Can I notarize my husband's signature if he's my boss?

I’m a paid employee for my husband’s business, am I allowed to notarize my husband’s signature? — M. B., North Carolina

North Carolina Notaries are not prohibited from notarizing for their spouses, provided the Notary is not a named party on the document or does not directly benefit from the transaction. The Secretary of States highly recommends, however, that notaries not perform notarial acts for relatives.

Hotline answers are based on the laws in the state where the question originated and may not reflect the laws of other states. If in doubt, always refer to your own state statutes. – The Editors

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A guide to notarizing for family members

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5 Comments

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dianaagent@sbcglobal.net

14 Sep 2022

Despite having been a notary for more than 30+ years, I find the Notary Bulletin extremely helpful and informative.

Corey Schmitt

19 Aug 2022

I am a Notary Public in the State of Connecticut and I will be going on 10 years as a Notary and I have made a rule of thumb to NEVER notarize anything for an immediate family member, especially if they share the same last name and ESPECIALLY NEVER for my spouse, regardless if they were my boss or not. Regardless of whether state statutes permitting it’s acceptance or if statutes fail to mention anything disallowing it, EVERY notary everywhere should never notarize an item for a spouse, ESPECIALLY if they are your boss. If the document being notarized every came in to question and it’s validity we’re to be called in to question, the attorneys suing you (or your spouse), could claim the possibility that you were ordered or under duress when you notarized the document. Since this now includes the constitutional matter of a spouse not being able to testify against the other, there could be some intense legal ramifications and motions for the legal document to be thrown out or nullified by a judge and in the overwhelming majority of cases I am confidant that a judge would discredit the notarial act and you could face errors and omissions lawsuits, disqualification from being a Notary, not to mention potential criminal and/or civil litigation seeking all sorts of repercussions. I have 3 suits like this occur in other states and all 3, the judge was unable to compel the notarizing spouse to testify to what happened during the notarial act and in all 3 cases the defense specifically set up their cases to make it seem as though the notary was under duress, but alas, when called to testify against their spouse who sought a notarization at work as the superior, the 5th amendment immediately disallows for that kind of testimony in the event that it is damaging and in which case both sides would seek the case be thrown out and in all 3 cases they hit standstills where the defense was able to get the notarization withdrawn… and in one of the cases, the judge escalated the case to the states Supreme Court where the question on whether or not all prior documents notarized for the spouse should be nullified with retroactive effect (because since this judge ruled that there was a conflict of interest, the judge cited that precedent was set and this judge believed all prior notarial acts involving this notary and their spouse were valid or not (im sorry to say I never kept up with that case so I don’t know the outcome). However, regardless of the outcome and regardless of what you know to be true and whether or not you know your actions were merited and legal… you must understand that there are ALWAYS going to be people out there that disagree and that will look to seek legal action because they see a legal opening for them to intervene and win on an issue. This is a MAJOR conflict of interest in each and every instance and it is illegal in the majority of states including CT, where I live. Just save yourself the hassle and tell your spouse to find another notary for conflict of interest reasons, and by law, in every state, you have the right to deny notarizing something if you believe it poses a conflict to your commission. I urge you to tread very carefully with this issue. I have never seen anything good from it. Thank you for your time!

Malika Harris

17 Aug 2022

Thank you this was enlightning What they need to know thank you

Valencia Baldwin

15 Aug 2022

Where do I go for quick start / studying for test for Virginia?

National Notary Association

29 Aug 2022

Hi Valencia. Notary Quick-Start Training for Virginia can be found here: https://www.nationalnotary.org/virginia/training

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