Mobile Notary Services

California (and many other states) requires information within the document to be completed before it gets notarized. The logic behind this is to prevent fraud; that someone else can’t fill in missing information afterward.

California Government Code section 8205 mandates that the notary public refuse to notarize an incomplete document.

Ensure that any pertinent information before the notary block is filled out prior to our appointment. Some areas of your document may remain blank, such as reserved portions for an agency to fill out, additional information after the notarial wording, or extra blank signature lines. If areas of your document don’t apply, you’ll still need to address those areas to prevent information from getting added after the fact.

As a notary, I can’t advise you on how to fill out your document including how to handle blank spaces. Decide on a method that makes sense to you. Some examples could include striking through an entire section, writing “None” or “N/A” or some other variation on wording, or a simple line across a blank.

If you’re unsure about any portion of your document, you may be able to get direction from the party who will receive your documents or from the originator of the documents. An attorney may be able to advise you as well.

California outlines many options for identification, which can be broken out into three types.

1. Current or issued within the past five years:

• A Driver’s License or ID Card from the California DMV;

• A United States Passport or Passport Card.

2. The list below also must contain a photograph, a physical description of the person, a serial number, and a signature:

• A driver’s license issued by another state;

• A driver’s license issued by a Canadian or Mexican agency;

• An identification card issued by another state;

• An employee identification card issued by any level of government within California;

• An identification card issued by a federally recognized tribal government;

• A valid consular identification document issued by a consulate;

• A valid foreign passport from the country of citizenship;

• A United States military identification card.

I don’t have any of the above identification documents. What can I do?

3. You can use a "Credible Witness" as a form of human identification.

If we have a mutual acquaintance, you can use a single Credible Witness. Alternatively, with two Credible Witnesses, I don’t need to personally know either witness. Your Credible Witnesses, one or two, will need to have an ID from the list above.

This form of identification is technically referred to as the “Oath of a Single (or Two) Credible Witness(es)”. As the name implies, under oath, your Credible Witness will swear or affirm several facts:

1. You are the individual named in the document.

2. They personally know you.

3. They reasonably believe that the circumstances make it very difficult or impossible for you to obtain another form of identification.

4. You don’t have any of the IDs listed above.

5. The Credible Witness does not have a financial interest and is not named in the document signed.

The Credible Witness process is smoother than it may sound. With the eJournal, their IDs are scanned. Once they take the oath and sign my journal, they are free to go, although they are welcome to stay for the whole process if you prefer.

If you want to learn more about taking an oath in front of a notary, I’ve written a light-hearted article to be informative without bonking you over the head about the seriousness of perjury.

In California, notaries use “Satisfactory Evidence” which includes reasonable reliance in identifying a signer. How does this play out when the name on your document doesn’t match the name on your identification? Let’s look at a few scenarios.

Your first name is Robert, but you go by a common nickname Bob. Your California Driver’s License was issued as Bob, but your document uses your full first name “Robert”. If you clearly match the picture and physical description on your ID, I can reasonably conclude that you are the person you say you are, given that Bob is a common nickname for Robert. If you have an alternative ID with your full name and a picture, like a credit card, that is even better but not necessary in this example.

The use of Jr or Sr after a name can present more challenges when it isn’t consistent across the ID and the document. This is a common area for fraud, so notaries take extra precautions when the suffix isn’t consistent. This doesn’t mean we can’t notarize your document but be prepared for more scrutiny and have an alternate form of ID, with a photo, ready that does include the suffix.

Your name has recently changed due to marriage or divorce. During this transition, you may run into a name discrepancy between your ID and documents (married name versus maiden name). If you kept an old driver’s license or perhaps have a passport matching the name on your document, you can use this to meet the reasonable reliance bar. If the old ID is expired, it gets recorded in my journal as supplementary evidence, while your current ID is recorded as the main ID. So be sure to bring both.

You have a multi-part last name, but usually only sign with the final last name. We can move ahead as long as you don’t use hyphens between the two surnames. If your last name is hyphenated, I’m not able to separate the two last names. Your document and ID must contain the full hyphenated last names.

If you’re unsure whether you’re ID will pass the “Satisfactory Evidence” bar, please give me a call and I will help you figure it out. Consider what’s in your wallet or tucked away in a drawer that may help. The goal isn’t to create barriers and be sticklers about identification, but to protect against fraud or even possible court challenges down the road. We can always use Credible Witnesses as an alternative.

In California, you must personally appear before a California notary. I can’t notarize your documents by phone, video, or mail.

If there is more than one signer on your document and not all are present at the appointment, the absent signer will need to meet with a notary at another time to get their signature notarized. We will notarize the signature(s) of the signer(s) present at our appointment time. In this case, the document will have separate certificates for each time signers meet with a notary. This might also apply if signers are in different cities or states.

From the National Notary Association, “One of the basic duties of a Notary is to screen document signers for willingness and awareness.”

This is particularly important in environments such as hospitals and other medical facilities for all signers, and especially for elderly signers in any setting.

Though not required by the state, I will note in my eJournal that I screened the signer if the situation calls for it. If the notarization is ever challenged, this is the kind of detail that will help you defend it in court.

What does a screening look like? I look for awareness of the situation at hand. Do they know why I’m here? Can they describe the document and what it does? Do they want to sign the document? Can they identify the people in the room and the people named in the document? Is anyone trying to prompt or coach their answers? Screenings are friendly and conversational in tone combined with observations.

This approach is partially based on California Probate Code section 4609 which talks about capacity and the ability to understand the nature and consequence of a decision and to make and communicate that decision in relation to healthcare. This approach is also grounded in standard best practices and guidance from top leaders in the industry.

If you’re booking an appointment for a loved one who meets the criteria for screening, consider how they might respond to the questions above. Consider any medications they are taking and how those medications could temporarily affect mental awareness. Also, consider their care schedule. Book appointments with consideration for the timing of these medications and care procedures.

By law, I can’t advise you on which notarial act you need. As in other cases, while I can’t advise, I can describe the different notarial acts.

You have a few options if you’re unsure what kind of notarization you need. You can decide for yourself what fits best. You can ask the receiving agency or the originator of the document which notarial act they require. You can also contact an attorney for advice.

*In rare cases, your document may have a place for the notary to sign, but the type or format of the certificate may not be compliant with California law. In these cases, I will attach a loose certificate with the correct format, so your document won’t get rejected now or in the future.

• Acknowledgment: An acknowledgment certifies that you signed the document of your own free will. You don’t have to sign in front of the notary. You simply state that the signature on the document is your signature and that you willingly signed it. As the name implies, you acknowledged these facts.

• Jurat: A Jurat certifies that you signed the document in front of the notary and that you took an oath under penalty of perjury (swear or affirm) that the contents of the document are true and correct.

• Copy Certification: In California, a notary is only allowed to copy-certify a Power of Attorney document or their own journal entries.

• In states where copy certification is limited or unavailable to notaries, signers can make their own copy and write a statement about the trueness of the copy. They can then sign the statement and have their signature on the statement notarized. Although this is not officially a notarial act under California law, this process is commonly referred to as Copy Certification by the Document Custodian.
  
  Things to consider when using this method. Will the receiving agency accept your “self-certified” copy? When using this method, you still need to decide which notarial act fits best. Consider the above descriptions to make your choice, or contact the receiving agency for advice.
  
  There are many instances where this is the only choice to get a notarized copy, such as providing photocopies of your driver’s license or passport. However, there are other instances where self-certifying a photocopy may not be appropriate. For example, a self-certified photocopy of your birth certificate will likely get rejected, although there are exceptions to this rule. For example, U.S. and Canadian citizen children under age 16 arriving by land or sea from a contiguous territory (Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean) may use a notarized photocopy of a birth certificate, although an original or certified copy is still preferred.
  
  While I can provide examples, the overall message about Copy Certification is to know what the recipient of your documents will accept.

Other notarial acts in California include:

• Oath or Affirmation: While the jurat includes an oath and a signature, sometimes only an oath is needed. A notary may use “swear or affirm” when administering an oath. Technically an oath is a solemn spoken pledge to God or a Supreme Being (swear), while an affirmation is a solemn spoken pledge on the person’s honor with no reference to a higher being (affirm). Regardless of how the oath is administered, it is a spoken pledge of truthfulness that carries a penalty of perjury.

• Proof of Execution by a Subscribing Witness: When a signer can’t appear before a notary, they may be able to appoint another person to get the document notarized. There are several limitations to this notarial act, including the type of documents that can be notarized this way and the fact that your subscribing witness and the notary will need to have a mutual acquaintance that they both personally know and who is willing to be involved in the appointment.
  
  If you feel that a situation calls for this type of notarization, please contact me to discuss the details.

If your loved one is in a long-term care skilled nursing facility and an Advanced Healthcare Directive (AHCD) needs to be executed, California Probate law requires the signature of an Ombudsman prior to notarization or along with a second qualified witness. If you have the standard form provided under California probate law, you will likely see this section and instructions on the AHCD form. Forms drawn up by attorneys may have different instructions. Regardless of where your AHCD form originates, the Ombudsman requirement will apply.

Please obtain the Ombudsman's signature prior to our notary appointment. If you are unsure if an Ombudsman is needed, facility staff can help clarify. Typically you will see signs for an Ombudsman at the facility.

For reference see California Probate Code Section 4675.