CVLE Notary Vocational Examination flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Authentic act

A document drawn up by a public officer with the required formalities, carrying a presumption of authenticity and, in many civil-law systems, executory force.

Publica fides

The faith given to an authentic instrument: it is presumed genuine and accurate unless challenged and annulled through a judicial procedure.

Professional secrecy

The notary's continuing duty not to disclose facts learned in the exercise of the office, surviving the end of practice and binding staff and successors.

Notarial disinterestedness

The requirement that the notary hold no personal, financial, or family stake in the transaction, so that advice to all parties remains neutral.

Expedition (notarial copy)

An authentic copy of a retained minute issued by the notary and marked as such, having the same evidentiary value as the original kept in the office.

Date certaine

The fixed date given to an instrument by notarial execution or registration, making it enforceable against third parties and preventing backdating.

Minute

The original notarial instrument retained in the notary's office, bearing the parties' and notary's signatures, from which all copies are issued.

Reading requirement

The rule that the notary must read the instrument to the parties, or have them read it, before signature, confirming comprehension and free approval.

Credential analysis

A process validating the authenticity of a government-issued identity document through data sources, security features, and tamper checks during identity proofing.

Undue influence screening

A private, out-of-earshot interview in which the notary asks open questions to detect coercion, pressure, or control by a family member or beneficiary.

Sound mind test

An assessment that the party understands the nature and effect of the act, the property and persons involved, and can express a consistent choice.

Sworn interpreter

A neutral interpreter who is not a party, beneficiary, or staff member, whose identity and oath are recorded in the notarial record.

Prohibited degree of kinship

The family relationship limit, commonly third or fourth degree, within which a notary may not act for a relative of a party.

Self-dealing prohibition

The rule barring a notary from drafting or authenticating an act in which the notary, spouse, or close relative is a party or beneficiary.

Impartial advice duty

The obligation to inform every party equally about the act's legal effects and risks, without advocating for the party who chose or pays the notary.

Conflict imputation

The attribution of a notary's conflict of interest to the notary's employees and partners, disqualifying the whole office from the act.

Repertoire

The chronological register in which the notary records every act: number, date, parties, nature, and fee, forming the index to the minutes.

Retention schedule

The rule setting minimum storage periods per document class, usually the longest applicable limitation period plus a safety margin.

Marginal correction

A correction made in the margin of a register or minute, dated and initialled, so the original entry remains legible and traceable.

Apostille

A standardized certificate under the 1961 Hague Convention authenticating the origin of a public document's signature and seal between member states.

Legalization chain

The sequential certification of a notarial signature by the foreign ministry and then the destination consulate, used where the Apostille Convention does not apply.

Certified true copy

A copy compared against the original by the notary, marked as conforming, and recording any alterations, missing pages, or illegible elements.

e-Apostille

An electronically issued Apostille carrying a digital signature and online verification, used for public documents that exist in electronic form.

Client trust account

A separate bank account holding funds received for clients, never mixed with the notary's operating money, reconciled monthly against the client ledger.

Three-way reconciliation

A monthly check that the bank balance, the client ledger control total, and the sum of individual client balances agree, with shortfalls corrected at once.

Tariff fee

A statutorily fixed or capped remuneration calculated by a scale on transaction value, which the notary may not discount or supplement.

Remote online notarization

Execution of a notarial act where parties and notary are in different places, connected by audio-video, with electronic signature, seal, and session recording.

Knowledge-based authentication

An identity-proofing method that asks questions drawn from commercial and public records to which only the true person should know the answers.

Notarial journal

A sequential electronic or paper log of every act, recording date, parties, identification method, fee, and recording reference for later audit.

Forced heirship

The rule reserving a fixed share of an estate to certain heirs, commonly children, which the deceased cannot freely dispose of by will.

Usufruct

A right to use and take the fruits of another's property while keeping its substance intact, ending at the holder's death unless otherwise set.

Mortgage (hypothec)

A registered security over immovable property that lets the creditor enforce against the asset regardless of who owns it at the time.