11.3 Criminal Penalties

Beyond Discipline and Civil Suits

Notary misconduct can be a crime. Criminal liability runs in addition to administrative discipline (Section 11.1) and civil liability (Section 11.2) — a single false notarization can yield revocation, a $10,000 civil judgment, and a criminal charge. The exam expects you to match the conduct to the correct statute and severity.

The Signature Misdemeanor: GC 6203

Government Code 6203 makes it a misdemeanor for an officer (including a notary) to knowingly make a false certificate or writing. Completing an acknowledgment or jurat that contains a statement the notary knows to be false is the classic 6203 offense. Two details are tested:

• It carries a four-year statute of limitations (longer than the standard one-year misdemeanor period).
• Conviction triggers mandatory revocation of the commission and surrender of the seal to the court.

When It Becomes a Felony: Forgery and Real-Estate Fraud

When the false certificate is made with intent to defraud, the conduct can be charged as forgery under Penal Code 470(d) — a "wobbler" that can be a felony. Separately, California treats real-property fraud as especially serious:

• Performing any notarial act on a deed of trust affecting real property while knowing it contains false statements or is forged is a felony (tied to GC 8214.1 and the real-estate fraud statutes).
• Felony real-estate fraud carries state prison exposure, and sentence enhancements scale with the victim's loss (an added year when loss exceeds $65,000, two years over $200,000, and more for larger losses).

Exam Tip: The deed-of-trust scenario is the one place California elevates a notary act to a felony by statute. If a fact pattern mentions a notary who knew a real-property document was forged, think felony — not misdemeanor.

Other Crimes to Recognize

How Perjury Differs

Penal Code 118 (perjury) punishes the signer who lies under oath, but it matters to notaries because a notary's jurat administers that oath. A notary who knowingly helps a signer swear to a false statement can be exposed as a participant. By contrast, GC 6203 punishes the notary's own false certificate. Keep the two straight: jurat/oath falsity points toward perjury concepts; a falsely completed certificate points to GC 6203.

Statute of Limitations and Stacking

Most notary misdemeanors carry the standard one-year limitations period, but GC 6203 is the exception at four years — the Legislature lengthened it precisely because false certificates often surface only when a fraudulent deed is later challenged. Felony forgery and real-estate fraud carry longer periods still. Because the criminal, civil, and administrative tracks are independent, a notary acquitted in a criminal case can still lose the commission administratively (lower burden of proof) and owe civil damages — never assume one outcome forecloses the others.

Penalty Ranges in Practice

The figures the public most often misquote — a flat "$1,500 fine" or "$75,000 fine" — are not the notary criminal-fine schedule. The $1,500/$750 numbers are the civil penalties of GC 8214.15, not criminal fines, and California does not impose a fixed "$75,000 notary felony fine." On the exam, anchor to the statute (GC 6203, PC 470, PC 118) rather than to a memorized dollar figure.

Worked Example

A notary completes an acknowledgment for a grant deed without the signer present and dates it to match the closing. If the notary merely cut a corner, expect a GC 6203 misdemeanor plus administrative revocation. If the notary knew the deed was forged to steal the property, the charge escalates to felony real-estate fraud/forgery with state-prison exposure and loss-based enhancements. And because the four-year GC 6203 clock applies, prosecution remains possible long after the closing — often only after the rightful owner discovers the stolen equity.

The Through-Line: Conviction Ends the Commission

Whatever the level, conviction of GC 6203 or of any felony mandates revocation — the statute directs the court to revoke the commission and take the seal. There is no "pay a fine and keep practicing" option, and a felony record makes obtaining a future commission extremely difficult.

• Report suspected notary crimes to local law enforcement and the Secretary of State.
• Preserve the journal and certificate copies as evidence.
• Remember that criminal, civil, and administrative tracks proceed independently and can all apply to one act.