6.1 Prohibited Acts

Prohibited Acts for Utah Notaries

Utah Code 46-1-11 is the controlling prohibited-acts statute, and it pairs with 46-1-6, which lists the only notarial acts a Utah notary may perform. If an act is not on the authorized list, performing it is itself a prohibited act. Exam writers test this boundary constantly, so memorize both the permitted set and the most common traps.

Authorized acts (the complete list under 46-1-6): acknowledgments, jurats, oaths and affirmations, signature witnessings, and copy certifications. A Remote Online Notary (RON) may perform these same acts remotely once certified.

Acts That Are Never Authorized

Personal Appearance Is Mandatory

The single most-tested prohibition: a notary may not perform an act unless the signer personally appears before the notary at the time of the act. "Appearance" means physically in the same room, or, for a certified RON, live two-way audio-video with an approved platform. Anything less is prohibited.

• A document arrives by mail already signed, with no signer present refuse.
• A spouse drops off a partner's deed to be notarized refuse; the absent partner must appear.
• A signer offers a faxed or emailed signature refuse; the wet (or RON electronic) signature must be made or acknowledged in the notary's presence.

Self-Notarization and Disqualifying Interest

Utah Code 46-1-11 prohibits a notary from performing any act if the notary, or the notary's spouse, is a party to or has a direct beneficial interest in the transaction. A notary is an impartial witness and cannot be impartial about a matter that pays them or their spouse.

Note the wage exception: being employed by the company whose document you notarize does not by itself disqualify you, but a commission, contingent fee, or ownership stake tied to that specific transaction does.

Fees, Dates, and the Seal

Fee caps (Utah Code 46-1-12): $10 per signature for an acknowledgment, jurat, or signature witnessing; $10 per person for an oath/affirmation taken without a signature; $10 per page for a copy certification; and $25 per remote act for RON. Charging above these caps is a prohibited act even if the signer agrees to pay more. A notary may charge less or nothing.

Dates: the certificate must show the actual date the act was performed. Backdating (to make a document appear executed earlier) and postdating are both prohibited, even at the signer's urgent request.

Seal and commission status: a notary may not use the official seal or perform any act once the commission has expired, been suspended, or been revoked. There is no grace period in Utah. If the commission expires at midnight, the notary must stop at midnight a renewal already filed does not extend authority until the new commission issues.

Other Common Traps

• Do not notarize a document with blank spaces that will be filled in later, or one missing its notarial certificate.
• Do not proceed if the signer appears coerced, confused, intoxicated, or incapacitated the notary must refuse and may note the refusal.
• Do not lend the seal or journal, or let anyone else perform acts under your commission these are personal to you.

Worked Example: Spotting the Disqualifier

Consider a layered scenario. A real-estate agent brings a buyer to your desk to acknowledge a purchase contract. The buyer has a valid driver license and appears in person, the form is fully completed, and you would charge the standard $10. Nothing here disqualifies you. Now change one fact: the agent reveals that you are listed to receive a $500 referral fee when the deal closes. That single change creates a direct beneficial interest, and 46-1-11 requires you to refuse, regardless of how routine the rest of the transaction looks.

The lesson is to scan every fact pattern for the one buried disqualifier rather than judging the scenario by its overall tone.

A second worked example tests timing. Suppose your commission shows an expiration date and a signer pleads that they only need "one more notarization tomorrow morning" after midnight. Utah grants no grace period, so any act after the expiration moment is unauthorized and void even a single signature, even for a sympathetic signer, even if your renewal paperwork is already submitted. You must decline until a new commission issues.

Why These Rules Exist

Each prohibition traces to the notary's purpose as a neutral, fraud-deterring witness. Personal appearance lets you confirm the signer is who they claim and is signing willingly. The interest bar preserves impartiality. Accurate dating protects the chain of evidence if a document is later challenged in court. Fee caps prevent exploitation, particularly of people unfamiliar with U.S. notarial limits. Stopping at expiration ensures only a currently bonded, currently authorized official certifies acts. Understanding the reason behind each rule helps you answer scenario questions the exam phrases in ways no memorized list anticipates.

On the Exam

Watch for fact patterns that bury one disqualifier a $25 fee on an in-person act, a missing signer, a spouse who is the buyer, an expired date inside an otherwise routine scenario. The correct answer is almost always refuse the notarization or decline and explain why. Be especially alert to the wage-versus-commission distinction and to the absolute, grace-period-free nature of commission expiration.