NE Notary common mistakes
NE Notary · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Choosing the certificate to match the signer's request - for example, writing a jurat when the signer merely acknowledged a signature - instead of matching the certificate to the notarial act actually performed.
Candidates memorize certificate layouts without linking them to the underlying act, and signers often ask for 'whatever stamp you have.'
What to do instead
Identify the act first. If the signer must swear or affirm and sign in the notary's presence, use a jurat. If the signer is only acknowledging a signature already made, use an acknowledgment. Complete only the certificate for the act performed.
Accepting a pre-signed affidavit and administering the oath later, or taking an acknowledgment from a signer who is not physically present.
Candidates focus on whether the paper is complete and conflate the appearance rule across different act types.
What to do instead
Apply act-specific appearance rules: for a jurat, the signer signs in the notary's presence and then swears or affirms; for an acknowledgment, the signer may sign earlier but must personally appear, be identified, and acknowledge the signature. Refuse if the signer is absent.
Proceeding when the signer cannot answer basic questions, appears coerced, or is signing at someone else's direction.
The notary wants to be helpful and fears offending the person accompanying the signer.
What to do instead
Screen privately. Ask the signer to confirm the document and willingness to sign. If understanding or voluntariness is doubtful, decline and note the refusal. A notary cannot notarize for a person who does not understand the act.
Notarizing a signature on a document where the notary is a signer, party, or beneficiary, or notarizing for a spouse, parent, or child without pausing to evaluate the conflict.
Most requests come from family, employers, and business associates, and notaries want to accommodate people they know.
What to do instead
Never notarize your own signature or an act in which you have a direct beneficial interest. For close relatives or business associates, decline if your impartiality could be questioned and have an independent notary perform the act; document the refusal.
Explaining the legal effect of a document or telling the signer which type of certificate, deed, or power of attorney will 'make it valid.'
Signers ask practical questions, and candidates blur notarial procedure with legal advice.
What to do instead
Describe only the notarial act and the steps you will perform. State that you cannot explain the document or give legal advice and refer the signer to an attorney. Do not select a legal outcome for the signer.
Charging a fee that exceeds the statutory per-act maximum or adding an unlisted travel or document-preparation charge.
Mobile notaries and signing agents often bundle services and assume market rates apply.
What to do instead
Know the statutory maximum fee per notarial act and charge only that amount plus any specifically authorized expense. Itemize and disclose charges before the act, and do not charge for an act you refused or for legal advice.
Assuming the commission begins when the application is mailed or the bond is purchased, then notarizing before the commission is issued or after it expires.
The application, bond, oath, and commission dates are separate steps, but candidates treat them as one transaction.
What to do instead
Verify the effective and expiration dates on the commission and confirm the bond term covers the entire commission. Do not perform any notarial act until the commission is in effect, and calendar the expiration date.
Treating the surety bond as the notary's malpractice insurance and telling a signer the bond will pay for the notary's errors.
The word 'bond' sounds like coverage, and candidates do not distinguish a surety obligation from liability insurance.
What to do instead
Understand that the bond is a surety obligation that protects the public and provides recourse for certain misconduct up to the statutory amount, while the notary remains personally liable. Maintain separate errors-and-omissions coverage if desired, and never describe the bond as insurance.
Using a certificate that omits required elements - venue, date of the act, signer's name, notary signature, commission expiration date, or the seal - because the form came from another state or an old pad.
Preprinted forms and stamp layouts vary, and candidates focus on the signature line rather than the whole certificate.
What to do instead
Use a Nebraska-compliant certificate checklist for every act: state and county venue, date, signer identification, exact act language, notary signature, commission expiration, and a legible seal. Reject preprinted forms that lack any element.
Skipping the journal entry when the signer is known, or recording only the name and date while omitting the ID type and number, act type, and fee.
The journal feels like bureaucracy, and candidates think familiar signers do not need a record.
What to do instead
Make a journal entry contemporaneously for every notarial act, including date and time, signer name and address, ID type and number or credible witness, act type, and fee charged. Retain the journal for the statutory period and keep it secure.