To report notary fraud, file an administrative complaint with the state office that commissioned the notary — in most states the Secretary of State — and file a separate report with local law enforcement. To recover money, submit a claim against the notary’s surety bond and, if your losses exceed the bond, sue the notary in civil court. Move quickly: civil fraud deadlines run as short as two years in some states, and the notary’s journal entries and other evidence can disappear.
Gather Your Evidence First
The strength of every filing that follows depends on what you can prove. Before contacting any agency, pull together the paper trail.
- A complete copy of the notarized document, including the stamp and signature. If it was recorded with a county office, request a certified copy from the recorder.
- The notary’s full legal name, commission number, and commission expiration date, all of which appear on the stamp or seal.
- Proof you were not present, if your signature was forged. Travel records, work timesheets, credit card statements, and phone location data all work.
- The notary’s journal entry for the transaction. Most states require notaries to log each notarization with the date, document type, signer’s name, and ID used. Requesting the entry through your attorney or the administrative complaint process can show whether the notary fabricated the record or logged details that don’t match reality.
- Emails, text messages, receipts, and advertisements connected to the notary’s services. These fix the timeline and show what the notary said about their authority.
File a police report early. The report itself becomes evidence: it creates an official record of the alleged crime with a date stamp, and it signals to bonding companies and courts that you treated the matter as a crime. State notary agencies can discipline a notary administratively but generally cannot pursue criminal charges or order refunds, so the police report is what moves the matter toward prosecution.
File the Administrative Complaint
Your first formal filing goes to the state office that commissioned the notary, which is the Secretary of State in most jurisdictions. Look for a complaint form on the office’s website, usually under the notary or licensing division. You will need the notary’s identifying information, the date and type of notarization, copies of the disputed document, and a written narrative of what went wrong. If the office has an online portal, upload digital copies of your evidence. If you mail the complaint, send it with tracking so you have proof of delivery.
The agency reviews your complaint and decides whether to open an investigation. The possible outcomes include suspension or permanent revocation of the notary’s commission, fines, and a public disciplinary record. What the state agency usually cannot do is award you money, order restitution, or file criminal charges. Treat the administrative complaint as one prong of a multi-front approach: it puts the notary and the state on official notice, and it strengthens any parallel criminal or civil action.
Common grounds for commission revocation include notarizing without the signer present, making fraudulent statements on the commission application, failing to maintain a required surety bond, and being convicted of a felony or any crime involving dishonesty. Revocation creates a permanent public record and bars the individual from ever serving as a notary again.
Report the Fraud to Law Enforcement
After filing the administrative complaint, report the fraud to local law enforcement: the police department, the county sheriff, or the district attorney’s office. Some jurisdictions run dedicated fraud investigation units. Provide the same documentation you submitted to the state agency, along with a copy of your administrative complaint. Law enforcement will review the evidence and decide whether to file charges.
Forgery is the most common criminal charge in notary fraud cases. Penalties range from a misdemeanor carrying up to one year in jail and fines of $1,000 to $5,000, to a felony with prison sentences of one to 15 years and fines that can exceed $100,000, depending on the jurisdiction and the value of the forged document.
If the fraud involved forged identification documents, federal charges under 18 U.S.C. § 1028 are possible, carrying penalties of up to 15 years in prison when the offense involves a birth certificate, driver’s license, or more than five false identification documents, and up to 30 years if the fraud facilitated terrorism.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 18 – 1028 Fraud and Related Activity in Connection With Identification Documents
Claim Against the Notary’s Surety Bond
Most states require notaries to maintain a surety bond as a condition of their commission, and that bond exists to reimburse members of the public who suffer financial harm from the notary’s misconduct. Required amounts vary widely. Some states set the bond as low as $500, while others require $25,000 or more. States that authorize remote online notarization sometimes require a separate, higher bond for RON work. About 21 jurisdictions do not require a bond at all.
To file a claim, identify the bonding company from the notary’s commission records — the state commissioning office can usually provide this — then submit a written claim with your evidence of financial loss. The surety company investigates and either negotiates a settlement or pays out up to the full bond amount.
One detail worth understanding: the bond protects you, not the notary. After the surety pays your claim, it has the right to recover every dollar from the notary, including defense costs. The notary’s separate errors and omissions insurance, if they carry it, covers honest mistakes but not fraud, so it will not shield the notary from a bond subrogation claim.
Sue in Civil Court When Losses Exceed the Bond
If your losses exceed the bond amount, a civil lawsuit is the next step. You can sue the notary for intentional fraud, negligence, or both, seeking the full amount of your financial loss plus attorney fees. Courts in many jurisdictions also allow punitive damages in fraud cases, which are designed to punish egregious conduct rather than simply make you whole. A successful judgment can be enforced through wage garnishment or seizure of the notary’s personal assets.
Civil fraud deadlines vary by state, generally running two to six years from the date of the fraud or from when you discovered it. Many states apply a discovery rule that starts the clock when you knew or should have known about the fraud rather than when it actually occurred. That matters because notary fraud often surfaces months or years after the notarization, when a title search reveals a forged deed or an immigration filing is rejected. Even with the discovery rule, don’t wait. Evidence degrades, witnesses forget, and some states impose an outer limit regardless of when you found out.
Ask for Criminal Restitution if the Notary Is Prosecuted
If the notary faces criminal prosecution, you may be entitled to restitution as part of the sentence. Federal law allows judges to order convicted defendants to reimburse victims for financial losses directly caused by the crime, including lost income and property damage.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 18 – 3663 Order of Restitution Most states have similar provisions. To participate, you typically need to submit a victim impact statement before sentencing that documents your financial losses. Contact the prosecutor’s office handling the case to request the appropriate form.
Restitution orders become a lien against the defendant’s property and remain enforceable for 20 years from the date of judgment, plus any time the defendant spends incarcerated. You can also request an abstract of judgment from the court clerk and record it in the county where the defendant owns property, which gives you a lien in your own name to pursue civil collection independently.3U.S. Department of Justice. Restitution Process Restitution covers direct financial losses only. It does not cover pain and suffering, legal fees for private representation, or interest.
Clearing a Forged Deed From Property Records
Reporting the notary and recovering money will not remove a forged deed or fraudulent lien from the public record. That requires a court order.
A quiet title action is a lawsuit asking a judge to declare a specific deed or lien invalid and confirm that you are the rightful owner. You will need to give the court your chain of title, the fraudulent document, and evidence of the forgery. Filing fees vary by property value and jurisdiction, from a few hundred dollars to several thousand. If the court rules in your favor, the fraudulent document is voided in the public record.
While the quiet title action is pending, file a lis pendens with the county recorder. This is a notice of pending litigation, and its practical effect is powerful: no buyer or lender will touch the property while a lis pendens is on file, which prevents the fraudster from selling or refinancing before you get your day in court.
Two other steps to take immediately. Notify the county recorder’s office of the forgery and ask about filing a notice of fraudulent deed or similar document. Then check whether you have an owner’s title insurance policy. Title insurance typically covers losses from forged deeds, and the insurer may pay to resolve the claim or hire an attorney to represent you in the quiet title action.
Reporting Notario and Immigration Document Fraud
If the fraud involved someone advertising as a “notario publico” who promised immigration help, took money and documents, and then disappeared or damaged your immigration case, the reporting path is slightly different. Report to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, which accepts anonymous complaints and collects reports to build enforcement patterns.4Federal Trade Commission. Notarios Are No Help With Immigration File with local law enforcement as well, since local prosecutors handle individual criminal cases.
Federal law separately addresses immigration document fraud. Knowingly preparing or helping to prepare a false immigration application carries civil penalties of $250 to $2,000 per document for a first offense, rising to $2,000 to $5,000 for repeat violators. Criminal penalties for concealing one’s role as a document preparer on a falsified application can reach five years in prison.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 8 – 1324c Penalties for Document Fraud In the United States, a notary public has no authority to give legal advice, draft contracts, or fill out immigration applications for a fee, regardless of how they advertise.