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WHAT IS NOTARIZATION?

A Notary is an official of integrity appointed by state government, by the Secretary of State, to serve the public in non-contentious matters, usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers of attorney and foreign and international business.  A notary performs a variety of official fraud-deterrent acts relating to the signing of important documents. 

A simpler explanation is that the Notary is responsible for checking the identification of the Signer(s) and authenticating that he or she is who they say they are.   A Notary does not authenticate the validity of the document, he or she authenticates you as the Signer(s). 

WHAT IS NOTARIZATION?

A Notary is an official of integrity appointed by state government, by the Secretary of State, to serve the public in non-contentious matters, usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers of attorney and foreign and international business.  A notary performs a variety of official fraud-deterrent acts relating to the signing of important documents. 

A simpler explanation is that the Notary is responsible for checking the identification of the Signer(s) and authenticating that he or she is who they say they are.   A Notary does not authenticate the validity of the document, he or she authenticates you as the Signer(s). 

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When you require notarization, you must observe the following rules:

Identification

You must always provide a valid, photo ID.  There are no exceptions to this rule. 

1.       For general notarization, you may provide a Driver’s License, a State Identification Card, Military Card or Government Identification. 

2.       A notary cannot accept a scan of identification from your phone, or a copy, it must be the original.

3.       Penndot does not accept a Passport. 
 
4.       If you are using Remote Notarization, you must check with the Notary as to whether the platform he or she is using accepts a Passport.
 
Signing the Document(s)

Unless you are using Remote Notarization, you must sign the document(s) in front of the Notary.  

Copy Certifications
In Pennsylvania, a Notary may use a Copy Certification to evidence that he or she saw the original document and that the copy is a true and unaltered copy.  However, we are not allowed to use this method of notarization for a Marriage License, Birth Certificate or Death Certificate.  
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Notarizations may including additional charges for administrative services including telephone calls, scanning, faxing, research and/or travel. 

©2012-22 All Rights Reserved

We are not attorneys.  We are not licensed to practice law and are prohibited from offering legal advice or opinions. 

Notarizations may including additional charges for administrative services including telephone calls, scanning, faxing, research and/or travel. 

©2012-21 All Rights Reserved

We are not attorneys.  We are not licensed to practice law and are prohibited from offering legal advice or opinions.