Prohibited Acts, Signature and Official Seal/Signature Requirements
Prohibited Acts
Practicing law without a license
A notary may not draft documents, select which document a client needs, explain legal effect, or tell someone whether to sign. Supplying a form and performing the mechanics is fine; advice is not. Using the title "notary public" to advertise legal, real-estate, or immigration services crosses the line, and a non-attorney may not hold out as a "notario."
Self-dealing and financial interest
A notary may not take an acknowledgment or administer an oath on a document in which the notary is a party or holds a beneficial interest, and may not notarize his or her own signature. Never notarize a blank or incomplete instrument that someone else will fill in later.
Seal and certificate abuses
It is misconduct to let another person use the notary's stamp, to use a stamp that misstates the name, county, or expiration date, to issue a false certificate, or to act after the commission expires or before the oath is filed. New York notaries are not authorized to certify copies of documents, certify that a person is alive, or issue apostilles - those functions belong to other officials.
Fees and conduct
Charging more than the statutory fee, splitting fees with a non-lawyer, or conditioning a notarial act on a purchase are prohibited. A notary may decline to perform any act, and should refuse when the signer is not present, not identified, unwilling, or apparently incompetent.
Rule of thumb: if the service requires judgment about what the document means or should say, it is law practice, not notarizing.
Signature and Official Seal/Signature Requirements
Required contents of the stamp
Every notarial certificate must carry the notary's signature in the same form as the name on the commission, plus a legible image of the official stamp. The stamp must show (1) the notary's name exactly as commissioned, (2) "Notary Public, State of New York," (3) the county of qualification, (4) the commission expiration date, and (5) any identification number assigned by the Department of State. An outdated expiration date or a former surname on the stamp invalidates the proof of authority and causes recording offices to reject the document.
Signature and application
Sign by hand, in ink, in the certificate area, and stamp close enough that the seal clearly relates to the signature. The impression must reproduce on a photocopy, so a heavy embosser used alone is poor practice; an inked stamp is what recorders expect. Never pre-sign or pre-stamp a certificate, never leave the date blank, and never sign a certificate describing an event that did not happen.
Electronic notarization
New York's remote notarization program lets a registered notary use an electronic signature and electronic seal containing the same required elements, keep an electronic journal of the acts, and verify the signer by approved means. The notary must be physically located in New York when the act is performed.
Traps
A missing expiration date, a missing county, or a name change not reflected in the commission are classic answer choices.
Rule of thumb: signature plus stamp, both matching the commission exactly, or the certificate is defective no matter how proper the ceremony was.