Kansas notaries public are not state officers however; they are considered public servants of the state. Regardless of who has bonded the notary, purchased the supplies for the notary or paid the application fee, the individual notary is responsible for following all Kansas laws.
Under Kansas law a notary public has the specific authority to take acknowledgements, administer oaths and affirmations, take a verification upon oath or affirmation, witness or attest a signature, certify or attest a copy and any other act permitted by law. However, a Kansas notary may not do any of the above if the notary has a direct financial or beneficial interest in the transaction. In general, if a notary is named in a document, or is signing a document, he or she should not notarize it.
Kansas law does not require notaries public to keep a journal of notarial acts. However, by keeping a journal, the notary has an accurate record of all transactions that could protect the notary if any action is ever questioned.
Notaries public often receive questions or requests from individuals to perform many other actions outside of these specific duties. Please refer to the FAQ section of our website for some commonly asked questions about the responsibilities or duties of a Kansas notary.