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Notary Bulletin

Can I Use Erasable Ink In My Journal?

By Kelle Clarke on July 9, 2014

I'm wondering if it is acceptable to use erasable ink in my journal. I seem to make more mistakes making entries in my journal than anything else. – D.H., Lancaster, CA

There is no specific statute that states anything about the type of ink that a Notary Public must use in their journal. However, the use of an erasable pen would not be recommended, as it could possibly be tampered with in the future. Our recommendation if a mistake is made in the journal is to line through the mistake, initial, date and make the correction.

Kelle Clarke is a Contributing Editor with the National Notary Association.

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9 Comments

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S. J. Block

10 Jul 2014

California notary law says nothing about the type of ink to be used in a notary's journal

Jonathan

10 Jul 2014

Yes, you could use erasable ink in your journal. However, when you make an error, don't erase, line through. It isn't what you write with, it is what you do with it.

TOni

10 Jul 2014

erasable ink isn't all that erasable anyway. Just use it like a regular pen.

Dana Jordan

10 Jul 2014

I wouldn't do it. Erasable ink is too easy to tamper with. Just line through it and initial. Who cares if it looks messy, better messy than to make a costly mistake!

EC

10 Jul 2014

Logic would dictate. Why use an ink pen and not a dark pencil? So people do not erase what was originally written. Do not use an erasable pen, it would be like using a pencil. If you need to make a correction, put a SINGLE line through the error and initial& date it.

Julia valle

10 Jul 2014

Be careful also with some erasable ink. It is heat sensitive and will turn into "invisible" ink.

EC

10 Jul 2014

I think logic should dictate and use a Non-erasable Pen. Why was a Pen required vs. a Pencil in the first place? I believe that it is so that nobody can easily tamper with what was originally written. An erasable pen is just like using a pencil in this respect. If I make an error, I put a single-line through my error and initial it, so that it can be evident that there was an error. We can go on about why a single-line vs. not using whiteout or scribbling out errors. We do not want our entries to get tampered or appear tampered._

Renae Harrington

10 Jul 2014

Erasable ink fades and eventually disappears after time

Jerry Lucas

11 Dec 2017

Colorado law is silent on the type of ink pen to use in the notary journal. But CRS 12-55-211 Seals says a notary stamp should use indelible ink. To prevent tampering, I use a Uni-Ball Signo 207 blue ink pen with special anti-fraud ink. I wrote a product review on my blog at http://abclegaldocs.com/blog-Colorado-Notary/uni-ball-signo-207-anti-fraud-archival-gel-pen/

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