Blank Notarial Certificate — Prohibited Act

Government Code §8214.15 directly prohibits a notary from affixing their official signature and seal to a notarial certificate that is incomplete — containing blank spaces intended to be filled in after the seal is applied. A willful violation carries a maximum civil penalty of $1,500.

This rule is particularly important because a pre-signed, pre-sealed blank certificate can be detached from one document and re-attached to a different one — effectively creating a fraudulent notarization on demand without any further action by the notary. The completed certificate with blanks left for names, dates, or venues becomes an instrument of fraud.

When a pre-printed certificate contains incorrect information (e.g., wrong venue, missing date), the notary must correct it at the time of the act before signing — not leave it blank for someone else to complete later.

Exam Tip: "Can I pre-sign certificates and have signers fill in their names later?" The answer is unambiguously no. A scenario where an employer asks a notary to sign blank certificates in advance "for efficiency" is a willful violation by the notary — following an employer's instruction does not provide a defense.