Notarial Acts and Documentation — California Notary Public Practice Test

This California Notary Public Notarial Acts and Documentation practice set has 60 practice questions based on the official exam materials, each with an instant explanation.

Sample questions

Three questions from the Notarial Acts and Documentation bank with the correct answer and an explanation. The practice quiz above draws 30 questions at random from the same bank.

1. A signer appears before a California notary public to have a deed of trust notarized. Besides the usual journal entries, what does the law require the notary public to obtain in the journal?

   • The signer's right thumbprint (or, if the right thumb is unavailable, the left thumb or any available finger, so indicated in the journal) — Correct answer
   • A photocopy of the signer's identification document, attached to the journal page
   • The signature of a witness who watched the signer sign the deed of trust
   • Nothing extra — a thumbprint is required only when the signer has no identification

   Explanation: Government Code section 8206(a)(2)(G) requires the signer's right thumbprint in the journal when the document is a deed, quitclaim deed, deed of trust, other document affecting real property, or a power of attorney — **except** that the paragraph does not apply to a trustee's deed resulting from a decree of foreclosure or a nonjudicial foreclosure under Civil Code section 2924, nor to a deed of reconveyance. If the right thumb is unavailable the notary public uses the left thumb or any available finger and so indicates; if the signer is physically unable, the notary public notes that fact and explains the condition. The journal itself must be kept in a locked and secured area under the notary public's direct and exclusive control.

   Handbook: Notary Public Journal — Thumbprint Requirement

2. A member of the public sends a California notary public a written request for a copy of a journal line item, stating the names of the parties, the type of document, and the month and year it was notarized. What must the notary public do?

   • Respond within 15 business days by supplying a photostatic copy of the line item or acknowledging that no such line item exists, charging no more than $0.30 per page — Correct answer
   • Respond within 30 calendar days by supplying a photostatic copy of the line item, charging no more than $0.30 per page
   • Refuse, because the journal is the exclusive property of the notary public and may be shown only to the Secretary of State
   • Respond within 15 business days and supply the copy free of charge, since no fee is authorized for journal copies

   Explanation: Gov. Code §8206(c) requires the notary public to supply a photostatic copy of the requested line item at a cost of not more than thirty cents ($0.30) per page, and Gov. Code §8206.5 sets the deadline at 15 business days after receipt — either the copy or an acknowledgment that no such line item exists. The journal being the notary public's exclusive property means it is not the employer's, not that its contents are secret from the public.

   Handbook: Notary Public Journal — Public Request for a Copy

3. Which notarial act requires the signer to sign the document in the presence of the notary public and to take an oath or affirmation?

   • A jurat — Correct answer
   • A certificate of acknowledgment
   • A proof of execution by a subscribing witness
   • A certified copy of a power of attorney

   Explanation: Under Gov. Code §8202(a), when executing a jurat the notary public administers an oath or affirmation to the affiant, determines from satisfactory evidence that the affiant is the person executing the document, and the affiant must sign the document in the notary public's presence. An acknowledgment certifies something different — that the signer personally appeared and acknowledged executing a document that may already have been signed.

   Handbook: Jurat — What the Notary Public Certifies