Every notary's certificate has a venue heading like this:

State of California
County of _________________

The venue is just that -- the location where the notarization took place. If it says, 'California' on it, then the notary's seal will be from California, too.

In fact, according to state law, somebody perofrming a notarization in California without the peroper commission could get in to some nasty trouble. In fact, if the notarization involves a deed on a residential home, they are looking at a FELONY:

Per California Gov't Code:

§ 8227.1. Unlawful acts by one not a notary public; misdemeanor
It shall be a misdemeanor for any person who is not a duly commissioned, qualified, and acting notary public for the State of California to do any of the following:
(a) Represent or hold himself or herself out to the public or to any person as being entitled to act as a notary public.
(b) Assume, use or advertise the title of notary public in such a manner as to convey the impression that the person is a notary public.
(c) Purport to act as a notary public.

§ 8227.3. Unlawful acts by one not a notary public; deeds of trust on single-family residences; felony
Any person who is not a duly commissioned, qualified, and acting notary public who does any of the acts prohibited by Section 8227.1 in relation to any document or instrument affecting
title to, placing an encumbrance on, or placing an interest secured by a mortgage or deed of trust on, real property consisting of a single-family residence containing not more than four dwelling units, is guilty of a felony.

Now, this has nothing to do with where documents eventually end up. Documents notarized in one state are often recorded in another. No big deal.

If the document was notarized *IN* North Carolina and then sent to California, that's just fine.

But a North Carolina notary has ZERO authority in California.

So if the NC notary is in Los Angeles, for example and was asked to notarize something? Nope... against the law. That individual is not a notary in California.

Likewise, a California Notary has no authority to notarize anything outside of California. Now, there are some exceptions and some states that allow notaries to have commission in multiple states, but California isn't one of them. California notaries MUST be California residents.

There are quite a few California notaries that are also Notaries in Oregon, for example, because Oregon allows their notaries to reside in a neighboring state if they work in Oregon. However, that doesn't mean that an Oregon notary can notarize anything in California, or that a California notary can notarize in Oregon. If someone holds two commissions, the one they use depends upon where they are located when the notarization takes place.

"On records to be filed, registered, recorded, or delivered in another state or jurisdiction of the United States, a North Carolina notary may complete any notarial certificate that may be required in that other state or jurisdiction"

All that really means is that a NC notary can complete a notarization for filing in other states, does not mean that a NC notary can act in other states.

I am in Florida, if someone came to me with a document that they needed their signature notarized, and the document was going to be filed in another state, I can do it. But I could not be in the other state to notarize.  (Hope this is clear)