2004 Rules on Notarial Practice

Period of 2 years commencing on the 1 st day of January of the year in which the commissioning is made
unless earlier revoked or the notary public has resigned according to these Rules and Rules of the Court.

EX. Issued notary commission on August 1, 2021, expired on Dec 31, 2022 (less than 2 years because of
retroactively effect)

1. When is there a need of a Notary Public?

- If when a person wants a private document to be transformed into a public one which could be relied
upon by the other people especially the government.
- Ex. Contracts, Affidavits, statements, and other documents required by law need to be notarized
-Ex. Application submitted to government agencies like:
-SSS, Office of the Building Official, Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Environment
and Natural Resources, and Embassy or Consular Office

2. What are the notarial acts allowed by the 2004 Rules?

- Rule IV, Sec 1 - A notary public is empowered to perform the ff notarial acts:
a. Acknowledgments - found in contracts

b. Oaths and Affirmations – Those who take oaths

Oath – If you believe in God (I DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR)
Affirmation – who don’t believe in God but respect religion (I AFFIRM)
Ex. Crim case- counter-affidavit of oaths (must appear before the prosecutor)

c. Jurat – found in Affidavit and Oath

- cannot notarize if the party is not present

d. Signature witnessing
e. Copy certifications – Applied when a private document is reproduced in several copies like a
photocopy of an acknowledgement receipts after a payment of a debts.
f. Another act authorized by these Rules

3. Who is a Notary Public?

- One who is qualified by law to do the notarial acts mentioned
-know the qualifications of a notary public –
Rule III Sec. 1 – Qualifications
To be eligible for commissioning as notary public, the petitioner:
(1) must be a citizen of the Philippines.
(2) must be over twenty-one (21) years of age.
(3) must be a resident in the Philippines for at least one (1) year and maintains a regular place of work
or business in the city or province where the commission is to be issued.
(4) must be a member of the Philippine Bar in good standing with clearances from the Office of the Bar
Confidant of the Supreme Court and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines; and
(5) must not have been convicted in the first instance of any crime involving moral turpitude.

PHILIPPINE JURISDICTION
All Notary Public = is a Lawyer
All Lawyer is not a Notary Public

If you want to be a Notary Public, one must submit a petition in accordance with these rules before the
office of executive judge to establish his/ her qualifications

4. What do you need to have if you are a party to the private document when you go to a Notary
Public for notarization?
1. The original copy of the document
(A notary public can help you for the drafting but ofc with a separate payment)
2. You have to have a competent proof of identity (Cedula and barangay certification is not a proof of
identity)
EX. Valid Government issued card (Passport, SSS ID, Voters Identification Card, PRC ID card, Driver’s
License, UMID, National ID)
If you want a contract to be notarized, you must bring witnesses with you to the contract (The witness is
not related to the contract and not related to the notary public who is going to notarize the contract)

5. What is the indication that the document you have has been completely notarized?
- Look into the whether the notarial certificate has all the details
Rule VIII, Sec 2. The notarial certificate shall include the following:
(a) the name of the notary public as exactly indicated in the commission;
(b) the serial number of the commission of the notary public;
(c) the words "Notary Public" and the province or city where the notary public is commissioned, the
expiration date of the commission, the office address of the notary public; and
(d) the roll of attorney's number, the professional tax receipt number and the place and date of issuance
thereof, and the IBP membership number.
This is in consonance with the notarial register entries; therefore, you cannot have these items
completed without the entries to the notarial register.

Absence of one makes the notarization incomplete and the document cannot be accepted by the person
or company who required the document.
6. What notaries public cannot do?
1. If he/she is not commissioned in the place of notarization, then he/she must not notarize
2. Even if he is commissioned, but if the commission has expired, upon expiry, the Notary Public could
no longer notarize
(a) 3. A notary public cannot notarize outside of his regular place of work or business
Exception - Rule IV, Sec 2.
(1) public offices, convention halls, and similar places where oaths of office may be administered;
(2) public function areas in hotels and similar places for the signing of instruments or documents
requiring notarization;
(3) hospitals and other medical institutions where a party to an instrument or document is confined for
treatment; and
(4) any place where a party to an instrument or document requiring notarization is under detention

The party requested the notarization but it still within the jurisdiction or territory of notary public.

(b) A person shall not perform a notarial act if the person involved as signatory to the instrument or
document.
(1) is not in the notary's presence personally at the time of the notarization; and
(2) is not personally known to the notary public or otherwise identified by the notary public through
competent evidence of identity as defined by these Rules.

Important Disqualification under Rule IV, Section 3 - A notary public is disqualified from performing a
notarial act if he:
(a) is a party to the instrument or document that is to be notarized;
(b) will receive, as a direct or indirect result, any commission, fee, advantage, right, title, interest, cash,
property, or other consideration, except as provided by these Rules and by law; or
(c) is a spouse, common-law partner, ancestor, descendant, or relative by affinity or consanguinity of
the principal within the fourth civil degree.

I cannot notarize any relatives or relatives of my parents.

7. What are the safeguards that the public must take note to avoid any legal concerns relative to the
notarization?
1. You have to make sure that the Notary Public has the authority to notarize and within his/her notarial
jurisdiction.
2. Make sure that the items needed showing the completeness of the notarization are found in the
document itself and that the document has been entered in the Notarial Register.
3. Before you go out of the Notary Public’s office, you have to read the document itself.