Notary journal entry check

What it checks

A journal entry is only as good as its thinnest column, and the column that goes thin is rarely the signer's name. It is the time left off a busy afternoon, the fee box skipped because the signing was a favor, the ID line that says “DL” and nothing else. The check reads one entry three ways:

1. MissingEvery column your state's rule lists has something in it. Columns the rule asks for only when they apply (an interpreter, a requester of fact, an address away from your usual place) may stay empty.
2. No timeThe date and time column carries a time as well as a date. Every state here asks for both.
3. RemoveNothing the state forbids: a full ID number in Pennsylvania, a Social Security or card number in Missouri.

It does not judge whether what you wrote is true, and it does not stand in for your platform's own journal. If your journal is the platform's, check its export against these columns before you rely on it; the electronic notary journal comparison reads what each one captures.

Worked example: the Texas default

The tool opens on a Texas remote acknowledgment of a warranty deed. Read against the 7 columns Texas lists, it has a date with no time and an empty fee, so it scores 6 of 7 filled and raises 2 findings. Checked by hand:

State notes

Most of the columns are the same everywhere. These are the ones that differ, and the reason an entry that passes in one state can fail in another. The rules behind each are set out in notary journal requirements by state.

• PAEach notarial act a separate entry, completed fully, with no blank spaces or boxes. No personally identifiable information: no part of a Social Security number, no full driver's license or ID card number, no date or place of birth, no biometric records. The last four digits of an ID are allowed. The check flags a run of five or more digits in any column.
• MONo Social Security or credit card number anywhere in the entry, and two columns other states lack: the requester of fact and the software behind your electronic signature. See Missouri.
• WAFor a remote act the principal's signature column takes a note that the act was performed remotely; signer signatures are not required for remote acts.
• MDA column of its own for whether the person appeared in person or by communication technology, and the ID number of the credential used.
• COThe remote provider used for each act, and an interpreter's details when one took part.
• FLEvidence of identity notes that the ID passed credential analysis and the principal passed identity proofing; see identity proofing in RON.
• TXWhere a credible witness vouched for the principal, their printed name and address, and their ID if you do not know them.