[WSBAPT] If a public notary prints their name, but does not sign their name, is that notary certification valid?

Fri Jun 19 09:17:52 PDT 2026

Eric,

Apologies for the iPhone tapping name misspell on my notary signature screed. You didn't know it, but you needed your K today. (I'm trying desperately to make that relate somehow to Wheaties, but I don't think it's working.)

Happy weekend. Best, Josh

Joshua McKarcher

Attorney, Owner
McKarcher Law PLLC
o: (509) 758-3345
josh at mckarcherlaw.com<mailto:josh at mckarcherlaw.com>

[signatureImage]

________________________________
From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> on behalf of Joshua McKarcher <josh at mckarcherlaw.com>
Sent: Friday, 19 June 2026 08:17:54
To: WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv <wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com>; ak at seattle-silvalaw.com <ak at seattle-silvalaw.com>
Subject: Re: [WSBAPT] If a public notary prints their name, but does not sign their name, is that notary certification valid?

Erick,

I agree with you about the common law signature, but I'm fairly certain if you get into the weeds of the notary public statutes and regulations and even the forms, it is a requirement (in each of Idaho and Washington) that a notary use the signature that they provide as the document or sample on their application.

For example, my application recites my full legal name as Joshua David McKarcher for purposes of first identifying me as a human being.

But then my notary NAME and SIGNATURE is only Joshua McKarcher. I must order my stamp to read THAT name, and I have to provide an exemplar of my notary signature in a box.

It is the case actually that if I suddenly began signing my name, Joshua David McKarcher, those notarial acts would become notorious (by which I mean naughty even if I'm behaving loosely with the meanings of words)!!!

The Joshua David McKarcher signatures would be noncompliant under the rules and regulations because that's not what is on file with the state or represented on my stamp.

(Of course the stamp name is irrelevant for signatures that look like line drawings of a person who can't be bothered. Then only the line drawing must match the signature on file with the state. )

There are saving regulations that say things like the instrument is not automatically invalid (void) only for these technical reasons. But that does not mean the act is not voidable and that someone could not challenge the act as invalid because it is noncompliant if they cared enough to obtain a court order to that effect.

Please forgive me for this email. Happy Friday! Best, Josh

Joshua McKarcher

Attorney, Owner
McKarcher Law PLLC
o: (509) 758-3345
josh at mckarcherlaw.com<mailto:josh at mckarcherlaw.com>

[signatureImage]

________________________________
From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> on behalf of Eric Nelsen <eric at sayrelawoffices.com>
Sent: Thursday, 18 June 2026 09:11:06
To: ak at seattle-silvalaw.com <ak at seattle-silvalaw.com>; WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv <wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com>
Subject: Re: [WSBAPT] If a public notary prints their name, but does not sign their name, is that notary certification valid?

Under common law a “signature” can be any kind of mark. It’s even allowable, for example, to sign “John Smith” as my idiosyncratic way of signing “Eric Nelsen.” The purpose of a signature is both instrumental (part of the act of notarizing) and evidentiary (notary was there and it was truly the notary and not somebody else). Any mark can meet both purposes.

Marks that don’t bear some relationship to what people would expect to see as a signature, impairs the evidentiary function. Which is my longwinded and pompous way of agreeing with Melody—the problem isn’t that the printed signature is invalid, but that third parties might be inclined to distrust it.

Sincerely,

Eric

Eric C. Nelsen

Sayre Law Offices, PLLC

1417 31st Ave South

Seattle WA 98144-3909

206-625-0092

eric at sayrelawoffices.com<mailto:eric at sayrelawoffices.com>

From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> On Behalf Of Andrekita Silva
Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2026 12:52 AM
To: wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com
Subject: [WSBAPT] If a public notary prints their name, but does not sign their name, is that notary certification valid?

Law Office of F. Andrekita Silva
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

June 18, 2026

Listserve,

If a public notary prints his name, is that notary certification valid?

RCW 42.45.130 says the certificate must be "signed and dated" in the same manner as is on file with the state.

A client gave me a revocation to record. But, his name looks 100% printed. Some people tell me that my signature looks like I've printed, but it really is my cursive signature. I could not find a phone number for the notary to ask him if that is his signature or if he actually only printed his name and forgot to provide his signature.   I've emailed to my client to ask for this guy's phone number. I'm going to try to check with this guy to see if that's his signature or if he printed.

But, what do you all think?  Will this revocation need to be re-executed?

Andrekita Silva
Law Office of F. Andrekita Silva
1325 Fourth Avenue, Suite 940
Seattle, Washington 98101-2509
206-224-8288
ak at seattle-silvalaw.com<mailto:ak at seattle-silvalaw.com>
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