Appointment Guide

How to Prepare

To ensure a smooth and successful notary appointment, every client should prepare the essentials. Having them ready will help streamline the process and ensure that everything goes smoothly.

Attendance and Identification

Any individual receiving notarization services, must show up in person at the time of the appointment with a valid form of identification. Any government-issued ID with a photo that is unexpired is acceptable. Lack of proper ID will result in the appointment needing to be rescheduled. Copies or photos of an ID are not acceptable; only original official identification documents are allowed.

  • Driver's License

    State Issued ID Card

    Passport

    Tribal ID

    Military Identification

    Permanant Resident Card

    Student ID

Complete Documents

Documents being notarized must be complete with no missing pages and have all the necessary parts filled out with no blank spaces. This excludes the notary certificate, which will be completed at the appointment, and any other signature areas which need to be signed in the presence of the notary. Incomplete documents cannot be notarized.

Signing by Mark

If an individual receiving notarization services is unable sign their name, they can sign by mark instead by making a mark like an “X” on the document. A separate person must then write the signers name next to the mark and then sign the document themselves as a witness. This witness can be anyone the signer trusts who can verify their identity. As a best practice, witnesses will be asked to present identification to ensure credibility. It is the client’s responsibility to bring the witness to the appointment. If the witness is not present at the time of the meeting, the appointment will need to be rescheduled.

Representative Signing

When signing as a representative for an organization or another individual, you must provide satisfactory evidence of your authority to do so. For instance, if you are acting as the attorney-in-fact for someone else, you will need to present a power of attorney document to verify your capacity before the notarization can proceed.

The Basics

This is a general overview of the notarization process and what you can expect. Please note that the steps may vary slightly depending on the specific type of notarial act required.

  1. Personal Appearance: All signers must appear in person before the notary.

  2. Identification: The notary will verify a signer’s identity using valid identification documents.

  3. Document Review: The notary will review the document to ensure it is complete and ready for notarization.

  4. Notarial Act: Depending on the act required either the document will be signed in the notaries presence, or an oath/affirmation will be administered or both.

  5. Journal Entry: The notary will record the notarial act in their notary journal and ask the signer to sign their journal as a record.

  6. Notarial Certificate: Finally, the notary will complete the notarial certificate as required.