A Notary Public is an official of integrity appointed by state government —typically by the secretary of state — to serve the public as an impartial witness in performing a variety of official fraud-deterrent acts related to the signing of important documents. These official acts are called notarizations, or notarial acts. Notaries are publicly commissioned as “ministerial” officials, meaning that they are expected to follow written rules without the exercise of significant personal discretion, as would otherwise be the case with a “judicial” official.
Notarization is to attest, in one’s capacity as a Notary Public, to the authentication of a signature and to assure the signature is not forged.
(1) Identification: The signer(s) MUST be present at the time of signing and notarizing the document. (2) The signer(s) must provide valid Identification to prove their identity.
State Driver’s License or State issued ID Card , Passport or Military ID Card .
I charge $10 per signature.
Yes, I accept all major debit and credit cards, and personal checks using PayPal. There will be an additional $2.00 service fee for anything but cash.
A power of attorney is a legal document that permits you to appoint someone you trust, to act in your behalf in handling important matters.
A Notary Public may refuse to perform a Notarization if he or she cannot be certain of a prospective signer’s identity, willingness or understanding of what is happening at that moment. In addition, a Notary may not Notarize a document in which he or she has a personal financial interest.
State laws may vary, but in California a Notary Public may only certify a copy of a Power of Attorney and no other document. For Vital Record documents; such as, birth certificates and marriage certificates, the requester should visit the local government agency that holds these documents, such as a local County Clerk.
No. Notarizing a document only validates that the signer personally appeared in front of the Notary and subscribed or affirmed to the truthfulness of the document. The Notary Public has no authorization to state that a document is official, true or correct.
In most cases, yes. If none of the types of Identification listed are available, or it would be excessively difficult for the document signer to obtain them, two additional persons who do have acceptable identification may be present who will swear to the signer’s identity. The two individuals have to be over the age of 18, have valid identification ready for inspection and recording in the notaries journal. They will also need to be present at the time of witnessing and sign the Notaries Journal and must swear or affirm, under penalty of perjury, that they know the signer. They cannot have any fiduciary interest in the document.
No, all signers can appear at different times. Note: Standard travel fees will apply.
In most cases yes. Wherever you are at the time of Notarization will be listed on the Notary Certificate as the “venue.” The venue determines the specific state laws that are to be followed when Notarizing a document. Every Notary Public is bound by the laws of the state in which they are commissioned.
Yes. I can travel to most any location you are comfortable with.
Usually, the Notary process only takes a few minutes.
Yes, all Notaries in California are required to submit to a background screening administered by the Department of Justice and the FBI. I am bonded and insured.