Terms of Service
About these terms
These Terms of Service (the "Terms") govern the notarial and related services provided by Andrii Co., a Washington for-profit corporation (UBI 604505773) employing one or more Notaries Public commissioned in the State of Washington ("we," "us," or "Andrii Co."). By requesting, scheduling, or accepting our services, you ("you" or the "Client") agree to these Terms.
Our notarial acts are performed under, and these Terms are subject to, Washington's Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, chapter 42.45 RCW, and the rules of the Washington Department of Licensing, chapter 308-30 WAC. Where these Terms conflict with a non-waivable provision of Washington or federal law, that law controls and the rest of these Terms remain in effect.
These Terms are a description of our service terms. They are not legal advice, and nothing on this page should be relied on as legal advice about your documents or transaction.
The services we provide
As a commissioned Washington notary public, we perform the notarial acts authorized by RCW 42.45.010, including:
- taking acknowledgments;
- administering oaths and affirmations;
- taking a verification on oath or affirmation (jurats);
- witnessing or attesting signatures;
- certifying or attesting copies; and
- noting a protest of a negotiable instrument.
We also provide mobile notarization, loan-signing services, remote online notarization ("RON") for remotely located individuals under RCW 42.45.280 and WAC 308-30-300 and following, and facilitation of apostilles and authentications, which are issued by the Office of the Washington Secretary of State, not by us.
We maintain the $10,000 notary surety bond required by RCW 42.45.030 and carry errors-and-omissions (E&O) insurance. The bond exists for the protection of the public, not as a guarantee of any outcome for any particular transaction.
We are notaries, not attorneys
We are not attorneys licensed to practice law in the State of Washington. Under RCW 42.45.230, a notary public who is not a Washington-licensed attorney may not give legal advice, may not accept fees for legal advice, and may not represent or advertise as a person with authority to advise on immigration or any other legal matter.
As required by RCW 42.45.230(5):
"I am not an attorney licensed to practice law in the state of Washington, and I may not give legal advice about immigration or any other legal matter or accept fees for legal advice."
We notarize signatures and administer oaths. We do not draft your documents, choose which document or form you need, explain the legal effect of what you sign, or act as your representative. If you need advice about your document or transaction, please consult a licensed attorney.
Identification, personal appearance, and competence
Washington law requires that the signer personally appear before the notary at the time of the notarial act and that the notary have satisfactory evidence of the signer's identity, as set out in RCW 42.45.040. For remote online notarization, personal appearance is satisfied by real-time audio-video communication and identity proofing and credential analysis as required by chapter 308-30 WAC.
You agree that you will personally appear (in person or, for RON, by audio-video), present current government-issued identification or another form of satisfactory evidence of identity permitted by law, and be able to communicate with the notary. The signer must be competent, aware of the act being performed, and acting of their own free will.
When we may refuse a notarial act
We may, and in some cases must, refuse to perform a notarial act, as permitted by RCW 42.45.040 and RCW 42.45.230. We may decline service when, for example:
- the signer is not personally present or cannot be properly identified;
- the signer appears not to understand the act or not to be acting willingly;
- the document is incomplete, or pages or required information are missing;
- we have reason to believe the act or transaction is unlawful, deceptive, or fraudulent; or
- performing the act would require us to give legal advice or otherwise act unlawfully.
A refusal made on these grounds is not a breach of these Terms. Separately agreed travel, scheduling, or appointment fees may still apply even where the notarial act itself cannot be completed.
Fees and payment
Fees for notarial acts are charged in accordance with RCW 42.45.140 and the maximum fee schedule adopted by the Department of Licensing under chapter 308-30 WAC, including any additional fee permitted by law for remote online notarization.
Charges for travel, mobile or after-hours service, scheduling, and apostille handling or courier costs are separate from the statutory per-act notarial fee, are not capped by RCW 42.45.140, and are agreed in advance. Card payments are processed by Stripe; we never receive your full card details. Quoted fees do not include third-party charges such as Secretary of State apostille fees or courier charges, which are passed through at cost.
Your documents, accuracy, and acceptance
You are solely responsible for the content, accuracy, and completeness of any document you ask us to notarize, and for selecting the correct document and the correct notarial act for your purpose. We notarize the signature or administer the oath; we do not verify or vouch for the truth, legality, or effect of the document's contents.
We do not guarantee that any court, agency, recipient, or foreign government will accept a notarized or apostilled document. Apostilles are issued by the Office of the Washington Secretary of State, and acceptance of a document abroad is governed by the destination authority and outside our control. Some destination countries do not accept apostilles on documents notarized by remote online notarization; where that is a concern, an in-person, wet-ink notarization may be required.
Recordkeeping and privacy
We keep a journal of our notarial acts as required by RCW 42.45.180, and we retain audio-video recordings of remote online notarizations for the period required by chapter 308-30 WAC. These records are kept to comply with Washington law.
How we handle the personal information you provide is described in our Privacy notice.
Disclaimers and limitation of liability
Except as required by law, our services are provided "as is," without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied. To the fullest extent permitted by Washington law, our total liability to you arising out of or relating to a notarial act or related service is limited to the amount of the fees you paid us for that specific act or service.
Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes any liability that cannot be limited or excluded under applicable law, including your rights under Washington's Consumer Protection Act, chapter 19.86 RCW, and any recourse available under the notary surety bond required by RCW 42.45.030.
Agreement to arbitrate; class-action waiver
You and we agree that any dispute or claim, whether in law or in equity, arising out of or relating to the services provided by Andrii Co. will be resolved entirely on an individual basis (not as a class, collective, or representative action) by binding arbitration, regardless of when the dispute arose — except for claims that may be brought in a court of limited jurisdiction, including the Washington small claims court, as described in the next section.
Arbitration is the submission of a dispute to a neutral arbitrator, rather than to a judge or jury, for a final and binding decision (an "award"). Arbitration allows for more limited information-gathering than a court case and is subject to very limited review by the courts. Each side will have the opportunity to present evidence to the arbitrator in writing or through witnesses. An arbitrator may award only the damages and relief that a court could award under the law and must honor these Terms.
Arbitration administrator and rules. The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its Consumer Arbitration Rules where you are an individual using our services for personal purposes, or otherwise under its Commercial Arbitration Rules (the "Rules"). The Rules, including instructions for starting an arbitration, are available at www.adr.org. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.
Venue, arbitrator, and costs. Any arbitration will take place in King County, Washington, or the Washington county in which Andrii Co. maintains its principal place of business, and will be decided by a single arbitrator. Any filing or administrative fee that the Rules require you to pay will be your responsibility only up to the amount it would cost to file a comparable claim in the court that would otherwise have jurisdiction; for non-frivolous claims, we will pay the excess. The arbitrator will allocate the remaining administrative and arbitration costs in accordance with the Rules. Reasonable attorneys' fees and costs will be awarded only to the extent available under applicable law.
Governing law for this agreement. The Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §§ 1–16, governs the interpretation and enforcement of this arbitration agreement. To the extent state arbitration law applies, it is Washington's Uniform Arbitration Act, chapter 7.04A RCW. All disputes are for the arbitrator to decide, except that disputes about the scope, applicability, or enforceability of this arbitration agreement are for a court to decide. This arbitration agreement survives termination of these Terms.
Written arbitration and the small-claims option
Written ("desk") arbitration. For any dispute involving less than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000), both sides will submit their arguments and evidence to the arbitrator in writing, and the arbitrator will decide based only on those documents — with no hearing — unless the arbitrator, in their sole discretion and only at a party's request, determines that an in-person hearing is necessary. The parties may also agree to proceed by written ("desk") arbitration at any time.
Small claims court. Either party keeps the right to bring an individual claim in a Washington court of limited jurisdiction, such as the small claims court, for any dispute within that court's jurisdiction. Washington's small claims courts hear civil claims up to the statutory limit — currently $10,000 for a claim brought by a natural person under RCW 12.40.010.
What you are agreeing to
You and we acknowledge and agree that, by accepting these Terms:
- we are giving up our right to a jury trial to resolve any dispute covered by the arbitration agreement;
- we are giving up our right to have a court, other than a court of limited jurisdiction such as the small claims court described above, resolve such a dispute;
- we are giving up our right to have a court review an arbitrator's decision or award, whether interim or final, except on the limited grounds for vacatur expressly set out in Section 10 of the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 10; and
- we are giving up our right to participate as a representative or member of any class of claimants, or as a private attorney general, in any class, collective, consolidated, or combined action or arbitration.
The award. The arbitrator may award monetary or equitable relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief for that party's individual claim. Unless the parties agree otherwise, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims and may not preside over any class, collective, or representative proceeding. To reduce cost and time, the arbitrator will not provide a statement of reasons for the award unless a party requests a brief explanation.
Severability
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the AAA Rules, if any part of this arbitration agreement is found invalid or unenforceable for any reason, that finding will not affect the validity or enforceability of the rest of this arbitration agreement, and the arbitrator will have authority to reform any provision found invalid or unenforceable to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable. If the class-action waiver is found unenforceable as to a particular claim, that claim — and only that claim — will be severed and may proceed in court.
Changes, governing law, and contact
We may update these Terms from time to time; the version in effect on the date of your service governs that service. These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Washington, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. For any matter not subject to arbitration, you and we consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in King County, Washington.
Questions about these Terms can be sent to notary@andrii.co.