A notary public should not perform a notarial act if the notary is a party to the matter or stands to benefit.

• A. True
• B. Not applicable
• C. Only for certain documents
• D. Not sure

Answer: (A)

Notaries must remain impartial and free from conflicts of interest. When the notary is a party to the matter or stands to gain from the document, impartiality is compromised and the notarization could appear biased or lead to questions about the document’s validity. Because of that, the notary should decline to perform the act in these situations and have a disinterested notary handle the notarization or refer the signer to someone without a stake in the outcome. This protects the integrity of the process and maintains public trust. The other options don’t fit because the rule is not optional, not limited to certain documents, and there’s no reasonable doubt about the standard in this scenario.