What does a notary public do?
A notary public is an official appointed position by the Secretary of State’s department in a given state. Like most public officials, the State requires that the individual get a surety bond before getting their appointment. This bond “makes sure” that when the official violates the public trust through negligence of their responsibilities, funds are set aside to indemnify the State for its loss.
The primary responsibility of notaries public is to validate that the individual parties to a contract are who they claim to be. The State may suffer a loss if the notary fails to properly confirm the identity of the parties.
As a public official, the notary public harms the public trust by failing in their responsibility to confirm identity. If a Washington notary public doesn’t confirm identity and a loss occurs, an injured party can file a claim against that State for its loss, because the State was negligent through its appointed representative.
A surety bond is a promise to pay to the obligee (the State) should losses occur for a penalty amount of the bond. Notary bonds are generally provided by a surety company (typically an insurance carrier). The bond usually runs concurrently with the period of the notary’s commission.
You’re probably familiar with a homeowners insurance policy. If a person has a rental property in Indiana loss, the insurance company pays the loss and writes off the loss. You aren’t required to reimburse the carrier for the loss. Unlike a homeowners insurance policy however, a notary bond is simply a promise that the funds will be available when losses occur. The surety (insurance company) makes a payment to the State up to the penalty amount of the bond. However, this claim paid by the carrier is not simply written off. The company will most likely seek reimbursement from the bonded party, the notary themself.
A notary bond protects the public. Who protects the notary? Insurance coverage is available to provide this protection – it’s called Notary Public Errors and Omissions and may also be obtained for a nominal fee from insurance companies.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 3:48 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.