Notary Surety Bond

In each state in the United States there are certain legal duties that it has been decided require the hand of a notary and a notary requires a notary surety bond in order to use said hand. If that is a little confusing, let me try to state the matter more clearly.

Some tasks are required to be witnessed or certified by an agent of the state to assure authenticity. Thus the position of the notary was created to provide authentication in such instances where the government or a private party wants to be certain that no information is misrepresented. Typically notaries certify documents by affirming signatures. Notaries also administer certain oaths in some instances.

Now, situations requiring notaries are believed to be of legal importance (and almost by definition are of importance or they wouldn't require a notary in the first place.) Therefore, to protect individuals from errors and omissions and personal mistakes notaries are required to be bonded which means they must have a notary surety bond.

A notary surety bond is like an insurance policy for notaries. However, it is important to note that notary surety bonds, which are written by companies in the private sector, do not insulate notaries from prosecution in the event that they falsify information or in some way carry out their job in an inappropriate manner. The notary will still be on the hook legally for any crimes they may commit or because of any abuse of power. The notary surety bond does provide a mechanism whereby private individuals can sue for damages and recoup lost costs quickly and more efficiently that if they were forced to sue the individual notary themselves. Therefore states require notary surety bonds for their notary's certification

Notary bonds come in various sizes which is the way that the value of the bond is represented. Most commonly notary bonds are issued for amounts less than $20,000 though in some cases the bond can exceed $25,000. Each state has its own requirements on the size of the bond that notaries are expected to carry.

Notary surety bonds primarily provide protection for the clients of the notary. Even if a notary is found to be in error and the errors and omissions clause of the policy is invoked, the notary may still find themselves liable for the amount of the judgment. So, while a notary surety bond can be acquired for less than $100, the insurance company underwriting the bond can attempt to recoup losses against any particular notary in the event of willful manipulation.

Therefore, it is critical that public notaries do their due diligence in finding a bonding company to underwrite their bond. It is possible that a public notary could make a mistake that could end up costing her many thousands of dollars if she has not taken the time to make certain that her notary surety bond is adequate.