Good afternoon:

I was asked by a Br. Mgr. if one of his new employees needs to fill out an insurance form or something for her notary stamp. I guess she had registered for notary status and has brought that stamp to our bank. I didn't think there would be anything further to do on this issue?
If someone would have any guidance here I would appreciate it.

Thanks,
Lisa

I'm not sure about the laws were you are located, but I am a notary and I must be bonded through an insurance company. You must have a stamp made, before you can be bonded, as the stamp has to be affixed to the bond paperwork.

In KS a notary is registered with the Secretary of State. There is an application form which must be filled out. One of the items is the bonding which our insurance company completes. The notary stamp or seal that will be used is affixed to the document.The applicant signs the application before another notary. The application form is then sent to the State with $10 check.

I'd suggest you start with your Secretary of State or check the phone directory for departments within the State under "Notary" - you might also search the web for an on-line directory of info for your state. In MI, you also have to be bonded by an insurance agent. Also, many banks provide this service through their corporate office for all employees needing to be notaries.

Are you asking if it is a good idea (or required) for the notary or the bank s/he works at to obtain notary insurance against dishonest or negligent actions of the notary?

I know that this type of insurance exists, but I dont know if there is a big demand for the product. We dont have it, in part because dishonest and negligent actions of our notaries rarely arises, but also because we limit what our notaries can do.

For example, 1 of our notaries can notartize a mortgage that our borrowers are giving us, but we wont notarize a signature on a car title, unless the car's owner is also a customer (ie. no notarization for non-customers).

Just going to go on a slight tangent here, but after I moved to FL I discovered that a notary public in FL also has the legal right to perform marriages.

If your bank or company is in FL you may want to specify in your company policies that any employee whose notary abilities are bonded through your company should NOT perform marriages as part of their official job functions.

This could create some interesting problems if your company should have an 'offsite' party-I mean seminar, and coworkers stumble into work the next day only to discover that they have been 'hitched'.

jon m

This is not intended to serve as legal advice, just my own twisted view of the world.