ALABAMA PROFESSIONAL NOTARY SERVICES
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WHAT IS AN ALABAMA NOTARY PUBLIC & THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES?
A Notary Public is an official of integrity appointed by the state government typically, by the secretary of state to serve the public as an impartial witness in performing a variety of official fraud-deterrent acts related to the signing of important documents. These official acts are called notarizations, or notarial acts. Notaries are publicly commissioned as “ministerial” officials, meaning that they are expected to follow written rules without the exercise of significant personal discretion, as would otherwise be the case with a “judicial” official.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF A NOTARY
Notary’s duty is to make sure the signers are aware of the contents of the documents they are signing, that the signer’s documents are for their true identity, and that they signed willingly without intimidation or coercion. Some examples of notarization documents consist of property deeds, prenuptial agreements, wills, and powers of attorney.
Notaries are dutifully bound to not act in their personal interest. The public trusts that the notary will be impartial and not refuse anyone based on nationality, sexual orientation, race, religion, or politics. The foundation of the Notary is impartiality.
General Notary Services Include:
Deeds of Trust
A deed of trust is an agreement between a home buyer and a lender at the closing of a property. It states that the home buyer will repay the loan and that the mortgage lender will hold the legal title to the property until the loan is fully paid. A deed of trust is a type of secured real estate transaction that some states use instead of mortgages.
There are three parties involved in a deed of trust:
- Trustor: This is the borrower.
- Trustee: This is the third party who will hold the legal title.
- Beneficiary: This is the lender.
A deed of trust must include several pieces of information to be a legally binding document.
These factors include:
- The original loan amount
- A description of the property
- Names for all parties involved
- The inception and maturity date of the loan
- Fees
- What happens in case of default
- Riders
- And more, depending on the nature of the sale.
I-9 Verifications
Form I-9 verifies the identity and
Marriage Licenses
Alabama no longer issues traditional marriage licenses. Instead, couples wanting to get wed will submit a notarized marriage certificate that will be recorded – but not issued – by Probate Judges. The notarized statement must be submitted within a month of being signed.
Passport Parental Consent
This form is used when one or both legal parents and/or legal guardians cannot apply in person with the child for that child’s passport. The legal parent/legal guardian who cannot apply with the child can give consent using this form or a written statement that includes all of the information on this form.
Power of Attorney (POA)
The term power of attorney (POA) refers to a legal authorization that gives a designated person the power to act for someone else. As such, a POA gives the agent or attorney-in-fact the authority to act on behalf of the principal. The agent may be given broad or limited authority to make decisions about the principal’s property, finances, investments, or medical care.
There are two main types of POAs, financial and health care—both of which provide the attorney-in-fact with general or limited powers.
Prenuptial Agreements
A prenuptial agreement (“prenup” for short) is a written contract created by two people before they are married. A prenup typically lists all of the property each person owns (as well as any debts) and specifies what each person’s property rights will be after the marriage.
Purchase Option Agreements
An option-to-purchase agreement gives a home buyer the exclusive right to purchase a property within a specified time period and for a fixed or sometimes variable price. This, in turn, prevents sellers from providing other parties with offers or selling to them within this time period.
Wills
A Will is written to guide your loved ones (and the courts) about how your estate should be distributed after you pass away. A Living Will makes sure medical decisions that are made on your behalf respect your wishes.
STEPS TO GETTING YOUR DOCUMENTS NOTARIZED:
First, contact us to make an appointment.
Request our mobile notary to come to you. We prefer appointments to eliminate wait times.
Second, we use the following guidelines to notarize your document:
- You must sign in front of the notary public.
- You must present a valid ID.
- You must bring the entire document, not just the signature page to be notarized.
- A notary must ensure the document is dated the same day as the notarization or earlier, but never later.
- The document must have an oath or acknowledgment language on it.
These are adequate forms of ID to bring:
- A current Alabama driver’s license or identity card
- A current foreign passport
- A current US Passport
- A current driver’s license or identity card issued by another state, a US territory, Canada, or Mexico
- A Permanent Resident Card or “Green Card”
If you do not have these forms of ID, other acceptable IDs must have these 4 elements:
- The card or document is issued by a government agency.
- It has a number assigned by that agency.
- It has a picture of the holder.
- It has the signature of the holder.
Social security cards, birth certificates, check cashing cards, credit cards and immigration cards are not suitable for identification. If a signer does not have a photo ID, then he/she will need two witnesses present who can swear to his/her identity in order to be certified. The oaths of the affirming witnesses are satisfactory evidence for certification.
WHAT DOCUMENTS CAN BE NOTARIZED
For a document to be notarized, it must contain: (1) language committing the signer in some way; (2) an original signature from the document signer; and (3) notarial certificate language, which can appear in the document itself or in an attachment.
Undated documents can be notarized. If the document has a space for a date, it should either be filled in or marked through. If the document does not have a space for a date, the signer may date it next to his or her signature or mark.
A document can be notarized when the signer is hospitalized or in a care home facility. However, the notary will make every effort to ensure that the signer is not incapacitated and that the signer understands what they are signing.
Faxes and photocopies can be notarized only when the document bears an original signature.
WHAT DOCUMENTS CANNOT BE NOTARIZED
An Alabama notary cannot certify a copy of a birth, marriage, or death certificate. If you need a certified copy of any of these certificates, you should contact the State Office of Vital Records or the County Clerk’s office in the county where the certificate was issued. For foreign certificates such as Consular Reports from Abroad, you will need to contact the consulate of the country in which the person was born, married, or died. Lastly, notary publics cannot notarize federally-issued documents. Examples of such documents are FBI Criminal History Reports, Certificates to Foreign Government, Patent Trademarks, and other documents.
If you are unsure, please contact us to discuss the type of document that you have, and we will let you know if we can help you.
Additional Notary Services
Field Inspections
JCNS Field Inspector personally visits properties and businesses to verify the information and then fills out reports for mortgage lenders, banks, and insurance companies.
Mobile Notary
Our mobile notary service is specifically designed to improve efficiency and save you time. Our agent will print your documents, come to your location, and execute your signing to simplify your day and get you back to work with minimal interruption.
Remote Online Notarization (RON)
We offer the notarization of documents remotely through the use of electronic signatures, identity verification, audio-visual and electronic notarial journal, and record-keeping technologies.
Test Proctor
Our professional Test Proctor services include various duties, including assisting in protecting confidential and valuable documents, invigilating students during exams or tests to prevent malpractice, and ensuring orderliness in the exam hall.
ARE YOU READY TO BECOME AN ALABAMA NOTARY PUBLIC?
Are you ready to become a notary public and want to know what requirements and/or certifications, and exams are needed to get your commission in the State of Alabama?
Discover how easy it is to become a notary public in Alabama using our step-by-step guide!
Our guide includes the following sections:
- Section 1: What is a Notary Public and Their Responsibilities?
- Section 2: Alabama Notary Public Requirements
- Section 3: Steps to Becoming an Alabama Notary Public
- Section 4: Top 25 Frequently Asked Questions
- Section 5: Additional Service Options for a Notary Public
BENEFITS OF BECOMING AN ALABAMA NOTARY PUBLIC
Becoming an Alabama notary public has a number of benefits. First and foremost, you have to be a notary public to become a loan signing agent, where you can make $75 to $200 per hour-long appointment. But even if you didn't do loan signings, being a notary public provides a great service to the community, it allows you to make money working for yourself on your own schedule, and it's a great way to enhance your skill set and resume!
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