Felony Notary Fraud — Deed of Trust (Government Code §8214.2)

Government Code §8214.2 addresses a specific aggravated scenario: a commissioned notary public who knowingly and willfully, with intent to defraud, performs any notarial act on a deed of trust covering real property that consists of a single-family residence with no more than four units, with knowledge that the deed of trust is false, forged, or contains false statements in whole or in part.

This is a felony. It operates alongside — not instead of — civil penalties (up to $75,000 for residential real property fraud) and mandatory commission revocation (Government Code §8214.8). A conviction results in all three consequences simultaneously.

The statute targets the notary as a knowing, willing participant. A notary who was deceived into notarizing a fraudulent document does not satisfy the "knowledge" element and would not be prosecuted under this section.

Exam Tip: Distinguish §8214.2 (commissioned notary committing fraud) from §8227.3 (any person without a commission performing notarial acts on real property). Both are felonies, but the factual basis differs. §8214.2 requires the notary to have a valid commission and to act with actual knowledge of the fraud.