A notary is also empowered in some cases, and in accord with the requirements of the Notaries Public Act, to make certified copies of certain original documents [12-55-120 C.R.S.]. A notary, like some other public officials – county clerks, courts, registrars of vital statistics, the Secretary of State, etc. – has the power to certify copies.
This is the newest and least used of the three basic powers. Demand for certified copies is increasing steadily, however. Every notary should know how and when to make them.
For many uses, a copy properly certified by a notary is as acceptable as the original of a document, and some of these uses require multiple certified copies. The Secretary of State’s office most frequently sees examples of notarized copies in the following areas:
Employment matters – e.g. diplomas, awards and honors, ratings;
Business affairs – e.g., licenses and permits, powers of attorney, contracts and agreements;
Adoptions – e.g., home studies, financial statements, health assessments;
International travel – e.g., passports, drivers’ licenses, other documents for backup of originals.
This power is restricted, and must be exercised in accord with section 12-55-120. Note that the word “facsimile,” as used in this section, has nothing to do with a fax machine or a faxed copy of a document.
To make a certified copy, the notary must:
1. See the original document [12-55-120(1) C.R.S.]. A notary is not permitted to make certified copies of copies, no matter how “official” those copies may look.
2. Have a special written request for the certified copy [12-55-120(1) (a) and (b) C.R.S.]. The written request must include the two statements shown at (a) and (b) and must be signed by the client.
3. Have two copies of the original document, one to certify and one for the notary to keep.
4. Make sure the copies are “complete, full, true, and exact facsimilies” of the original. A notary is responsible for the accuracy of the copies. The notary may make a manual comparison, by careful proof reading or by use of a light table, but most notaries ensure accuracy by making the copies themselves.
5. Certify the client’s copy, using the certification form shown in the law. A notary must always add this notarization him/herself, since it is the only notarial certificate that cannot be preprinted, and must accurately complete all the blanks in it.
When these steps are completed, the notary returns the original document and the certified copy to the client. The notary keeps his/her copy and the client’s signed, written request. The request should not be given back to the client when the notarization is finished.
This written request is the notary’s protection if s/he is later questioned about whether it was proper to certify a copy of a specific document. The notary is not expected to know, at least not in every instance, whether or not it is lawful to copy a particular document. In some cases, this is actually a legal issue, which a notary cannot resolve. The client therefore takes the major portion of this responsibility, in the form of the signed, written request.
If the question should arise, a sensible notary does not certify copies, with or without the written request, when it is obvious to any reasonable person, without any special knowledge or expertise, that such certification would be unlawful. A signed, written request from the client does not take away every shred of a notary’s responsibility. For example, a notary may not certify a copy of a birth certificate. Only the Colorado Department of Health may certify these copies. [25-2-117(1) C.R.S.].