3.5 Other Notarial Acts

Signature Witnessing

Signature witnessing (attesting a signature) means the notary certifies they personally watched a specific, identified individual sign a document. Unlike a jurat, no oath about truth is administered — the notary vouches only for the act of signing by that person.

Use it when a document calls for a witnessed signature but no sworn statement of facts is needed.

Copy Certification — Know the Limits

Copy certification asserts that a reproduction is a true, complete copy of an original the notary examined. In Hawaii this authority is narrow, and the test rewards knowing what you may not copy-certify.

Rule of thumb: if the government will issue an official certified copy, the notary must not make one. The reason is fraud prevention — agency-issued certified copies carry their own security features.

Protest of a Negotiable Instrument

A protest is a formal certificate noting that a negotiable instrument — mercantile paper such as a check, promissory note, or bill of exchange — was dishonored (not paid or not accepted). It preserves the holder's rights against parties liable on the instrument.

Procedure:

1. The holder presents the instrument to the notary.
2. The notary presents it for payment or acceptance.
3. If dishonored, the notary executes the protest certificate.
4. The notary gives notice to parties secondarily liable.

Statutory maximum fees (HRS 456-17):

Protests are rare in everyday practice but appear on the exam because the fee and the "dishonored instrument" definition are easy to test.

Depositions

Hawaii notaries may take depositions — sworn, out-of-court testimony. The witness is sworn (an oath/affirmation), testimony is recorded at length, and the notary certifies it. Every deposition, like every protest, must be entered in the notary's record book under HRS 456-15 and HRS 456-16.

Signing by Mark

When a signer cannot write but can make a mark (an "X"):

1. Have two impartial witnesses present.
2. The signer makes the mark on the signature line.
3. The notary writes the signer's name beside the mark and notes it is the mark of that named person.
4. The witnesses may sign attesting they saw the mark made.
5. The certificate reflects execution by mark.

Worked Example

A client asks you to certify a copy of her grandmother's birth certificate for a passport application. You decline copy certification and direct her to the Hawaii Department of Health vital records office for an official certified copy. You may, however, notarize a separate sworn affidavit she signs about the family relationship — that is a jurat, which is within your authority.

Common Traps

• Copy-certifying a recorded deed or a vital record — prohibited.
• Treating a protest like an ordinary acknowledgment — it is a distinct act with its own $5 fee items.
• Forgetting that depositions and protests must be journaled at length.

The Record Book Ties It All Together

HRS 456-15 and 456-16 require the notary to record at length in a record book every act, protest, deposition, and other thing done in the notary's official capacity. This is not optional bookkeeping — the record book is admissible evidence, and copies or certificates issued under the notary's hand and seal are received as evidence of the transactions noted. For each entry the notary captures the date, the type of act, the name of the person served, the identification basis, the document description, and the fee charged.

For protests and depositions the manual stresses recording "at length," meaning the entry must be detailed enough to reconstruct what happened.

Putting the Limits in Context

The recurring theme of the "other acts" is boundaries. Signature witnessing certifies less than a jurat — only the event of signing. Copy certification is sharply curtailed: anything a government office issues as a certified copy is off-limits, which covers vital records, recorded instruments, and court files. Protests are a narrow commercial-paper function with their own $5 fee items. Depositions and signing-by-mark each carry procedural safeguards (an oath for depositions; two witnesses for marks). A notary who treats these acts as casual extensions of acknowledgment work invites both rejection of the document and personal liability.

Worked Example

A contractor asks you to (a) witness him signing a lien waiver, (b) certify a copy of a county-recorded notice of completion, and (c) note a protest on a bounced subcontractor check. You can do (a) — watch and identify him, certify the witnessed signature, and journal it. You must decline (b) because a recorded document is available as a certified copy only from the recording office. You can do (c) — present the check, note the dishonor, issue notice, and charge no more than $5 for noting the protest plus $5 for each notice and certified copy. Every act you actually perform is entered at length in the record book.

Common Traps

• Assuming "I saw the original, so I can certify any copy" — vital records and recorded/court documents are barred regardless.
• Skipping the record-book entry for a protest or deposition because "there was no certificate to attach" — these acts must be journaled at length.
• Charging an acknowledgment-style fee for a protest — the protest fee items are distinct and capped at $5 each.