Which two issues are most commonly cited as administrative penalties for notaries?

• A. Loss of any professional license and unauthorized certified copies
• B. Failure to keep a journal and overcharging
• C. No personal appearance of the signer and failure to obtain proper ID
• D. Violating any civil code and overcharging

Answer: (C)

The main idea here is that a valid notarial act hinges on two safeguards: the signer must appear personally before the notary, and the signer’s identity must be verified with proper ID. When the signer isn’t present, or the notary does not obtain acceptable identification, the notarization is considered improper and can lead to disciplinary action by the regulator.

These two requirements are consistently cited as the basis for administrative penalties because they directly affect the integrity and admissibility of the notarized document. If either is missing, the act cannot be trusted as having been performed correctly, which is why penalties are commonly invoked.

Other issues listed, like journaling, overcharging, or certifying copies without authorization, can lead to problems as well but are not as universally tied to the core validity of the notarization as ensuring personal appearance and proper identification.