What is a Notary Public - Oregon

May 5

As stated in the State of Oregon’s Notary Public Guide, there are three components of a Notary Public: proven integrity, officer of the state, and an impartial witness to a particular transaction. (2020 Notary Public Guide).

The main purpose of a notary is to detect and prevent fraud. Due to the nature of the gig, a notary applicant must undergo a background check. In the state of Oregon, the law (specifically ORS 194.315(2)(d)) requires that an applicant have not been convicted of a felony or any crime involving fraud, dishonesty, or deceit during the 10 years prior to application. Integrity and honesty are major characteristics of a notary as they serve as the front line against fraud. It is a notary’s responsibility to keep up to date on laws and regulations for notaries within their state. It is advisable to frequently (once a year at minimum) complete continued education to keep up to date on rules and regulations.

In Florida, Maine, Nevada and South Carolina, notaries public are able to perform marriage ceremonies. However, this is not the case or the state of Oregon. Notaries public are however considered a ministerial officer of the state. A commissioned state of Oregon notary public has a narrow scope of prescribed acts (impartial witness to legal proceedings.)

Serving as an impartial witness means witnessing and identifying/authenticating signatures and signers objectively. When preforming the duties of a notary it is vital that there are no emotions involved and each individual is treated equally and fairly. Bottom line, the commissioned notary must not judge or act on bias. This also means it is important that the notary have no (ZERO) interest in the transaction they are notarizing. The notary must not benefit financially or have any direct benefit from the transaction. In the state of Oregon, the notary cannot notarize a document for their spouse (and their spouse cannot be named in the document as well).

In the state of Oregon, the law is clear that a notary may not notarize for their spouse. Oregon law does not prohibit the notarization for other relatives. There needs to be certain cautions taken however when notarizing for family. Relation on its own can be argued some sort of benefit (even if it is just making life easy for the family member). It is wise to refrain from notarizing for family in general. It is not worth the document getting dismissed by a judge should it ever come into question.

It is important to note that while notaries public deal with legal transactions (estate documents, real estate documents, loans, and more) they are NOT lawyers. A notary must be very careful to not give legal advice. It is actually against the law for a notary to give legal advice.

I am not a lawyer and cannot give legal advice