The responsibilities of a notary are limited. For example, a notary is not allowed to prepare legal documents or offer legal advice about a particular document (unless he or she is also an attorney). A notary public in most of the United States and Canada has limited powers than those of civil-law or other common-law notaries, both of whom are qualified lawyers admitted to the bar: such notaries may be referred to as notaries-at-law or lawyer notaries. In common law, notarial service is distinct from the practice of law, and giving legal advice and preparing legal instruments is forbidden to notaries such as those appointed throughout most of the United States of America.
