A notary who acts before filing their oath of office is guilty of:
Acting before filing the oath is typically a misdemeanor, not a felony.
Not filing the oath of office results in unauthorized acts, not perjury.
Public Officers Law §15 requires a notary public to take and file the oath of office before exercising any official powers; until that filing occurs, the commission is not lawfully operative. The statute expressly provides that acting in office before compliance is a misdemeanor, making the conduct criminally punishable rather than merely void or irregular.
Not filing the oath of office results in a misdemeanor, not fraud.
Explanation
Public Officers Law §15 states that a notary public is a public officer and “must not act before taking and filing oath of office.” The source also says, “Doing so is a misdemeanor,” so acting before filing the oath is punishable as a misdemeanor.