I was curious because someone coming in for signing only had his middle initial on his ID, and said that, at the DMV they only allow a certain amount of characters for your name and that they couldn't fit it (at least with the older style of CA licenses with the name all on one line). The document had him signing as his name with the middle name spelled out, i.e. John Bob Doe. I could only acknowledge him as John B. Doe, and the title officer had me write in "AKA John B. Doe" after the John Bob Doe under his signature line, which the title officer said he could deal with later (because if you don't do that, the Recorder's Office may have issues with the map, in this case, because the name listed in the acknowledgement isn't exactly the same as the signer's name listed above it).
The new format for CA licenses seems to allow more room (if that was even a true issue with the old format), but I was curious if this is actually a real issue with people with long names. ❓
Sorry, don't know the answer, but I would call the DMV directly and ask them that question. Please let us know what you find out, because I have seen some super long names on the older drivers license's.
The lack of space for letters is an obnoxious issue. It doesn't affect me cause my first and last names are quite of normal length, but that can be a problem for those whose names are too long/short
(because if you don't do that, the Recorder's Office may have issues with the map, in this case, because the name listed in the acknowledgement isn't exactly the same as the signer's name listed above it).
Frankly, I find that to be bogus. Let me tell you that I always... NO MATTER WHAT is written in the documents... use the full name, as printed on the ID on my certificates. I have never once had any problems or been told things were rejected by recorders. In fact, I regularly visit several CA county clerk offices and have asked them and not a single one of them have said they'd reject something because the name on the notary certificate didn't match exactly.
I write down entire names because I'm notarizing the signature of the person in front of me, not a name on a document.
Let's say the document reads "Bob Q Smith". The guy in front of me has an ID that says "Bob Quinn Smith" -- that's what I write in my journal and on the certificate. If, for some reason, there's a level of fraud and the "Bob Q Smith" who should have signed is actually "Bob Quentin Smith" -- then my certificate would be a good clue that there is an issue pretty quickly. Whereas, if I just wrote "Bob Q Smith" it could more easily slip through cracks before it was caught.
Also, I never, ever write FKA or AKA on any documents at anyone's direction. That's not my job and I have no possible way of knowing those things. I certify that name of the person in front of me, as proven by their acceptable ID and that's it.
If the space is long enough, you should write his/her full name including the middle name