6.4 Administrative Fines

Why a Fixed Fine Schedule Matters

HRS 456-9 ("Fees and administrative fines") gives the Attorney General authority to impose and collect specific dollar amounts for defined violations. Because the numbers are statutory, the exam loves to test exact figures. Learn the schedule cold; do not guess. Fines are remitted to the State Director of Finance and are separate from - and can be added to - suspension or revocation.

Fine Schedule by Category

Stamp and Seal Violations

Certificate and Journal Violations

Audit and Retention Violations (Discretionary Range)

Quick Reference by Dollar Amount

Worked Example

A notary completes 40 acknowledgments over a year but routinely forgets to attach the dated certificate that includes the printed name, official seal, and jurisdiction. On audit, the AG may treat the failure to authenticate each act as the $500-tier violation, the most expensive on the schedule, precisely because the certificate is the proof that a lawful act occurred. Contrast this with simply owning a second backup stamp - a flat $200 - which is serious but cheaper.

Fines Versus Other Discipline

How a Fine Is Imposed

1. The AG identifies the violation through audit, complaint, or investigation.
2. The notary receives written notice of the violation and the proposed fine.
3. The notary may respond, contest, or explain.
4. The AG makes a final determination of the amount within any statutory range.
5. The notary pays as directed; non-payment can lead to further penalties.

Common trap: A discretionary range ("$50 to $500") is not the same as a flat fine. For audit non-compliance and retention failures, the AG selects an amount based on factors like repeat history and harm. On the exam, match flat amounts to flat violations (seal $20, multiple stamps $200, authenticate $500) and ranges to audit/retention items.

Why the Certificate Carries the Highest Fine

It is worth understanding why the $500 authentication fine sits at the top of the schedule. The certificate - signed, dated, bearing the notary's printed name, official seal or stamp, and the jurisdiction where the act occurred - is the only durable proof that a lawful notarial act took place. Without it, a document gives no reliable evidence that the signer appeared and was identified. The legislature priced this violation highest because a missing or defective certificate undermines the entire purpose of the office.

Treat "failure to authenticate" as the marquee violation: if a question describes a notary who stamps signatures but skips the required dated certificate, the $500 tier is the answer.

Fines Stack With Other Discipline

A fine is not a substitute for suspension or revocation; it is in addition to them. A notary who repeatedly fails to keep a journal might pay the $200 chronicling fine and have the commission suspended, because the AG can combine remedies. Likewise, a notary whose audit failure reveals knowing fraud could face a discretionary $50-to-$500 audit fine plus revocation plus a criminal referral. Exam answers that say "a fine instead of revocation" are usually wrong when the conduct is serious; the correct framing is that fines and status discipline can coexist.

Practical Compliance Checklist

To stay clear of the schedule entirely, a Hawaii notary should: keep exactly one properly inscribed stamp; authenticate every act with a complete, dated certificate; chronicle every act in the journal; report any loss or theft of the stamp or journal to the AG within 10 days; produce the journal promptly when audited; retain the journal for the full 10 years; and surrender or disable the device within 90 days of the commission ending. Each item maps directly to a fine, so the checklist doubles as a study sheet.

Worked recall drill: A notary owns a primary stamp and an identical backup "in case the first dries out." Even if the backup is never used, mere possession of more than one rubber-stamp seal is a flat $200 violation. The fix is simple - destroy or never order the spare - but the fine is automatic on the schedule, illustrating why the exact figures must be memorized rather than reasoned out.