Notary Public Oakland – What You Need to Know
A notary public Oakland is an individual who is given the authority by the state to carry out an oath of office as a notary public. In most states, notaries are elected by the people and not by the government. Notary Public training classes are offered in a few states at specific institutions, while in other states notary public training is not even taught. The role of a notary is to notarize documents and signatures. Notaries are responsible for many duties and are called upon to give verbal or notary-written evidence on oath.
A notary public can do various legal duties in California. Notary Publics are empowered by law to notarize marriage licenses, change signatures on legal papers, accept payments or make notary certificates. Notary Publics is also responsible for recording births, deaths, births and adoptions, making marriage, divorce, alimony, modifications and changes in names, official notices and public announcements.
In some counties a notary Public may also be asked to inspect properties to ensure that they are being conducted lawfully. In these counties a notary’s fees may be required. A person wishing to become a notary public must attend a notary public training class. The cost of this training varies from county to county.
In Oakland, California, there are presently ten notary public licensed by the Alameda County within the city. Seven of these notary publics work for the City of Oakland. Six of them work for the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBPU) and one is a private firm. Of the ten notary publics working for the City of Oakland, seven are part-time, contracted employees and the remaining are full-time contracted agents of the Notary Public of the County of Alameda.
All licensed notaries have an appointed public notary board. This board carries out its responsibilities by filing reports with the Secretary of State on a yearly basis. It also develops and institutes rules and guidelines for its notary staff. One such rule states that before a notary can administer oaths or affirmations, he must obtain the consent of the client and when oaths are requested to be sworn, the notary must take the advice of a lawyer. Another rule states that the notary license holder cannot give legal advice to any person or company. The notary license must be displayed at the office, and the notary license card must be displayed on the notary’s desk.
It is possible for a person to get his notary license without taking an oath. However, if one wishes to become a notary public, he has to take an oath of office and also comply with the other administrative requirements. A notary public also needs to get a notary bond. The bond is necessary to protect the notary from any liability in case a client or customer is not satisfied with the services as advertised by the notary.
There are three kinds of notary license classes: Commercial, Professional and Self-certification. All the three types require notary public training. The first two classes offer two years of training, while the third one requires only one year of training. The license classes cover the notary law, notary signing procedures, notary bond issues, notary commission renewal, notary license applications, ethics training and notary practice. The required courses for each category are not the same as the others.
Besides the above mentioned tasks, a notary must undertake some other duties. For example, in Oakland, the notary must maintain the notary bond and keep the notary license. He must conduct background check, criminal record checks and make sure that all the requisite documents are in place and in good order. Finally, the notary must perform the duties properly. He should be on time, respectful and reliable. People who want a notary public need to check if the notary is practicing legally in his/her area.