A signer has no hands and cannot provide any print. May the notarization proceed?

California requires a thumbprint in the journal for certain instruments — deeds, quitclaim deeds, deeds of trust and powers of attorney — because a print is the one element of the record that cannot be forged or borrowed. But the requirement is directed at obtaining the signer's own print, and a signer who physically cannot provide one is not thereby barred from having a document notarized. The statute anticipates this: where the signer cannot affix a print, the notary records that fact in the journal along with an explanation of the reason. That entry becomes part of the record and preserves the audit trail's integrity by documenting why the usual element is absent, rather than leaving an unexplained gap. What is never acceptable is a substitute print from anyone else, which would introduce a false element into the record — worse than an explained absence. Nor is a court order needed; the notary handles it within the act.

Where the signer physically cannot provide a thumbprint, the notary records that fact in the journal together with an explanation of the reason, and the notarization may proceed.

California requires a journal thumbprint for deeds, quitclaim deeds, deeds of trust and powers of attorney affecting real property. Where the signer cannot provide one, the notary records that fact and the reason in the journal.

Explain the Absence. A documented gap protects the record; a borrowed print corrupts it.

Know which documents trigger the thumbprint requirement. It is not every notarization — it attaches to specified real property instruments and powers of attorney.

• •Refusing the act because no print can be taken
• •Accepting a print from a family member
• •Recording that the print was omitted without stating why