Complaints of Alleged Forgery or Fraud
Direct complaints of alleged forgery or fraud to a local law enforcement agency first. Come to us when you have positive proof of the notary's involvement, at which point we'll proceed with the sanctioning process. You can get proof either through the criminal complaint process or through the services of a professionally certified handwriting expert. Contact an attorney for the best legal course of action.
Filing a Complaint with the Secretary of State
Depending on the notary's violation, we can issue advice letters, official warnings, suspensions and revocations. Advice letters and official warnings are meant to educate notaries.
Before you register a complaint about a notary, please understand that our office has limited oversight of notaries. We can only act on violations of Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 194.
It's important to know that complaints are not anonymous. They are public record and subject to disclosure under the Oregon Public Records Law. In fact, copies of the complaint are forwarded to the accused.
The process of a complaint usually proceeds like this:
An initial request for information is sent to the accused notary, along with
- A copy of the complaint and
- A request for supporting documentation and other sources of information.
The notary must disclose the contents of the notary journal or journals as part of the investigative process. The notary must provide accurate, true, and complete copies of the requested information, and/or the journal in question, for examination by the Secretary of State.
Once the Secretary of State has made an official finding, copies of the finding are mailed to the complainant and the accused.
The finding becomes a permanent record in the notary's file.
Public Records Requests
Notary complaints are public record. To request information regarding a notary complaint, complete the Public Records Request Form.