By Roger Rill, OSN Executive Director

Spreading the word about OSN

We attended the National Notary Association Conference in Chicago June 14-17. OSN is now also a member of the Notary Public Administrators section of the National Association of Secretaries of State, and I will attend their annual meeting in Providence, RI, on July 18-20. This group will further discuss various aspects of the proposed Model Notary Act, which will hopefully complement our notary reform efforts in Ohio.

OSN Partners with Paralegals

OSN has become a Sustaining Member of the Paralegals Association of Central Ohio. We participated in their Paralegal Day event on May 17, and will present at their conference this Fall. OSN will also contribute a regular notary feature to their newslewtter.

Since most paralegals are also notaries, this is a natural partnership that will be beneficial to all. OSN looks forward to being involved with this group.

OSN presents successful Notary Seminar!

OSN Executive Director Roger Rill presented "Beyond the Stamp: Your Role and Responsibilities as an Ohio Notary Public" on April 7. This seminar was sponsored by the Ohio Bankers League, and attendees were very enthusiastic about the knowledge they came away with. 

OSN can provide the notary training you never received, and will come to your office or other location. Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call (614) 336-7878.

We have submitted the "Beyond the Stamp" seminar to the Ohio State Bar Association for inclusion in their approved CLE courses for 2011.

Court ruling is wake-up call for notaries - AND their employers!!

An Illinois Appellate Court ruling (Vancura v. Katris) held that employers are reponsible for ensuring proper training for any notaries on their staff, and they can be held liable in the event of notary errors. The individual notary can also have significant exposure. This underscores the importance of having Errors & Omissions insurance to protect you while performing notarial acts. Your company may also consider blanket E&O coverage for all the notaries in the office. Training for notaries is essential, and in Ohio it is sorely lacking; if you have an Ohio notary question, please contact OSN for assistance.

Warning to Ohio Notaries!!

There have been efforts made to utilize Ohio notaries in a loan-modification scam, wherein the notary is asked to visit a customers home, then collect application forms and postdated checks to send back to the company. These tactics differ from legitimate loan modifications in that large checks are being collected up front, and there are no notarizations involved; the notary is utilized as a courier to seemingly lend legitimacy. A primary company doing these calls is 21st Century Legal Services, also known as East Coast Management, and as FidelityNational Legal Services (not to be confused with the genuine Fidelity National). The Ohio Attorney General has filed suit against 21st Century for their deceptive and illegal practices, so if you are called, just say NO! Again, legitimate loan modifications do not involve picking up applications or postdated large upfront checks, and there is almost always a notarization necessary.

Another Caution!

Some Ohio notaries have been contacted requesting their assistance in executing "notary protests". While there is a definition of this in the Ohio statutes, it is very rarely used. These callers seek to utlize notaries as part of a tax-evasion or debt-cancelling scenario involving the UCC codes, that requires notaries to exceed the scope and intent of their authority. Again, just say NO!