Acceptable Forms of Identification for Notary Services
- · State-issued driver's license
- · State-issued identification card
- · U.S. passport issued by the U.S. Department of State
- · U.S. military ID
- · State, county and local government IDs
- · Permanent resident card, or "green card," issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
- · oreign passport*
- · Driver's license officially issued in Mexico or Canada*
The above list is pretty comprehensive and most people can comply with providing ID, but what if you have a situation where your license has expired, or your elderly mom in the nursing home needs a document notarized ASAP but does not have her ID on her, or you are newly married and your driver’s license has your maiden name listed on it?
These actually are pretty common scenarios, but do not fear, there are other ways we can identify you with either another form of ID or “credible witness”, etc.
Please be assured that the single most important act of a Notary Public is: to IDENTIFY THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE SIGNER and to prevent FRAUD. If in doubt, I always refer to the Secretary of State and/or the National Notary Association for the correct information to my notary questions.
Below is a link to an article from the National Notary Association that addresses identification questions.
https://www.nationalnotary.org/knowledge-center/tips-tutorials/determine-if-id-is-acceptable
And as always, please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns.
Your trusted Notary Public,
April Blake Pierce
