With several notable exceptions, it is the duty of a California notary public to notarize upon request any properly submitted document for any person, upon receipt of applicable fees, anywhere in the State of California. (Government Code section 6110) The cases where a notary either cannot or may not be allowed to notarize a properly submitted document occur when:
Subject to certain conditions, the notary's private employer has imposed restrictions on them,
The notary's employer is a governmental entity (a "public" employer),
The notary has a financial or beneficial interest in the document, or
Clear communication is lacking.
These exceptions to the duty to notarize are explained below.
Notary is Privately Employed
If a notary is privately employed - that is, working for a non-governmental employer - that employer and the notary public employee may form an agreement whereby the employer pays the premiums on any bond and the cost of other notarial supplies on behalf of the notary public employee.
The agreement may also stipulate that fees collected by the notary public be given to the employer, in which case the private employer must use them to credit the fund from which the notary public is paid. (Government Code section 8202.7) Under such an agreement and during the employee's ordinary course of employment, the employer may limit the providing of notarial services by the employee solely to transactions directly associated with the business purposes of the employer. (Government Code section 8202.8)
Notary is a Government Employee
The Secretary of State may appoint and commission the number of state, city, county, and public school district employees as notaries public to act for and on behalf of the governmental entity for which appointed which the Secretary of State deems proper. Whenever a notary is appointed and commissioned, a duly authorized representative of the employing governmental entity shall execute a certificate that the appointment is made for the purposes of the employing governmental entity, and whenever the certificate is filed with any state or county officer, no fees shall be charged by the officer for the filing or issuance of any document in connection with the appointment.
The state or any city, county, or school district for which the notary public is appointed and commissioned pursuant to this section may pay from any funds available for its support the premiums on any bond and the cost of any stamps, seals, or other supplies required in connection with the appointment, commission, or performance of the duties of the notary public.
Any fees collected or obtained by any notary public whose documents have been filed without charge and for whom bond premiums have been paid by the employer of the notary public shall be remitted by the notary public to the employing agency which shall deposit the funds to the credit of the fund from which the salary of the notary public is paid. (Government Code section 8202.5)
Notary Has a Conflict of Interest
A notary public may notarize for relatives unless doing so would provide a direct financial or beneficial interest to the notary public. A direct financial or beneficial interest in a transaction is present when either of the following conditions are true
The notary public is named as a principal to the financial transaction, or
The notary public is named as a grantor, grantee, mortgagor, mortgagee, trustor, trustee, beneficiary, vendor, vendee, lessor, or lessee, to a real property transaction.
In these cases, the notary may not notarize since their participation would present a conflict of interest.
A notary public is not considered to have a direct financial or beneficial interest in a transaction where the notary public acts in the capacity of an agent, employee, insurer, attorney, escrow, or lender for a person having a direct financial or beneficial interest in the transaction. In these cases, the notary may notarize. (Government Code section 8224) In any case, with California's community property law, special care should be taken if notarizing for a spouse or a domestic partner. Under no circumstance may the notary notarize his or her own signature.
Clear Communication is Missing
When notarizing a signature on a jurat or acknowledgment, a notary public must be able to communicate with their customer in order for the signer to either swear to or affirm the contents of the affidavit or to acknowledge the execution of the document.
An interpreter should not be used, as vital information could be lost in translation. If a notary public is unable to communicate with a customer, the customer should be referred to a notary public who speaks the customer's language.