Back in May I wrote a letter to the CA Secretary of State requesting some clarification or some kind of written direction regarding those times when we are asked to send a loose replacement certificate. Obviously, in CA we're now required to staple them to the original... but there were some who felt that issuing a duplicate was not a new notarial act. Personally, I always felt it was... but I wanted to be sure.

I was hoping they'd just address in a newsletter next year or something, but amazingly enough, I got a written response back. 😮

See: https://www.highdesertnotary.com/casosletter0912.pdf

Most of it is just a reiteration of what most of us know from the handbook, but of particular note is this part:

The notarial certificate and journal entry must be completed at the time the notarial act is completed. Furthermore, there is no provision in statue [sic] that allows a notary public to issue a duplicate or replacement certificate if the original is lost or damaged. If a notarial certificate is lost or damaged, a new notarial act, as outlined above, is required.

So that means if a title company calls and asks for a duplicate or a replacement because it got "lost" or damaged... the Secretary of State doesn't want us reissuing it. We have to go back and do it as an entirely new notarial act.

Also, note that they said that the journal entry and the certificate must be completed at the same time the act is completed. You know what that means? If you've got 10 entries... you need to write EVERYTHING down 10 times at the time, and not wait until you get back to your office. I know a lot of notaries do this in order to save time in front of borrowers with large loan packages. Yeah... not so much folks. It needs to be done all at the same time.

ALSO... note that they refer me *not* to the handbook but to the workbook that contains more detailed information and procedural things, as taught in our 3/6 hour training courses: https://www.sos.ca.gov/business/notary/forms/notary-education-sample-workbook-2012.pdf