Notary Office

Bureaucracy

Function

The Notary Office is a blend of common vnou and nobility, serving both in similar ways. It’s considered a public government building for the common vnou with a small front house with an equally small staff. They provide official notary services for any documents the vnou might need - generally for banking or minor legal reasons - for free. Notary offices are largely considered outdated and defunct by common vnou. An antiquated or unnecessary step in governance that many will either never bother with or never have to engage with during their lifetime.

The back of the house that serves the nobility is, as is the usual drastically different. The size of the staff reflects the noble presence in any given city. There are enough vnou that work ‘in the back’ to provide service readily should they be called upon and it’s frequent. Noble vnou of a lesser standing use the notary office for sensitive documents when chain-of-custody would be important. The notary office provides a sort of courier service in this regard, not only signing off on the authenticity of said legal paperwork, but also assuring that it has not been tampered with while under the notary’s control. This usually means that notaries are not only vetted by the various nobility they work for or with, but that their work schedules are meant to remain classified so the notary themselves won’t be tampered with. Generally, the sort of information and documents that notaries handle isn’t worth the effort to violate another vnou’s mind for.

Locations

Any and all big cities where nobility live and work, where their services might be needed. It should be noted that they are primarily used by Fa, as main family bloodlines have their own appointed vnou to do this work for them and do not outsource it.

Associated Organizations

The notary office is technically a government building as thus associated with whatever city they are set up in. Zhu'Thlach usually has a hand in many of these offices and, in major cities, will ensure that the Notary is properly staffed and maintained. Any other families that might have a prominent presence will have one or two vnou at the notary office that works exclusively for them even though they’re not directly related to or actually apart of the family.

Staffing

The common vnou that are highered at the notary office go through the same process as the vnou that work for and with the nobility, but their vetting is significantly less extreme. Most vnou, so long as they’ve graduated high school, and follow the steps to become one, can. There aren’t any real limitations beyond that.

For a vnou that wants to become a Notary for the nobility, they have to first be adjacent to said nobility. I.E. They have to know they exist without having stumbled upon the information. This usually means they’re a distant relative of a Fa. They must be Connected, to cut down on the chance they’ll be easily manipulated or influenced. They must be approved by a noble representative in the area they’ll be working. While a lot of bureaucratic processes can take a long time for the vnou, if a position at the notary office is open and there is a valid applicate, most nobility will attempt to fill it rather quickly since it’s usually inconvenient otherwise.

Application Process

1. Submit Application
2. Pay Filing Fee - Usually covered by the government, if applicable, or a noble family
3. Training from Approved Mentor - A government official in a mentor position.
4. Pass Exam - Given by aforementioned government official
5. Complete Fingerprinting & Background Check
6. Receive Commission Certificate - upon passing the exam
7. File for Surety Bond - Essentially a letter of recommendation from government mentor drawn up in contractual form.
8. File Commission Paperwork & Surety Bond with Notary Regulation Official
9. Wait for Assignment or buy sole supplies - Not all notaries are required to work in any office or government position.