What is a Notary Public?
A Notary Public is a public servant appointed by the State to act as an impartial witness in taking acknowledgments, administering oaths and affirmations, and performing other acts authorized by state law. Notaries lend credibility to the authenticity of certain sensitive signed documents through identification of the signer. A notarized document ensures to the public that it’s signer personally appeared in front of the notary and signed the document or documents.
Why do I need a Notary Public?
Documents within many industries such as Real Estate, Financial, Legal and Healthcare are requiring more and more notarizations to help deter fraudulent activity. Today, with the increasing amount of identity theft and corporate corruption, these industries use notarization as a checks and balancing tool. This serves to help protect businesses and the public from illegal activity.
What Identification is required for notarization?
Each signer must present at least one of the forms of ID listed below. The ID must be current or, if expired, have been issued within the last 5 years; contain the signer’s photograph, physical description, and signature; and bear a serial or other identifying number (Civil Code, Section
1185).
Acceptable forms of Identification include:
Driver’s License of nondriver’s ID card issued by a U.S. state.
U.S. passport.
U.S. Military Identification Card that contains all required elements stated above.
Driver’s License issued in Mexico or Canada.
Foreign passport that has been stamped by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Inmate ID Issued by the California Department of Corrections.
Unacceptable forms of Identification include:
Social Security Cards
Driver’s Licenses without a photograph
Temporary Driver’s Licenses
Student identification cards
Credit cards with or without photographs
What is a “Mobile” notary public?
The “mobile” designation means the notary travels to you. They come to your home, office, or other location at your convenience, giving you the advantage of flexible scheduling.
What is a “Certified Notary Signing Agent”?
A Certified Signing Agent has special expertise and training to conduct loan signings. The certification is from a national organization such as the National Notary Association. The Signing Agent is hired by a Title, Mortgage, or Escrow office to ensure that the loan signing process is properly completed.
Can a document be notarized when the signer does not have proper identification?
If the identification of a signer cannot be based on a proper I.D., a notary may rely on the oath
of two credible identifying witnesses that are unknown to the notary who possess proper I.D.
cards. This creates a “chain of knowledge”, which is acceptable by California state law.
Why do documents require notarization?
Most importantly to deter fraud and to help protect the legal rights of the persons whose
signatures are being notarized. It is the legal responsibility of the notary, serving as an impartial witness and public official, to ensure that the signers of notarized documents are indeed who they claim to be.
Is notarization required by law?
For certain documents, yes. Many affidavits, real estate deeds, loan papers, powers of attorney, and other types of documents must be properly notarized to become legally binding. Oftentimes one of the simplest ways to determine whether a document requires notarization is to examine it, specifically, in the vicinity of the signature area- for notarial wording, such as “…subscribed and sworn to before me…” or “…acknowledged to…” Such wording varies by state and country, so use these examples only as a general guide. Also be aware that not all documents requiring notarization contain the mandatory notarial wording; in such cases, the notary must add the necessary wording to the documents.