Prohibited Acts, Conflicts of Interest, and Remedies
Prohibited conduct
A notary may not notarize the notary's own signature and may not perform a notarial act in which the notary is a party or has a direct beneficial interest. The commission is not a license to practice law: do not draft legal documents, explain legal effect, or advise which document to use unless separately authorized. Do not charge more than the statutory fee, use the seal for unlawful purposes, or certify a copy when the law does not permit it. Never pre-sign, backdate, or complete a certificate for an absent signer.
Conflicts
Conflicts commonly arise with spouses, relatives, employers, and business partners. Nebraska law may not categorically ban every family notarization, but a direct financial or beneficial interest is disqualifying, and even a family relationship can create an appearance of bias. The safe practice is to decline when impartiality is questionable and refer the signer to a disinterested notary.
Remedies
The Secretary of State may deny, suspend, revoke, or reprimand a commission and may seek a cease-and-desist order. An injured person may sue the notary and may claim against the surety bond; the bond is not liability insurance for the notary. Criminal penalties can apply to fraud, forgery, or misuse of a seal.
Trap
Questions test the difference between 'not recommended' and 'prohibited.' Notarizing a spouse's routine document may be a conflict to avoid, but notarizing a document in which the notary is a beneficiary is prohibited.
Worked example: A notary's brother asks the notary to notarize a deed transferring the brother's house to the notary. Decline, because the notary has a direct beneficial interest.