California Notary Public Exam · Notarial Acts and Documentation
California Notary Public Exam: Certified Copies, Oaths, and Other Acts Concepts
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Overview
This chapter covers notarial acts other than acknowledgments and jurats. California law gives notaries a short list of powers, and the exam checks that you know where those powers stop.
A notary may take acknowledgments and proofs, take depositions and affidavits, and administer oaths and affirmations. A notary may certify a copy of a power of attorney, and may certify a copy of an entry in the notary's own journal when the Secretary of State or a court asks for it. Demanding payment of bills of exchange and protesting them is a duty only for a notary employed by a financial institution, while working for it.
A notary may not certify copies of birth, death, or marriage records. Those certified copies come only from official record keepers such as the state or local registrar or the county recorder. A notary commission alone does not let a person perform marriages: the notary must also be a person the Family Code authorizes, such as a priest, minister, or rabbi. A notary may issue confidential marriage licenses only after the county clerk approves the notary and the notary completes the clerk's course.
A notary may administer an oath or an affirmation. California allows a form of oath that ends with "so help you God" and another form made under penalty of perjury with no mention of God, and a jurat oath can be asked as "Do you swear or affirm that the statements in this document are true?" A person who cannot write may sign with a mark, such as an X, when witnesses watch and sign their own names, and one of them writes the person's name near the mark.
Key concepts
Certified copy of a power of attorney
A California notary may certify that a copy of a power of attorney is a true copy of the original.
Memory tipPower of attorney copies: yes.
Source: California Government Code §8205; Probate Code §4307 · as of 2026
Certified copy of a journal entry
A notary may certify a copy of an entry in the notary's own journal when the Secretary of State or a court asks for it.
Memory tipJournal copy certified on official request.
Source: California Government Code §8205, §8206(e) · as of 2026
Vital records
Notaries may not certify copies of birth, death, or marriage records. Certified copies come from official record keepers such as the registrar or county recorder.
Memory tipBirth, death, marriage: send them to the records office.
Oath and affirmation
A notary may administer an oath or an affirmation. One form ends "so help you God"; another is made under penalty of perjury without mentioning God. A simple jurat question is "Do you swear or affirm that the statements in this document are true?"
Memory tipSwear or affirm: both are allowed.
Source: California Government Code §8205; Code of Civil Procedure §2094 · as of 2026
Signature by mark
A person who cannot write may sign with a mark, such as an X. Witnesses watch and sign their own names, and one writes the person's name next to the mark.
Memory tipX plus witnesses who sign.
Marriages and confidential licenses
A notary may perform a marriage only if the notary is also authorized under Family Code sections 400 to 402. A notary may issue confidential marriage licenses only with county clerk approval after the clerk's course.
Memory tipCommission alone: no marriages, no licenses.
Source: California Family Code §§400-402, §530 · as of 2026
Often tested
- A notary may certify copies of powers of attorney.
- A notary may not certify copies of birth, death, or marriage records.
- A notary commission alone does not authorize performing marriages or issuing confidential marriage licenses.
- Protesting bills of exchange is only for notaries employed by a financial institution.
- A notary may administer either an oath or an affirmation.
3 sample questions
Verified practice questions from this unit.
Question 1. A customer asks a California notary to certify a copy of a birth certificate. What should the notary do?
- ① Decline and refer the customer to the agency that keeps the record
- ② Certify the copy if the customer shows the original
- ③ Certify the copy and record it in the journal
- ④ Complete a jurat on the copy instead
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Answer: ① Decline and refer the customer to the agency that keeps the record
Key point: No certified copies of vital records
California notaries may not certify copies of birth, death, or marriage records. Certified copies come from official record keepers such as the state or local registrar or the county recorder.
Wrong choices
- Certify the copy if the customer shows the original: Notaries are not allowed to certify copies of birth records, even with the original.
- Certify the copy and record it in the journal: Recording it does not make it allowed.
- Complete a jurat on the copy instead: A jurat is not a way to certify a vital record copy.
Question 2. What is an affirmation?
- ① A solemn promise made on personal honor without reference to God
- ② A signed statement that does not need to be true
- ③ A promise made to God that a statement is true
- ④ A certificate showing a copy matches the original
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Answer: ① A solemn promise made on personal honor without reference to God
Key point: Affirmation = oath without God
An affirmation is a solemn promise on one's personal honor, without mentioning God. It has the same legal effect as an oath.
Wrong choices
- A signed statement that does not need to be true: An affirmation is a promise of truth.
- A promise made to God that a statement is true: That describes an oath, not an affirmation.
- A certificate showing a copy matches the original: That describes a certified copy.
Question 3. Which kind of document may a California notary certify as a true copy?
- ① A power of attorney
- ② A marriage certificate
- ③ A birth certificate
- ④ A death certificate
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Answer: ① A power of attorney
Key point: Notaries may certify POA copies
A California notary may certify a copy of a power of attorney. Notaries may not certify copies of vital records such as birth, death, or marriage certificates.
Wrong choices
- A marriage certificate: Marriage records are certified only by official record keepers.
- A birth certificate: Birth records are certified only by official record keepers.
- A death certificate: Death records are certified only by official record keepers.