Notary Trends: Privacy Issues And Collecting Signer Thumbprints
Collecting signer thumbprints has long been considered a way to not only identify signers and safeguard against forgeries, but also to protect the Notary from allegations of wrongdoing.
It was for this reason that the state of California passed a law in 1996 requiring Notaries to obtain journal thumbprints for signers of certain documents; and why many Notaries nationwide continue to record signer thumbprints in their official notarial journal. However, the ongoing threat of identity theft has made privacy a major issue, prompting the Notary community to take a closer look at the practice.
The Case For Collecting Thumbprints
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, biometrics, such as thumbprints, are the “measurable biological (anatomical or physiological) or behavioral characteristics used for the identification of an individual.”
As a biometric identifier, a signer’s thumbprint affixed in a journal of notarial acts offers irrefutable identification of the signer, which can help Notaries prevent impersonation and/or forgery. It is for this reason that the practice is still heralded in some areas, particularly for transactions involving real estate and powers of attorney documents.
Currently, two states require the practice of collecting signer thumbprints. California law requires a journal thumbprint record for all documents affecting real property, as well as all powers of attorney. (Government Code, Section 8206).
In Illinois, Notaries are required to complete a notarial record and take a thumbprint impression of signers when notarizing all “documents of conveyance” transferring title to residential real estate property located within Cook County, Illinois.
In both California and Illinois, law enforcement and public prosecutors have heralded the value of thumbprints as effective in preventing and prosecuting frauds.
Privacy Issues: The Cause For Concern
Despite the value of collecting thumbprints as a safeguard against fraud, there are issues associated with the practice; namely, privacy concerns and tightening regulations regarding the collection of such biometric data.
We now live in an age filled with high-tech fraud, identity theft, and corporate data breaches that can, in an instant, expose the personal and financial information of millions of consumers. This ongoing concern over individuals’ private information, particularly regarding the collection, use and storage of certain biometric identifiers, has become a major problem — one that some states and even private businesses are looking to regulate. Several of these changes directly impact how Notaries are allowed to collect and retain signer thumbprints.
Texas law, for example, states that a biometric identifier (which would include a journal thumbprint) captured for a commercial purpose may be disclosed only under certain circumstances and must be destroyed within a certain amount of time (Business and Commerce Code Section 503.01). Because Notary journals are considered public record in Texas, the Secretary of State’s office actually discourages Notaries Public from capturing biometric identifiers from signers in their journals.
And, it’s not just state governments that are seeking to regulate the collection of thumbprints. A couple of years ago, a major mortgage lender issued a bulletin prohibiting the Notary signing agents handling its loans from collecting journal thumbprints in their journals if they did not have a Notary commission in the states of California or Illinois.
Given this heightened caution about guarding personal identifying information, it is important for Notaries to know ahead of time if their state allows or regulates the collection and usage of signer thumbprints, and proceed accordingly.
Kelle Clarke is a Contributing Editor with the National Notary Association.
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