Notary duties include noting protests and taking acknowledgments.

• A. Administering oaths
• B. Drafting contracts
• C. Noting protests and taking acknowledgments
• D. Filing tax returns

Answer: (C)

Notaries public perform specific tasks that authenticate signatures and preserve the validity of transactions. Noting protests is a classic notarial duty tied to negotiable instruments: when a bill or note is presented for payment and payment is refused, the notary can prepare a protest to record the dishonor. This creates a formal, time-stamped record that protects the holder’s rights to pursue payment and shows that the instrument’s nonpayment was acknowledged.

Taking acknowledgments is another fundamental notarial act. In an acknowledgment, the signer appears before the notary, their identity is verified, and they acknowledge that they signed the document for its stated purpose. The notary then affixes their seal and signature to attest that the signer did so willingly and knowingly.

These two acts are standard duties of a notary, while other tasks—like drafting contracts or filing tax returns—fall outside the scope of notarial responsibilities.