What is a Notary Public?
- A "public ministerial officer"
- An impartial agent for the state
- A witness of notarial writings and signatures.
The notary being an impartial witness and having no conflict of interest must ask themselves two questions before notarizing a document:
- Am I a party to the transaction? Or, "Am I named in the document?"
- Do I have any financial or beneficial interest in this transaction?
If the answer to both of these questions is no, the notary is an impartial witness.