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<p class="MsoNormal">I have a bank client who is wondering about the acceptance of photocopies of Powers of Attorney documents when they never see the original document. Their concern is that RCW 42.44.080 states that a signature and seal or stamp of a notary
public is prima facie evidence that the signature of the notary is genuine and that the person is a notary public, but RCW 42.44.180 states that the authenticity of a notarial seal and official signature of a notary public may be evidenced by a certificate
of authority from the director or the secretary of state (and two other options which aren’t available to them). Client recognizes that RCW 11.125.060 specifically states that a copy of a Power of Attorney is valid, but wonders about the photocopy of the
notary stamp validity and whether this RCW contradicts the specific notary RCWs listed above. It is my belief that RCW 11.125.060 is the statute that is more directly on point and may be relied upon to accept copies, but I wasn’t able to find any case law
directly on point and wanted to see if anyone had run across this before or had some different opinions or ideas.
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<p class="MsoNormal">Thanks in advance! <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><img width="298" height="147" style="width:3.1041in;height:1.5312in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image003.jpg@01D3DFD8.0EFC1D90" alt="Jennifer Nugent"><o:p></o:p></p>
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