Kansas vehicle title transfer for a car she sold to her cousin, and a Kansas advance directive for her mother. Alan brought his seal and commission certificate. He performs both acknowledgments at a beach house on June 12, writing 'State of Kansas, County of Ellis' on the certificates because that is his home county. Priya signs in his presence, and he completes the certificates. A week later, the Kansas Department of Revenue rejects the title because the notarization shows a Kansas venue but was performed in Florida. Priya's mother's doctor also questions the advance directive. Alan says, 'I'm a Kansas notary; my commission is statewide, so I can notarize anywhere.'
1. Is Alan correct that a Kansas notary commission is statewide and therefore valid anywhere? Explain the geographic limit.
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No. A Kansas notary commission is statewide in the sense that the notary may perform notarial acts in any county within Kansas. It is not a license to notarize anywhere in the United States. A notary's authority is territorial. When Alan was physically in Destin, Florida, he was outside the geographic limits of his Kansas commission. He had no Kansas notarial authority there. The fact that the documents are Kansas documents does not change the analysis; the notarial act occurs where the notary and signer are physically located when the act is performed. If Alan wanted to notarize while in Florida, he would need to be commissioned as a Florida notary or use a Florida notary, subject to Florida law. A Kansas remote online notarization commission would not help him either if Kansas requires the notary to be physically located in Kansas during the remote act.
2. What is wrong with writing 'State of Kansas, County of Ellis' on a certificate for an act performed in Florida?
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The venue is false. A notarial certificate must state the place where the notarial act actually occurred. Alan was in Okaloosa County, Florida, not Ellis County, Kansas. Writing 'State of Kansas, County of Ellis' makes it appear that the acknowledgment occurred in Kansas when it did not. That is a false certification and can invalidate the document or cause it to be rejected. The Kansas Department of Revenue rejected the title for exactly this reason. The problem is not a typo or a missing detail; it goes to the notary's authority and the integrity of the certificate. Alan should not try to fix it by crossing out Florida and writing Kansas, and he should not backdate the certificate to a date when he was in Kansas.
3. What should Alan have done, and what are the consequences for the two documents?
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Alan should have declined to notarize while physically outside Kansas. For the vehicle title, Priya could have waited until she was back in Kansas and appeared before a Kansas notary, or she could have used a Florida notary if Florida law and the Kansas Department of Revenue accept a Florida acknowledgment for a Kansas title. For the advance directive, the signer should appear before a notary with authority in the place where the signer is located, or the document should be re-notarized in Kansas. Both documents are now defective because the notarial acts were performed outside Alan's jurisdiction and the certificates show a false venue. They should be re-notarized by a properly commissioned notary. Alan should stop using his seal for out-of-state acts and should understand that performing a notarial act outside Kansas can expose him to discipline, even if the signer and document have Kansas connections.