A Notary Is Not A Lawyer

ORC 147.142 — the word a notary may not advertise with

In much of Latin America a notario publico is a trained lawyer holding a public office with real legal authority. In Ohio a notary public witnesses signatures and administers oaths. The words look the same across the two systems and mean very different things, and Ohio has written the mismatch into the statute rather than leaving it to be discovered.

ORC 147.142

The word itself is prohibited in advertising. A notary public may not use the phrase notario or notario publico to advertise notarial services, whether by sign, pamphlet, stationery or other written communication, or by radio, television or other non written communication. The prohibition is on the term, not merely on a false claim made with it, because the term is what does the misleading.

ORC 147.142

A notary who is not a licensed Ohio attorney may not represent or advertise themselves as an immigration consultant or as an expert in immigration matters.
A notary may not solicit or accept compensation to prepare documents for, or otherwise represent the interest of, another person in a judicial or administrative proceeding.
That includes proceedings relating to immigration, United States citizenship and related matters.
A notary may not perform a notarial act where the notary is a party to the transaction or stands to gain from it.

The practical shape of it is narrow. A notary confirms who signed and that they signed. A notary does not decide whether the document is the right document, whether it says what it needs to say, or whether signing it is sound. A notarised signature on a bad form is a witnessed signature on a bad form.

ORC 147.141

Money changing hands for document preparation in an immigration or court matter, from someone whose qualification is a notary commission, is the situation these two sections were written about. It is worth recognising by its shape rather than by anyone's account of it.

How a notary is commissioned in Ohio, what a notarial act requires, remote and online notarisation, the fees a notary may charge, and the consequences for a notary who breaches these sections are set elsewhere in the chapter and are not on this page. Nor does this page cover who may lawfully assist with an immigration matter, which is a federal question with its own accreditation system. The Ohio Secretary of State maintains the notary commission records. Somebody who has paid for legal help from a notary has a complaint route through the Secretary of State and, for the practice of law question, through the Supreme Court of Ohio.

Sources for this section (2)

ORC 147.141 — Prohibited acts by a notary public
ORC 147.142 — Notario publico, and the advertising a notary may not do

Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Talk to a licensed Ohio attorney about your situation.

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