Michael646
New Member
- Jurisdiction
- Maryland
Is it unethical for the owner of a used car dealership, who holds a notary commission, to notarize the vehicles he purchases or sells?
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Notary public at used car dealership
- Thread Starter Michael646
- Start date
Zigner
Well-Known Member
It would be improper for the owner to notarize his own signature.
It may be improper for the owner to notarize the signatures of employees of his company in the situation you describe.
army judge
Super Moderator
Can you notarize your own document?
No, a notary cannot notarize their own documents.
In all 50 states, notaries are explicitly prohibited from notarizing their own documents or documents in which they are named as a party within the transaction.
Why notaries cannot notarize their own documents?
There are several serious reasons why a notary cannot in good faith notarize their own documents, including the following.
Notaries cannot notarize their own documents because notaries are required by law to serve as independent and impartial witnesses to a signing. If the notary has any connection to the document they are signing, it is impossible for them to remain an objective third party witnessing the signing.
https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc5300/sc5339/000113/023300/023322/20180459e.pdf
If you are a notary yourself, It's normal for you to have questions like; What if I buy a property? Can I notarize my own signature?
Well, It's a tricky question. Isn't it?
However, the answer is simple, and that is NO!
You must be in a dilemma if you have a legal license to notarize the documents as a notary. Then how come you cannot notarize your own documents.
Can you notarize your own documents? - PandaDoc Notary
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Michael646
New Member
Thank you for the information. In this situation, the owner would not be notarizing his own signature; just the signature of the sellers to his dealership in facilitating title transfer to the new owner, which would not be him.
If his signature is not involved in the document, meaning it's the dealership escrowing the vehicle to a new customer, would him acting as a notary be unethical?
Zigner
Well-Known Member
I could argue that the owner would have a direct beneficial interest in such a notarization, thus preventing him from (legally) notarizing the document, but I can also see the other side of the coin. It is, at best, a grey area.
Let me ask you this, and don't get defensive: Why does it matter to you?
If you really feel the need to address this matter, you can file a report with the state, although, you will likely never find out the outcome of such a complaint: https://sos.maryland.gov/Notary/Pages/Concern-Notary.aspx
Michael646
New Member
I am the owner. I know many dealerships have a notary on staff, I just don't know their precise circumstance. For example, that notary is paid by the dealer yet they can notarize for it's customers. I just want to ensure that if I notarize a document where I am not named on the title or transaction, if I would be liable. Thank you
Zigner
Well-Known Member
I am a Notary, but in California, not Maryland. I can tell you that, in my state, employees could notarize signatures in the circumstances that you describe. As the owner, it could be more problematic. I suggest that you contact the folks where you took your classes (assuming you took classes) and ask them. You could also review the Maryland Notary Handbook. I would, but, unlike my state, you have to pay for a copy in MD.
adjusterjack
Super Moderator
Not necessarily. Here's a copy from 2018 for free.
20180459e.pdf (maryland.gov)
And if that's not good enough the Secty of State website has links to the laws and regulations.
Secretary of State | Notary Division (maryland.gov)
Zigner
Well-Known Member
Thanks - the current version needs to be paid for, but I didn't dig much deeper.
Mike Kalir
New Member
So, how I can notarize my own documents? I mean there may be some ways to do that? Isn't there?
Tax Counsel
Well-Known Member
No, there isn't. But key word words in your question that lead to that answer are "notarize my own documents". The whole point of a notary attestation of a document like a contract is to provide assurance from someone who isn't one of the parties to the agreement are who they say they are. That's its value in court should there ever be disagreement over whether one of the parties in that dispute was is person whose signature is on the document. If you try to use your own notarization of a document to which you are a party the rules of evidence would prevent that document from being admissible in court. Without going into a full explanation of it, your attempt to attest to your own signature would violate the hearsay rule of evidence and be excluded from from consideration by the court. So even if the rules for notaries allowed it, attesting to your own signature would defeat one of the main reasons for getting the document notarized in the first place.
But there is one thing that so far has not been addressed in this thread, and that is how your car dealership is set up. If it is set up as a corporation or LLC or other entity in which the owners have limited liability then you and the corporation/LLC are two different persons under the law. And that would allow you to notarize documents to which the business entity is the party. If you have a limited liability entity then you should be making sure all the business contracts clearly show that only the business enity is a party to the agreement rather than you personally anyway to get the limited liability protection.
The handbook says that a president or vice president (which in some corporations are called CEO and chief operating officer) may provide that kind of notary attestation. If you don't have a corporation, you need to find out what the similar rule in the law governing your type of business entity says on that point.
The handbook that was linked earlier sets out the rule clearly for corporations on page 12. But the same principle should logically apply to a LLC as well, but as only corporations are mentioned you'd need to get clarity on that issue if your business is not organized with the state as a corporation. (Note that the tax classification of the business doesn't matter for this.) If you aren't sure whether the rule in the handbook applies to your type of business entity it would be well worth your time and the fee you pay to consult a business attorney to make sure you get it right. That fee would be tax deductible for the business entity as cost of doing business as long as the business entity pays it rather than you personally.
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Zigner
Well-Known Member
Mike Kalir is not the OP (unless he created another account for some reason). Of course, this does not otherwise affect the accuracy of your response.
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