“The office of a notary public is often not taken very seriously, and many notaries apply their seals and signatures to all sorts of documents with reckless abandon. That is a BIG mistake! Upon your notarial acts rests the validity of documents which involve large financial transactions or which are needed in court actions. If a document is found to be invalid because of your improper notarial act, you could be subject to discipline under the Notary Public Act as well. In fact, one of the fastest growing areas of litigation in the country is actions against notaries for losses by improper notarial acts.”
-From the Handbook for the State of Idaho