B) How to Notarize (section 12.1)

    You are authorized to perform the following acts:

    1.  Require the personal appearance of the document signer.

    2.  Check the identity of the person requesting the notarization, document, on the notarial certificate, the identification used, ascertain that the person is mentally able to understand the document and the notarization.

             A.  Identification Documents (ID Cards)

                Acceptable Identification Documents.  Pennsylvania requires that an identifying document or card relied on by a Notary to identify a signer must be current, government-issued identification card bearing a photograph or signiture or physical description and a serial or identification number (57 PS Sec. 12.1)     

                  Preferred Identification Documents.  While the law permits the use of a wide range of government-issued documents as identification, the safest ID's are those that contain all four elements listed above:  a photograph, signiture, physical description and serial or identification number.  Preferred identification documents include:

• Pennsylvania driver's license or non-driver's ID.

• Driver's license or identification card from another U.S. state.

• A U.S. passport.

• Foreign passport stamped for entry into the U.S. by the immigration and Naturalization Service.

• U.S. military ID card.

• ID card issued by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.

    3.  Check that the document to be notarized is complete and falls within your  authority to notarize. It is not your responsibility to understand the contents of the document..

    4.  Record the notarization in your notarial register.

      5.  Complete your notarial certificate, sign with your official notary signature, print, type or stamp your name beneath your signature, and apply your seal.

C)  NOTARIAL Certificates

When notarizing a signature, a notary public shall sign and date a notarial certificate or jurat and shall specify which signature is being notarized and that the signer personally appeared before the notary public at the time of notarization. It is presumed, absent such specific notation by the notary public, that notarization is to all signatures. The jurat or certificate of acknowledgment shall contain the following elements:

i)     The venue stating the location of the notarization in the format "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of ______________".

ii)    The type of notarial act performed, an oath or an acknowledgment, evidenced by the words, "sworn" or "acknowledged".

iii)   That the signer personally appeared before the notary public at the time of the notarization.

iv)    The exact date of the notarial act.

v)     The specific type of identification the notary public is relying upon in identifying the signer, either based on personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence.

vi)    The notary's official signature.  Exactly as the name appears on the commission certificate and on the Notary's official seal.

vii)   The notary's title (notary public), typed, printed, or stamped below the signature.

viii)  The notary's official seal affixed below or to either side of the notary's signature.

For the purposes of this section, "satisfactory evidence" means the reliance on the presentation of a current, government-issued card bearing a photograph, signature or physical description and serial or identification number or the oath or affirmation of a credible witness who is personally known to the notary and who personally knows the individual.

  (b)  in certifying a copy of a document or other item, a notary public shall determine that the proffered copy is a full, true and accurate transcription or reproduction of that which was copied.

Absence of any information, evidence, or other circumstances which would lead a reasonable person to believe that the person whose signature is to be notarized is not the person he or she claims to be and any one of the following: 

    1. The sworn written statement of one credible witness personally known to the notary public or the sworn written statement of two credible witnesses whose identities are proven to the notary public upon the presentation of satisfactory evidence that each of the following is true:

a. That the person whose signature is to be notarized is the person named in the document;

b. That the person whose signature is to be notarized is personally known to the witnesses;

c. That it is the reasonable belief of the witnesses that the circumstances of the person whose signature is to be notarized are such that it would be very difficult or impossible for that person to obtain another acceptable form of identification;

d. That it is the reasonable belief of the witnesses that the person whose signature is to be notarized does not possess any of the identification documents specified in subparagraph 2.; and

e. That the witnesses do not have a direct or pecuniary interest in nor are parties to the underlying transaction; or

    2. Reasonable reliance on the presentation to the notary public of any one of the following forms of identification, if the document is current and bears a serial or other identifying number:

a.  A Pennsylvania identification card or driver's license issued by the public agency authorized to issue driver's licenses;

b.  A passport issued by the Department of State of the United States;

c.  A passport issued by a foreign government if the document is stamped by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service;

d.  A driver's license or an identification card issued by a government agency authorized to issue driver's licenses in a state other than Pennsylvania, a territory of the United States;

e.  An identification card issued by any branch of the armed forces of the United States;

f.   An inmate identification card issued by the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, for an inmate who is in the custody of the department;

h.  A sworn, written statement from a sworn law enforcement officer that the forms of identification for an inmate in an institution of confinement were confiscated upon confinement and that the person named in the document is the person whose signature is to be notarized; or

i.  An identification card issued by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service.

"Green Cards" Updated

Resident alien cards, commonly called "green cards," have recently been updated by the U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service. Former cards identified as Form I-151 issued prior to 1978 have been replaced with cards designed to be more resistant to fraud and counterfeiting.

The new cards are designated as Form I-551 and are made of hard plastic, similar to credit cards, rather than laminated paper cards. Each card has a pink background, the words "Resident Alien" in dark blue, and a blue INS seal in the center of the card. The card also contains a photo (showing the right ear), signature and fingerprint of the resident alien. Other valid cards issued after 1978 have white backgrounds, but all valid cards will have the photo, signature and fingerprint of the bearer.

Notaries may accept the new cards as identification if the card is current (unexpired) or was issued within the past five years. The old card Form I-151 is no longer valid and should not be accepted for notary services.

E)  Notarizing in Special Circumstances

i)    Foreign Language Customers - If the document is in a language that the person who is to acknowledge it does not speak or understand, you must not take the acknowledgment or affidavit unless the nature and effect of the instrument is translated into a language that the person understands. If the document is in a language that you don't understand, you may add the appropriate certificate in English. However, you must be able to communicate with the document signer in order to perform the appropriate notarial act and you must ensure that the document is complete. If the document does not have a notarial certificate, you must ask the signer which notarial act is required, i.e. an oath or an acknowledgment. If a translator must be used, it is recommended to attach an affidavit of the translator with the translator's signature affirming that he or she knows both English and the language of the customer and that the translator affirms that the attached document (or include a brief description of the document) is an accurate and complete translation.

ii)   Sight Impaired Customers - You should read the document to this type customer before notarizing it.

iii)  Hearing Impaired Customers - As long as a meaningful form of communication can be established, e.g. writing notes back and forth or lip reading, the notary may proceed with the notarization as usual.

iv)   Customer Who Signs by Using A Mark - You may notarize a document for this particular type person as long as you adhere to the following:

1.  The document signing is witnessed by two disinterested persons.

2.  The notary prints the person's first name at the beginning of the designed signature line and the person's last name at the end of the designated signature line.

3.  The notary prints the words "his or her mark" below the person's signature mark.

v)   For a Customer Who is Illiterate - Although not required by law, you should read the document to the document signer before the notarization.

You may wish to add a statement in your notarial certificate: "I further certify that I read the document to (name of signer) prior to notarization."

Unless you are an attorney, you cannot advise the person about the contents of the document, however, you may re-read any portion of the document to the person.

vi)   Customer Who is a Minor - there is no prohibition of notarizing a document for a minor.  However, determining the identity of a minor can be a problem, because minors often do not possess acceptable identification documents, such as driver's licenses or passports.  If the minor does not have an acceptable ID, then the other methods of identifying signers must be used, either the Notary's personal knowledge of the minor or the oath of a credible identifying witness who can identify the minor.

F)  Certification of Notary's Authority by Secretary of State