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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. What methods
of payment are acceptable?
The following are the accepted methods of payment in
order of preference:
• Cash.
• Money Orders and Cashiers Checks (made out to Ricky Espinoza Enterprises).
• Personal checks are accepted up to a value of $20 and
should be made out to Ricky Espinoza Enterprises.
Q. What form of ID
is acceptable for notarization?
A. A valid and acceptable form of ID must contain the person's
photograph, physical description, signature and should also have a
serial number or identifying number provided by a
government-approved office. Examples include the following:
• Driver's License or non-driver's ID Card (Senior Identification Card, Under 18 Identification Card,
State Identification Card) issued within the last 5 years by one of
the 50 States in the United States of America
• Driver's License issued in Mexico or Canada (must not be expired)
• U.S. Passport (must be current and in good condition)
• Foreign Passport stamped by the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) / Department of Homeland Security
• U.S. Military Identification Card
• Inmate ID Issued by the California Department of Corrections (if
inmate is in custody)
** IMPORTANT: If the person in the picture ID does not look like the
person in front of the Notary Public, an explanation must be
provided (and will be recorded in the Journal of Notarial Acts).
It is recommended that a document supporting the explanation
be provided. Ricky Espinoza (the Notary Public) reserves the
right to refuse notarization if he is not convinced, as this may
present a possible issue with fraud.
Q. What form of ID is
NOT acceptable for notarization?
A. The following
list includes some unacceptable
forms of ID:
• U.S. Military Common Access Card (CAC)
•
Birth Certificates
• Expired or Temporary Licenses
• Social Security Cards
Q. What can I
do if I don't currently have any ID with me?
A. It happens to everyone at least once in their life - forgot the
wallet, purse got stolen, etc. Even in these situations we can
still get your documents notarized in the following way (there are
more details, but this is the overall picture):
• Come to the appointment with 2 adults who personally know the signer(s)
to act as Credible Witnesses;
• Each Credible Witness must have
a valid form of ID (see above) and must be at least 18 years old;
• Each Credible Witness must be put under oath (or affirmation), fingerprinted and must sign in the
Notary's Sequential Journal.
Q. Can you do Apostilles?
Yes. I
will pick up the documents from you (notarize them if necessary) and will then deliver them back
to you once the Apostille is completed. The entire process takes
1 - 2
days (not including weekends or holidays).
Q. What is an Apostille?
In short, it is a government authentication of a notarization
that
follows the rules of an international convention established in
1961. Some countries ask for Apostilles, others for
Certifications. The Apostilles does NOT authenticate or
certify the document, it only authenticates the notarization of the
document. The format is a little different, but the
concept is the same - you need to find out what authentication type
the country is requesting. For a full description, please see
the
Apostilles description on the CA Secretary of
State website. The Secretary of State will
charge some fees for this service, on top of any mailing fees,
parking fees and fees charged by either the document-issuing agency
or a Notary Public.
Also, unless you take it in directly to a field office, you'll have
to mail it in to the Sacramento office and it can take up to a
couple of weeks before you get your Apostille back - can you wait
that long? As you can imagine, the process is not very complex
but can be labor-intensive, which is why some folks charge
$120 to do it for you.
I only charge $80 + travel fees to your home/office.
Q. Can you notarize a document written in a language other than
English?
A.
Yes. However, the document's instructions for notarization
must be in clear English!
Q. Can you notarize immigration documents?
Yes, but Ricky Espinoza is not able to provide any immigration
consultation or services.
Q. Can you notarize a copy of an immigration green card?
No. California statute specifies that a notary public may only
certify copies of powers of attorney under Probate Code section
4307, and copies of his or her notary public journal.
(Government Code sections 8205(a)(4) and 8205(b)(1)). This
pretty much rules out notarizing all copies except for
the two mentioned in this paragraph.
Q. Can you notarize a copy of my birth certificate or marriage
record?
No. California Health & Safety Code section 103545 states that these documents
"may only be certified by the State Registrar,
or duly appointed and acting local registrars during their term of
office, and by county recorders." Also, see previous
question's answer. Some entities will accept a
"California Copy Certification by Document Custodian" in which the
document's custodian (i.e. the person who has the document in their
possession) solemnly swears in front of the
Notary Public
that the photocopy in the custodian's possession is true, correct
and complete . The custodian and the entity receiving the
document need to determine if this type of notarization is
satisfactory to their transaction and then they need to specify
these written instructions to the Notary Public.
Q. Can you notarize a copy of a fetal death certificate or death
certificate?
No. California Health & Safety Code section 103545 states that
these documents "may only be certified by the State Registrar, or
duly appointed and acting local registrars during their term of
office, and by county recorders." Also see answer
to previous question.
Q. Are you able to notarize documents in Northern California?
Yes, I am able to notarize documents anywhere within
the boundaries of the State of California. However, my normal coverage area includes San Diego County, Imperial County,
Riverside County, Orange County, Los Angeles County and San
Bernardino County. I do travel to Northern California
periodically for business, so if my trip coincides with the
date/time you need the service, I'll be happy to help you and charge
you a local fee (no travel fee from Southern California!) Call me to discuss further.
Q. What was the inspiration behind your web design?
There have been many socio-psychological studies done on the
topic of web design and I've tried to follow my personal
interpretation of the "rules of thumb" these provide for web design.
I try to keep images to a minimum in order to improve the time it
takes to download the page - the drawback is that not everyone has
the same fonts installed in their PC as me, so even though the fonts
I choose on my design look really nice on my PC, it may look pretty
weird on someone else's PC. I'm trying to correct that by
using standard fonts. But sometimes I deliberately stray from the rules. For
instance, I decided to use the black background in order to provide
a more serious, clean and "memorable" website -- most websites
you'll find have picture backgrounds or some "shade" of white and
mine will stand out as the "notary website with the black
background", making it easier to remember. I also chose
to do my own design because I like the flexibility and challenge - I
am an electrical engineer and had to learn how to program HTML,
Cascade Style Sheets and PHP, among other things. I can modify
my website as I please anytime I want, with no dependence on any
"outside" parties or having to pay extra. Now I'm learning how
to boost the hits on my site and get more business. Overall, I
am very happy with my web design, but I know there is still room for
improvement and will continue to work on it as necessary.
Whether you love it or hate it, I will be happy to hear your
comments! Please send me an email at
notarypublic@rickyespinoza.com
and let me know what
you think. If you are curious and want to learn, I can help
you do a design or teach you what I have learned.
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©2008 Ricky Espinoza Enterprises -
All rights Reserved |
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