Pennsylvania Notary Public Practice Exam 2026 – Complete Study Resource

A conflict of interest for a notary public occurs when the notary's impartiality may be compromised, either due to personal relationships or because of financial interests that could influence the notary's ability to perform their duties ethically and impartially. In the scenario outlined, both notarizing a document for a family member and notarizing a business contract with a close friend could potentially compromise the notary's neutrality.

When a notary is involved in a transaction with individuals who have a close personal relationship, such as family members or close friends, there may be an inherent bias that could affect the notary's ability to carry out their duties impartially. Notaries are required to remain neutral and are discouraged from performing notarial acts for those with whom they have a significant personal connection. Therefore, both situations present a potential for a conflict of interest, which makes the combined answer the appropriate choice.

Notarizing a document in the presence of an attorney does not necessarily constitute a conflict of interest, as attorneys can serve as neutral parties in many transactions and their presence does not inherently bias the notary’s actions. Thus, this scenario would not reflect a conflict of interest in the same manner as the previous two options.