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In our commitment to offer you the TOTAL website, we will update you with current information that will aid you in doing the correct things you need to do as a Notary. Check back to this site often for tidbits of information that will help you! If you have any questions or have a need for us to discuss a particular surety subject, please E-mail us and we'll try to include that in Notary News in the future.

*Current Articles*
Notaries subject to NEW requirements
Can An Employer Cancel Your Notary Commission?
Stamp or Seal?
Is Your Seal Legal?
Personal Sureties Issue

	Notaries Subject to NEW Requirements
Effective, April 24, 2003, Tennessee notaries are subject to a new requirement if they advertise. The law requires any notary who is not an attorney licensed to practice law and who advertise in any language by radio, television, signs, pamphlet, newspapers and directories, or any other written or oral communication must now include the following disclaimer: "I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY LICENSED TO PRACTICE LAW IN THE STATE OF TENNESSEE AND I MAY NOT GIVE LEGAL ADVICE OR ACCEPT FEES FOR LEGAL ADVICE." If you advertise in a print medium, the disclaimer should be of conspicuous size. The law goes on to say that the notary can not hold himself/herself to be an immigration consultant, paralegal, or an expert on immigration unless they are accredited by The Board of Immigration Appeals. Failure to comply with these requirements constitutes unfair and deceptive acts. The new law exempts employees of banks and those providing notary services associated with loan closings and transfers of title. Apparently, some notaries were holding themselves out to be attorneys or misrepresenting professional accredidations. Hence, they were able to take advantage of the public or those from other cultures where notary publics are closely associated with the legal profession.

	Can An Employer Cancel Your Notary Commission?
We receive several phone calls a year about this issue. Usually, the phone calls originate from a Notary who has left the employment of a firm and been told that their "Notary is being canceled." Many times the ex-employer has taken possession of the Notary's seal and record book. Is an employer empowered to take such action? Well, let's see. A Tennessee Notary is granted the status of a public official by Tennessee Law. There is no legal provision, of which I am aware that would allow an employer to cancel the appointment of a public official. The idea is preposterous. Indeed the employer is risking civil and perhaps criminal liability by interfering with the duties of a Notary. Confiscation of the notary's seal and records is even more onerous. I have in the past spoken to some of the employers who have actually called us and requested us to cancel the Notary Commission of one of our clients. Their justification for such action is usually that they paid for the expenses associated with an employee becoming a Notary. These expenses may include such items as the fees for applying for a Notary commission, seals, log books etc. However, this does not mean that the employer has any interest in these in items unless there was an agreement for reimbursement by the employee. If you are a Notary and are confronted by similar behavior from an employer or threats of similar action, you should seek legal counsel immediately, and report the situation to your County Clerk. If you are an employer you should never take any action which would impede a Notary from performing his or her duty without counseling from your legal professional.


*Stamp or Seal?*
It seems that a few Notaries have the idea that they may use a rubber stamp as a seal, if it has all the information that is required on an embossing seal. This is not quite true and can lead to problems. Here's the scoop. You may use a rubber stamp as a notary seal in Tennessee if: The stamp contains all the information required by Secretary of State AND Is in the configuration as prescribed by the Secretary of State. For instance, a square rubber stamp could not be used as a seal since the Secretary of State prescribes a round format. The seal is used to indicate the authority of the Notary. A stamp is used to communicate information about the Notary or the Notary Acknowledgment in a legible format. It is customary for Notaries to use an informational ink stamp in conjunction with the embossing seal. It is rumored that the use of informational ink stamps in conjunction with seals became common due to the illegible handwriting (or as some maintain, distinctive handwriting) of a few Notaries. Imagine that! At any rate, you can be assured that if you would like to use an ink stamp seal instead of an embossing seal, the ones available from BondYourself.com do meet the specifications of the Secretary of State. Our Notary Kits come with embossing seals and information stamps and should be used together. Just drop us an E-mail or give us a call if you need clarification about the proper use of seals or stamps.


*Is your seal legal?*
In 1993, all notaries became Notaries Public at Large. Effective July 1, 2004, your stamp should look like the one we display below. According to the Secretary of State, the following is prescribed: The seal must be circular The Notary's name (as it appears on the commission) is inscribed at the top of the seal. The county name appears at the bottom of the stamp.. "State of Tennessee Notary Public" is inscribed in the center. The notary seal must be imprinted in any color other than black or yellow. If you are a Notary Public in Tennessee, check your seal. You may be surprised to learn your seal no longer complies! Compare the correct one below to yours and decide if you need to change your current seal!


Personal Sureties Issue
The Tennessee Notary Statute allows personal sureties or corporate sureties to bond notaries. So why do most Notaries use a corporate bonding company instead of personal sureties to post their $10,000 notary bond? There are several reasons personal sureties are not used frequently. First, there is considerable risk to the personal surety. If a notary's bond is called, the personal or corporate surety must respond immediately. A court may ask that the surety place the full bond amount ($10,000 cash) in the care of the court. If a judgment is rendered against the Notary and the Notary can not respond, the court will ask the surety to respond in place of the Notary. Bye, Bye $10,000! If the Notary and the personal sureties can not respond with cash, the court will probably place a lien on the sureties' property or force the sale of the surety's property. The surety does have the right to recover the cost and expense from the Notary but this may be several years later. It may involve substantial legal and court expenses. Notice that the court could go after the assets of the sureties and leave it up to the sureties to recover from the Notary. Secondly, some county commissioners feel they put the State at financial risk when they accept personal sureties. Hence, they may ask to review a personal surety's financial statement or property assessment before accepting the personal surety. The personal surety is an unknown financial factor. The corporate surety on the other hand is monitored by the Insurance Commissioner of Tennessee and in many cases, the federal government. This monitoring is done to make sure that the corporate surety or bonding company is financially sound and can fulfill the duties under the bonds posted to the State. Finally, most insurance companies will not write Errors and Omission insurance on a Notary they have not bonded. The Errors and Omission insurance policy is protection for the Notary and most Notaries are reluctant to give up this important protection for themselves to save a few bucks by using personal sureties. You see the maximum the surety has at risk is $10,000, the amount of the risk. The Notary on the other hand can be held liable for damages that exceed that amount. Although it is certainly legal to use personal sureties in Tennessee, it appears most Notaries do not believe it makes good business sense.

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