Notario Publico, the Photocopied Birth Certificate, and the Spanish Certificate

Both are problems, and they are the same problem.

• "Notario publico." In many Spanish-speaking countries a notario is a legal professional with authority far beyond a U.S. notary. Advertising that way in a community with immigration concerns leads customers to believe Luis can give legal advice and represent them. That is misleading advertising and invites an unauthorized-practice-of-law complaint. The sign should be corrected to say plainly, in both languages, that Luis is a notary public commissioned by the State of Ohio, is not an attorney, and cannot give legal advice.
• Filling out the form. Choosing the form, deciding how to answer questions, and advising on what "to put" is legal advice - it is the practice of law. A notary may not do it, and may not do it indirectly by completing a blank form "for" a family member who is not even present (who, incidentally, cannot be notarized by proxy anyway).
• The narrow thing Luis may do: notarize the signature of a person who appears before him, has completed the form himself or with a qualified representative, is identified, and swears to or acknowledges the signature.

Correct response: decline the preparation, hand the customer a referral list of immigration attorneys and DOJ-accredited representatives, and notarize only if the signer himself appears with a completed form.

Three separate issues, three separate answers.

1. Birth certificate - no. A notary may not certify a copy of a public record or a document issued by a public official. The customer must obtain a certified copy from the vital records office that holds the original. A photocopy with a notary stamp on it is not a certified record, and the state board will reject it.
2. Diploma - depends on the act and the custodian. A notary may perform only the notarial acts Ohio authorizes, and copy certification is not a catch-all. Even where copy certification is available, the reliable route for a diploma is a certified copy from the registrar of the school that issued it. Luis should confirm what act he is actually authorized to perform before stamping anything, and should never certify "true copy" of a document he did not see executed and cannot verify.
3. "Authenticate" for Spain - not a notary's act. Authentication and apostilles are issued by the Ohio Secretary of State after the underlying document has been properly notarized; for use in a foreign country the document typically needs that authentication/apostille. Luis can notarize the signature of the person swearing to the document, and he can explain the sequence. He cannot perform the authentication, cannot promise it the same day, and should not describe his notarial certificate as an authentication.

Correct handling: Luis completes the English notary block - not the Spanish one - because the certificate is his statement of what he did as an Ohio notary, and it must be wording he can read, complete, and stand behind. The foreign-language block on the document is not his certificate; he should not sign or stamp inside foreign notarial wording he cannot verify means what Ohio law requires.

The language issue goes to the core duties:

• Luis must be able to communicate directly with the signer to confirm identity, willingness, and understanding. If the signer speaks only a language Luis does not share, Luis uses a translator - ideally not a family member or anyone with an interest in the transaction - and records in the journal that a translator was used.
• If Luis cannot confirm that the person understands what he is signing, he must not notarize. A signature obtained without comprehension is exactly what a later challenge will allege.
• "Sounded right in Spanish" is not a defense. The notary's certificate must accurately describe the act actually performed, and it must be in a form Luis can read and verify line by line.