Ohio Revised Code
Chapter 147 | Notaries Public and Commissioners
Section 147.141 | Prohibited Acts.

Effective: September 20, 2019
Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 263 - 132nd General Assembly
(A) A notary public shall not do any of the following:
(1) Perform a notarial act with regard to a record or document executed by the notary;
(2) Notarize the notary's own signature;
(3) Take the notary's own deposition;
(4) Perform a notarial act if the notary has a conflict of interest with regard to the transaction in question;
(5) Certify that a document is either of the following:
(a) An original document;
(b) A true copy of another record.
(6) Use a name or initial in signing certificates other than that by which the notary public is commissioned;
(7) Sign notarial certificates using a facsimile signature stamp unless the notary public has a physical disability that limits or prohibits the notary's ability to make a written signature and unless the notary has first submitted written notice to the secretary of state with an example of the facsimile signature stamp;
(8) Affix the notary's signature to a blank form of an affidavit or certificate of acknowledgment and deliver that form to another person with the intent that it be used as an affidavit or acknowledgment;
(9) Take the acknowledgment of, or administer an oath or affirmation to, a person who the notary public knows to have been adjudicated mentally incompetent by a court of competent jurisdiction, if the acknowledgment or oath or affirmation necessitates the exercise of a right that has been removed;
(10) Notarize a signature on a document if it appears that the person is mentally incapable of understanding the nature and effect of the document at the time of notarization;
(11) Alter anything in a written instrument after it has been signed by anyone;
(12) Amend or alter a notarial certificate after the notarization is complete;
(13) Notarize a signature on a document if the document is incomplete or blank;
(14) Notarize a signature on a document if it appears that the signer may be unduly influenced or coerced so as to be restricted from or compromised in exercising the person's own free will when signing the document;
(15) Take an acknowledgment of execution in lieu of an oath or affirmation if an oath or affirmation is required;
(16) Determine the validity of a power of attorney document or any other form designating a representative capacity, such as trustee, authorized officer, agent, personal representative, or guardian, unless that notary is an attorney licensed to practice law in this state.
(B) Division (A)(5) of this section shall not be construed as prohibiting a notary from notarizing the signature of a holder of a document on a written statement certifying that the document is a true copy of an original document.
(C) As used in this section, "conflict of interest" means either of the following:
(1) The notary has a direct financial or other interest in the transaction in question, excluding the fees authorized under this chapter.
(2) The notary is named, individually or as a grantor, grantee, mortgagor, mortgagee, trustor, trustee, beneficiary, vendor, lessor, or lessee, or as a party in some other capacity to the transaction.

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