A notary public has filed an autograph signature and certificate of official character in a county clerk’s office. A customer then asks that county clerk to authenticate the notary’s signature on an acknowledgment taken elsewhere in New York State. What must the county clerk do under NYS law when requested and the required fee is paid?
The authentication fee is $3, applicable for any acknowledgment in New York State, not just the same county.
Section 133 requires the county clerk, when requested and upon payment of a $3 fee, to affix a certificate under hand and seal to a certificate of proof, acknowledgment, or oath signed by a notary who has qualified or filed an autograph signature and certificate of official character in that office. The statute expressly applies to acts signed by such notary anywhere in the State of New York.
County clerks can authenticate notary signatures for acts performed anywhere in New York State under §133.
Filing an autograph signature allows authentication regardless of the notary's original qualification location.
Explanation
Under §133, a county clerk of a county where the notary has qualified or filed an autograph signature and certificate of official character must, upon request and payment of a $3 fee, affix a certificate under the clerk’s hand and seal to a certificate of proof, acknowledgment, or oath signed by that notary anywhere in New York State. The certificate states that the notary’s commission or certificate of official character with autograph signature is filed in the clerk’s office, that the notary was duly authorized at the time, and that the clerk knows or has compared the handwriting/signature and believes it is genuine.