Mobil Notary | All Purpose New York Notary | Apostille Processing | Legalization and Fingerprinting

Brought to you by Kenneth A Edelstein All Purpose Certified New York Mobile Notary

"It's notarized, so it must be valid", is a common misconception about notarizations. What must be understood is the distinction between the content of a document and the signature on the document. Notarization verifies the identity of the affiant, the one who is stating that the document is true. What notarization does not do is make the content true, valid or reliable. A false notarized document is just that: a false notarized document.

It is not the function of the notary to read the document - at all. The responsibility of the notary is to check the identification of the person making the statement. The only part of the document that is "validated" by the notary is the signature! While it is poor notary practice to notarize a document known to be false, the notary has no requirement to read the entire document. For example: If, in the middle of a lengthy affidavit, the affiant includes the statement "I had dinner with Elvis on April 1st, 2008" - the notary would probably not notice the false claim. The document would be routinely notarized. The notarization certainly does not make the statement credible!

While notarization does not make a false statement valid, it does subject the affiant to criminal penalties. When you knowingly sign a false statement, and have it notarized, the crime is perjury, not something to take lightly. False statements on notarized documents are legally the same as false statements made in court under oath. This concept is further explored and other aspects of notarizations on my site: http://kenneth-a-edelstein.com. It is vital to understand that notarization addresses the validity of the signature only. Even then, a clever forgery can fool a notary, it's not often the situation; but certainly possible. More links and update's from Kenneth A Edelstein All Purpose Certified New York Mobile Notary

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