07-11-08 New Requirements for Notaries Public in the State of Hawaii

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QUESTION 8: Do I need to submit an impression of my new seal or stamp to the Circuit Court where I reside? ANSWER: Yes. Haw. Rev. Stat. §456-4 requires that each notary file an impression of the notary's seal/stamp with the Circuit Court where the notary resides. You will need to file an impression of your new seal or stamp with the Circuit Court to replace the impression of your old seal or stamp that you now have on file with the Circuit Court. You should also mail or hand-deliver an impression of your new seal or stamp to the Department of the Attorney General Notary Public Office at 425 Queen Street, Honolulu, HI 96813, for our files. QUESTION 9: What information should be in the certificate? ANSWER: HAR § 5-11-8 states that the notary's "acknowledgment or jurat shall be evidenced by a certificate signed and dated by the notary." The information in the certificate includes the printed name of the notary, the official stamp or seal of the notary, identification of the jurisdiction in which the notarization is performed, identification or description of the document being notarized in close proximity to the acknowledgment or jurat, and the number of pages and date of the notarized document. The information can be included within the jurat/acknowledgment itself(for example, one form of a particular type of notarization could be: "This 5-page [identification or description of notarized document], dated , was subscribed and sworn to before me this day of , 2008, in the First Circuit of the State of Hawaii, by John H. Doe.") The information could also be in a separate certificate. An example of a separate certificate is included on our"Important Information" page, which accompanies these questions and answers. There is not, however, only one acceptable form or format for the certificate, as long as the information specified in the rule is provided. QUESTION 10: Do I need to apply my seal or stamp to the certificate? ANSWER: If the certificate is separate from the jurat or acknowledgment itself, it needs to be separately sealed or stamped, as in the example on our"Important Information" page. However, as noted above, the certificate does not need to be separate from the jurat or acknowledgment, as long as the information specified in HAR§ 5-11-8 is provided. QUESTION 11: What if there is no room for the notary certificate on the page with the jurat/acknowledgment? ANSWER: HAR § 5-11-8 states that the description of the document being notarized be "in close proximity to the acknowledgment or jurat." It is best to include the description of the document on the same page and in "close proximity" to or included in the acknowledgment or jurat. If you use a separate certificate, and there is no room for that certificate on the page on which the acknowledgment or jurat is contained, indicate on that page that there is a notary certificate on the next page, such as by typing: "Notary Certificate on next page." DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE NEW NOTARY RULES JUNE 25,2008 PAGE 3