Appointments

A notary public is a person commissioned to serve the public as a neutral witness. A notary performs notarial acts that are allowed or required by law.

A notary is a verifier, an authenticator, an impartial agent for the state, a public recorder of acts, and an unbiased, official witness.

A notary’s duty is to be a neutral witness to the signing of documents. A notary makes sure that signers are who they say they are and have entered into agreements knowingly and willingly.

Notaries can administer oaths and affirmations and certify copies. They can also take acknowledgements, depositions, witness signatures, affidavits, verifications, and other sworn testimony or statements. 

A Notary's duty is to screen the signers of important documents for their true identity, their willingness to sign without duress or intimidation, and their awareness of the contents of the document or transaction. Some notarizations also require the Notary to put the signer under an oath, declaring under penalty of perjury that the information contained in a document is true and correct. Property deeds, wills and powers of attorney are examples of documents that commonly require a Notary.

Acceptable identification must:

Be an identification card or another form of government issued identification that is current or that has been expired for one year or less, and

Contain either the signer’s signature or signer’s photograph.

Satisfactory evidence can include the sworn written statement (affidavit, declaration, etc.) of a credible witness personally appearing before the notary. The credible witness must personally know the signer who lacks sufficient identification. The credible witness must also either (1) personally know the notary or (2) be identified by the notary using sufficient identification.

After notarizing the credible witness’s signed statement, the notary may opt to keep a copy but is not required to do so. As with all notarial acts, the notary must fully record the notarization in their journal and that journal entry is sufficient.

Oaths and affirmations are both pledges sworn to before a notary public attesting to the truth of a given statement. An oath calls upon a supreme being as a witness, while an affirmation is made under penalty of perjury.

In an acknowledgment, the notary is guaranteeing that:

1. 1 The signer was in the notary’s presence,

2 The notary identified the signer, and

3 The signer acknowledged that the signature on the document is his or hers.

Technically, acknowledgments don’t have to be signed in the notary’s presence. However, the notarization must take place in the signer’s presence.

When a signer signs a document in a notary’s physical presence, the notary has witnessed a signature. The certificate may use words such as “signed before me”.

1 The signer was in the notary’s presence,

2 The notary identified the signer, and

3 The notary watched the signer sign.