Yes. California law expressly prohibits translating “notary public” into Spanish as “notario publico” or “notario,” and it allows paid help with immigration paperwork only from an attorney, a representative authorized by federal law, or an immigration consultant who meets the requirements of the state’s Immigration Consultants Act. A notary commission does not authorize that work. Each is a violation of state law on its own, apart from anything that happens in a client’s immigration case.

Who may charge for immigration paperwork help

Business and Professions Code section 22440 makes it illegal for anyone, other than an attorney or someone federally authorized to represent people before the Board of Immigration Appeals or United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, “to engage in the business or act in the capacity of an immigration consultant within this state except as provided by this chapter,” when paid to do so. A consultant must file a $100,000 bond with the California Secretary of State before starting (section 22443.1) and pass the Secretary of State’s background check (section 22441.1). The Act is a business regulation, separate from California’s general fraud and white collar crime laws.

What counts as acting as an immigration consultant

You act as an immigration consultant when you give nonlegal help or advice on an immigration matter, such as completing a government form without advising the person on their answers, translating their answers, obtaining supporting documents like birth certificates, submitting forms to USCIS for them, or referring them to someone who could represent them (Business and Professions Code section 22441). A consultant may offer only that kind of nonlegal help (section 22441(d)), and charging for it without meeting the Act’s requirements is what section 22440 forbids, whatever title is used.

The notario publico title

The notary public law prohibits literally translating “notary public” into Spanish, which it defines as “notario publico” or “notario” (Government Code section 8219.5(c)), and the Secretary of State must suspend a violating notary’s commission for at least a year or revoke it, and revoke it permanently on a second offense (section 8219.5(d)). A non-attorney notary who advertises in another language must also post a notice, in English and that language, that includes this statement: “I am not an attorney and, therefore, cannot give legal advice about immigration or any other legal matters” (section 8219.5(a)).

The Immigration Consultants Act separately bars a consultant from literally translating, with intent to mislead, titles that imply the person is an attorney, such as “notary public,” “notary,” “licensed,” “attorney,” or “lawyer,” in ads, business cards, letterhead, and similar materials, and it expressly prohibits “notario publico” and “notario” (section 22442.3(a)). That violation also counts as a violation of Business and Professions Code section 6126(a), the unlawful practice of law statute, and carries its own civil penalty of up to $1,000 per day for each violation (section 22442.3(d), (e)).

A notary who holds out as an immigration consultant or specialist may not advertise as a notary at all, and a notary who is not qualified and bonded as a consultant may not enter a client’s information on immigration forms or otherwise perform a consultant’s services (Government Code section 8223(a), (c)). Someone who is not a commissioned notary and holds out as entitled to act as one commits a misdemeanor (Government Code section 8227.1). For DACA applications, the Act lists who may charge for “consultations, legal advice, or notary public services, respectively,” and makes a notary’s violation grounds to suspend or revoke the commission (section 22449).

What a lawful consultant must disclose

The Act requires the opposite of an attorney-sounding title. A consultant must state plainly that they are not an attorney on an office notice in English and the clients’ native language (section 22442.2(a)), in any advertisement for consultant services (section 22442.2(c)), and in 10-point boldface on the written contract. That contract must be given before any services, be stated in English and the client’s native language, and tell the client of the right to cancel within 72 hours of signing (section 22442(a), (b)(3), (d), (f)).

Conduct the law separately forbids

A consultant also may not make false or misleading statements to a client, make a guarantee or promise that is not in writing or has no basis in fact, claim special favors from or influence with USCIS or another government agency, or charge a fee to refer a client elsewhere for services the consultant cannot or will not provide (Business and Professions Code section 22444).

Penalties

A violation of the chapter carries a civil penalty of up to $100,000 for each violation, in a suit by an injured person or by the Attorney General, a district attorney, or a city attorney (Business and Professions Code section 22445(a)). It is also a misdemeanor, with a fine of $2,000 to $10,000 for each affected client, county jail for up to a year, or both, and restitution to clients comes ahead of the fine (section 22445(b)). A second or later violation is a felony punishable by imprisonment in state prison, except that repeat violations of the notice and disclosure rules, the title translation ban, and the fingerprinting requirement (sections 22442.2, 22442.3, and 22442.4) remain misdemeanors (section 22445(c)).

Section 22442’s contract rules do not apply to employees of nonprofit, tax-exempt corporations who help clients complete immigration forms at no charge or for a nominal fee consistent with what the Board of Immigration Appeals authorizes (section 22442(h)); the exemption covers that section only. Separately, holding yourself out as entitled to practice law, or otherwise practicing law, without an active State Bar license or other authorization is a misdemeanor under Business and Professions Code section 6126(a), with up to a year in county jail, a fine as high as $1,000, or both.

What matters if you are contacted about this

  • Whether you are an attorney or a federally authorized representative, or filed the Act’s bond and passed its background check.
  • Every place a title such as notario, notary, or licensed appeared: signs, ads, business cards, and letterhead.
  • What you told clients about your qualifications, and whether each client received a written contract in English and their native language.
  • How many clients were involved, since the misdemeanor fine is set per client and the civil penalty per violation.

If you are being investigated, sued, or have received a complaint over immigration paperwork services you charged for, the Law Offices of David S. Chesley can go over your situation and what the Act requires. Call (800) 755-5174.