Certified Copies: POA Only
~9 min read · Remember the short list: powers of attorney and journal line items — nothing else.
California gives notaries the narrowest copy-certification power in the country: powers of attorney, and lines from your own journal. Everything else — and the exam will parade birth certificates, diplomas, and passports past you — is a refusal.
The two-item list
A California notary may certify a copy of: (1) a power of attorney (Probate Code 4307), and (2) the notary's own journal entries, when requested by statute-specified parties (the Secretary of State, or via public line-item request). That is the complete list. The POA certification recites that the copy is a true and correct copy of the power of attorney presented.
- Power of attorney: yes
- Your own journal line items: yes
- Everything else: no
The famous refusals
Vital records — birth, death, fetal death, marriage — may be certified only by the State Registrar, local registrars, and county recorders; a notary certifying one commits a violation, full stop. Diplomas, transcripts, passports, immigration documents, corporate records: all outside the power. The workaround the handbook endorses: the custodian certifies their own copy — a *disinterested custodian* writes and signs a declaration that the copy is true and complete, and swears to that declaration before the notary with a jurat (GC 27201.1 pattern for tangible copies). The notary notarizes the custodian's sworn statement — never the copy itself.
- Vital records: registrar/recorder only — never the notary
- Copy-certification-by-document-custodian: custodian swears, notary jurats
- The notary's certificate attaches to the DECLARATION, not the copy
Journal copies
Members of the public may request a photocopy of a journal line item by written request identifying the parties, document type, and month/year; the notary responds within 15 business days and may charge up to $0.30 per page. This is distinct from certifying the entry for the Secretary of State on demand.
Worked example
A client needs three things certified for an overseas job: her university diploma, her birth certificate, and a copy of the POA naming her brother as agent. What can you do for her?
POA: yes — the one document a notary may copy-certify; compare the copy against the original and complete the certification. Birth certificate: absolute no — direct her to the county recorder or State Registrar for an official certified copy; a notary certification of it would be a violation. Diploma: not certifiable by you, but the custodian route works — she (or better, the university registrar as custodian) writes a declaration that the attached copy is true and complete, and swears to it before you with a jurat; many foreign employers accept exactly this package. Score: one certification, one referral, one jurat-on-declaration — and zero violations.
Common exam pitfalls
Certifying a vital record 'just this once.'
Never. Registrars and county recorders own vital-record certification exclusively.
Notarizing the photocopy in the custodian workaround.
Your jurat attaches to the custodian's sworn DECLARATION. The copy itself is never notarized.
Forgetting the journal-copy mechanics.
Written request → respond within 15 business days → max $0.30/page.
POA and my own journal — the whole certified-copy kingdom.
Recap
- Certifiable: powers of attorney and the notary's own journal entries — nothing else
- Vital records belong to registrars and county recorders exclusively
- Custodian declaration + jurat is the lawful workaround for other documents
- The notary certifies the declaration, never the copy
- Journal copies: written request, 15 business days, ≤$0.30/page
- When in doubt: refuse and refer
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