Well, In New Jersey, notaries do not even have to use a seal. All you need is your printed name, title, ID Number and Expiration Date. You can print it on your document or even hand-write it on. I have done it on the few occasions I forget my seal at a closing, or a friend needs something notarizied. New Jersey recording laws actually state that seals are not required for document recording. You can double check online if the notary ID number is valid and for a fee you can obtain a copy of the official signature of the notary to see that it is close to being the same. But, it has to be an original signature, you can't just print it on the document with your inkjet or laser printer. You have to trust the recording office that accepted a document did so with an original signature on the original copy.
As far as documents recorded in New Jersey that are notarizied out-of-state, as long as the out-of-state notary or other approved officer is authorizied to to accept acknoweldgments in their jurisdiction, New Jersey will apply its liberal standards to the document. So a Pennsylvania, New York or California notary doing a New Jersey recording acknowledgment or proof, can prepare the document according to New Jersey standards and not have to put their seals on the document. New Jersey law also allows New Jersey notaries to travel out-of-state for the purposes of notarizing a document to be recorded in New Jersey. I know I cannot do that with my Pennsylvania notary commission when I am performing a Pennsylvania closing at my New Jersey office. But I can when I travel to Pennsylvania to refinance a Jersey shore vacation property of a Pennsylvania resident at their winter home.
Recorded documents in New Jersey are self proved and the place they are determined to be valid is in a court of law, not a recording office. Although, I have to admit, there are a couple of recording officers in my state that are forgetting that they are recording offices and not validating offices. But that should be a topic of another forum.
to post a reply:
login - or -
register