Hawaii Notary Public Exam — All Questions

What is the most heavily tested duty of a Hawaii notary?

• a.Advertising
• b.Keeping a mandatory record (journal) of every official act✓
• c.Certifying passports
• d.Solemnizing marriages

Hawaii places unusual emphasis on record-keeping: a notary must keep a permanent record of every notarial act, and this journal duty is the most heavily tested topic on the Hawaii exam. Complete, contemporaneous entries are mandatory, not optional.

A Hawaii notary's record of each act must include:

• a.Only the fee
• b.Only the signer's name
• c.The date, nature of the act, parties, document, how identity was established, and the fee✓
• d.Nothing specific

Each Hawaii journal entry records the date, the nature of the act, the parties, the document, how identity was established, and the fee. Hawaii treats the record as an official record, so complete entries are required and the notary can be asked to certify copies from it.

Because a Hawaii notary keeps a permanent record of acts, the notary may be asked to:

• a.Certify a copy of a record of a notarial act✓
• b.Destroy the record after each act
• c.Keep no records at all
• d.Share records publicly online

Since Hawaii notaries maintain a permanent official record, they may be required to certify a copy of a record of a notarial act. The record must be kept secure, retained for the period required by law, and handled as the Attorney General directs when the commission ends.

When a Hawaii notary's commission ends, the record of acts must be:

• a.Thrown away
• b.Kept by the last client
• c.Retained or deposited/disposed of as the Attorney General directs✓
• d.Emailed to signers

Hawaii's record is an official record. When the commission ends, the notary must retain or surrender/dispose of it as the Attorney General directs. Failing to keep or properly handle the required record is misconduct that Hawaii takes seriously.