Does it constitute a fraudulent act if a notary validates a document when only one signer is present and the other signer has not been personally identified?

Answer 1

A notary is only required to verify the signature of the actual person signing the document for which the notarization is required. Any other names or signatures on the document does not become the notary's responsibility unless the notary is notarizing each and every signature on the document. In that particular case, then all the signatories must be present and must sign the document in the presence of the notary. Most notarized documents are designed to have only one signature for a notary to notarize.

Answer 2

The notary could be verifying one of the signers, but there might be some question as to his competence if he verified both. The only responsibility of the notary is to verify that the identification of the person signing matches the name on the document. If he was only verifying one of the signatures, he/she might have been ok. There are some specific requirements regarding the limits and responsibilities of a notary. * Not necessarily. It depends on what the document was and who the signers were. For example if the signers were husband and wife and they resided in a community property state the validation would be legally acceptable.