Term of the Notarial Commission
A notary public's authority in the Philippines comes from a notarial commission, not from mere membership in the bar. The commission is a limited authority conferred by the proper court, and the lawyer may exercise it only within the territorial jurisdiction of the commissioning court and only during the life of the commission.
Under the Rules on Notarial Practice, a person commissioned as a notary public may perform notarial acts for a period of two years, counted from the first day of January of the year in which the commission is made, unless the commission is earlier revoked or the notary public resigns. The usual end of the term is therefore December 31 of the year following the year of commissioning.
The two-year period is a rule of authority, not a mere administrative convenience. A lawyer who notarizes after the commission has expired acts without notarial authority, even if the lawyer remains in good standing as a member of the bar or has already applied for renewal.
Computation of the Period
The term is reckoned from January 1 of the year in which the commission is made. If the commission is granted after January 1, the notary does not receive a fresh two full years from the actual date of issuance; the term is still measured from the first day of January of that year.
| Event | Effect on the Term |
|---|---|
| Commission is issued during a calendar year | The term is counted from January 1 of that same year, subject to the actual authority beginning only upon commissioning and compliance with the rules. |
| Commission reaches December 31 of the following year | The commission expires by operation of the rules, without need of a separate revocation order. |
| Application for renewal is filed before expiration | The filing does not create a holdover term; authority continues only until the existing commission expires unless a new commission is granted in time. |
| Renewal is granted after the old term expired | The lawyer may resume notarial acts only under the new commission and only from the point when the new authority has been conferred. |
No Holdover Authority
A notarial commission is not self-renewing. The expiration of the term terminates the authority to acknowledge instruments, administer oaths and affirmations, execute jurats, certify copies, take depositions in proper cases, or perform other notarial acts allowed by the rules.
The pendency of a petition for renewal does not extend an expired commission. The lawyer must wait for the grant of a new commission and must comply with the requirements for that commission, including the required undertaking, seal, register, and other incidents of notarial practice.
A notary public also cannot rely on office practice, prior appointment, professional reputation, or repeated recommissioning to bridge a gap between terms. The authority is legal and formal; when the commission is absent, expired, revoked, or surrendered, there is no notarial office to exercise.
Early End of the Term
The stated two-year period is only the maximum ordinary term. The commission may end earlier by revocation or resignation. It may also become unusable when the lawyer loses a qualification necessary for notarial practice, such as the right to practice law or the required connection to the place where the commission is held.
- Revocation. Revocation cuts off the notary's authority from its effective date and prevents further valid notarial acts under that commission.
- Resignation. Resignation voluntarily ends the commission and requires the notary to stop using the notarial seal, register, and commission details for new acts.
- Suspension from law practice. Because notarial practice is reserved to a qualified lawyer, a lawyer suspended from the practice of law cannot continue acting as a notary during the suspension.
- Disbarment or loss of membership in the bar. A person who is no longer a lawyer in good standing lacks the basic qualification for a regular notarial commission.
Early termination affects only future notarial acts. Prior notarizations made while the commission was valid are not invalidated merely because the commission later expired, was revoked, or was surrendered, although a particular prior act may still be challenged for defects existing at the time it was performed.
Territorial and Temporal Limits Work Together
The rule on term should be read together with the territorial limit of the commission. A valid date does not cure an act performed outside the territorial jurisdiction of the commissioning court, and a proper location does not cure an act performed after expiration or before commissioning.
The notarial certificate, notarial seal, and notarial register should make the currency of the commission traceable. The date of notarization must fall within the term, and the commission details should correspond to the notary's authority at that time. These formal details matter because notarization gives a document public character and attaches legal consequences to the notary's certification.
Effect of Acts After Expiration
A document notarized after the notary's commission has expired does not acquire the character of a duly notarized public document by reason of that defective act. It may still be treated as a private document if its execution and authenticity are otherwise proved, but it does not enjoy the evidentiary advantages normally produced by a valid notarization.
The notary's liability is separate from the document's evidentiary treatment. Performing notarial acts without a current commission breaches the special trust attached to notarial practice and may give rise to administrative discipline as a lawyer, sanctions under the notarial rules, and disqualification from future commissioning when warranted by the circumstances.
Renewal and Continuity
Renewal requires a new grant of authority. The lawyer must continue to possess the qualifications for a notarial commission and must submit to the supervision of the commissioning court for the new term. The previous commission is relevant as professional history, but it is not itself a continuing source of authority.
Where a commission is renewed without a gap, the lawyer's notarial practice may appear continuous to clients, but legally each term stands on its own. The notary must ensure that every notarial act is entered under the proper commission period and supported by the records required for that period.
The practical consequence is simple: on the date and at the place of notarization, the notary must have an existing, effective, and territorially proper commission. If any of these elements is missing, the notarial act fails as a notarial act even if the underlying document may still be proved by other competent evidence.