• Ohio notaries bear witness to the signing of many important documents.stamp and pad image by jovica antoski from Fotolia.com
  
  Notaries prevent ID theft and fraud by acting as witness to the signing of certain documents and validating that the signature belongs to the person who signed. Ohio has one of the most unusual notary public landscapes. The state is made up of 88 counties, each county employs its own set of application requirements. Despite these differences, the laws governing the actions of notaries in Ohio are unified in the rules and duties outlined in the Ohio Revised Code.
  
  

Oaths and Acknowledgements

• Notaries often notarize affidavits. The act requires a notary public to administer an oath to the individual in addition to confirming the person's identity, witnessing the individual's signature and certifying the document. Acknowledgements that generally accompany things such as deeds, mortgages and liens require similar actions. The notary must verify the identity of the signee before certifying that he or she witnessed the signature. These steps involved in verifying oaths and acknowledgements are a crucial part of the duties of a notary public.
  
  

Fees

• Notaries charge a small fee for their services. Maximum fees are outlined by the government and regulate how much a notary public can charge. These fees are stated in Section 147.08 of the Ohio Revised Code. The fee for the protest of a bill of exchange or promissory note is $1 plus the cost of related expenses, recording an instrument costs 10 cents per 100 words, certifying an affidavit is $1.50 and certifying an acknowledgement is $2.
  
  

Removal from Office

• Notaries who are not attorneys hold office for five years before they are required to renew their commission. Some circumstances call for the removal of a notary public from her commission prior to the end of the five-year term. Section 147.03 holds that if a notary public breaks the ode they took before beginning his or her duties as a notary public that individual will be removed from office. In addition, if a notary public fails to issue the required oath to signees, he will be removed from his duties and cannot be reappointed for three years. Section 147.13 outlines another act that results in removal from office: charging higher fees for notarization services than is outlined in the law.
  
  

After Commission Expires

• Notaries are not allowed to perform their duties after their commission has expired or they are removed from office. Doing so will result in a $500 fine and ineligibility to reapply for commission. Nonetheless, if former notary public does perform notarizing duties, those notary acts are still legally valid.