Prohibited Copy Certifications

California law tightly restricts which documents a notary may certify as true copies. Outside the two permitted categories — copies of powers of attorney and the notary's own sequential journal entries — notaries must decline to certify copies of virtually all other documents.

Specifically prohibited: birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, naturalization records, court judgments, passports, and any other certificate or record that has an official issuing agency. These may only be certified by the issuing authority itself — for example, the California Department of Public Health for vital records, or the court clerk for court judgments.

A notary who certifies a copy of a birth certificate is performing an act they have no legal authority to perform. Even if the copy is accurate, the notary's certification is legally meaningless for that document type and may mislead the recipient about its authenticity.

Exam Tip: Clients often arrive with understandable reasons for wanting a certified copy — a lost passport, an emergency need for a birth certificate. The correct answer is always: decline and direct the client to the issuing government agency. There is no emergency exception that authorizes a notary to certify prohibited documents.