How to notarize a power of attorney
The principal is the person granting the power. The agent is the person who will use it. The principal is the one who must appear for the notarization. Bring the document unsigned. Sign it while the notary can see you sign.
- Read the document far enough to know who the principal is and who the agent is.
- Ask the office that will receive it whether it wants you in the room, and whether it also wants witnesses.
- Bring a current government photo ID, the unsigned document, the principal, and any required witnesses.
- Sign while the notary watches. If witnesses are required, they watch the signing too.
- The notary completes the acknowledgment. Keep the signed document and the confirmation.
The three ways to meet that notary are a live video call, a mobile notary, or a walk-in. Those products are on how to notarize a document. This page is the power of attorney itself.
Do not sign at the kitchen table and hope the notary will catch up later. An acknowledgment can cover a signature the principal already made. Pennsylvania defines an acknowledgment as a declaration, in front of the notary, that the person has signed for the purpose stated in the document. A witness rule is stricter. Florida requires the principal’s signature, two subscribing witnesses, and an acknowledgment before a notary. Two subscribing witnesses means two other people also sign. New York requires the witnesses to sign in the presence of the principal. If you sign alone at home, you can miss that.
What the notary checks
The notary checks who is signing, and that the signature is that person’s willing signature. The notary does not read the power of attorney to approve it. The notary does not tell you whether the powers are a good idea.
California Civil Code § 1189 puts this on the certificate. The notary verifies only the identity of the person who signed. The notary does not verify that the document is true, accurate, or valid. Pennsylvania § 305 says the same job in two checks. The notary must know the person, or have satisfactory evidence of identity. The signature on the document must be that person’s signature.
A notary is not your lawyer. The California Notary Public Handbook says a notary may not draft the document, pick the kind of document, or give advice about it. If you do not understand the powers, stop and ask a lawyer before anyone notarizes the signature. This page cannot do that job.
Bring a current government photo ID. Personal knowledge is allowed in Pennsylvania. Do not count on a stranger already knowing the principal. The directory grades how companies check an ID. Methodology explains the three letters. Those letters are not a promise that a bank will notarize this document.
Who signs
The principal signs, or another adult signs the principal’s name while the principal is there and tells that person to sign. The agent usually does not sign at that moment.
New York is the exception on this page. General Obligations Law § 5-1501B says the principal signs, and the signature is acknowledged the way a real-estate deed is acknowledged. Two witnesses sign in the principal’s presence. They cannot be named as agents or as people allowed to receive gifts. The notary may be one of those two witnesses. The agent also signs, and the agent’s signature is acknowledged. The date of that acknowledgment is the date the power starts for that agent. The person who signs for a principal who cannot sign cannot be the agent.
The other states on this page put the principal’s signature in the execution rule. They do not, in the sections we cite, require the agent to sign before the notary at the same time.
If the principal cannot hold a pen, the rule depends on the state. Florida § 709.2105(3) lets the notary sign the principal’s name when the principal is physically unable to sign. California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina let another person sign the principal’s name in the principal’s presence, at the principal’s direction. Michigan does too. If someone else signs the principal’s name there, two witnesses are required even if a notary also takes the acknowledgment.
When the principal can sign, the extra step still depends on the state. A Texas durable power of attorney has to be acknowledged before an officer who can take acknowledgments of deeds and administer oaths. A Texas notary can do that. A Michigan durable power of attorney created on or after July 1, 2024, can be acknowledged before a notary or signed in front of two witnesses. A witness cannot be the agent named in it.
Who can notarize a power of attorney
A commissioned notary can notarize a power of attorney. The commission is the in-state license for the state where the notarization happens. A friend, a relative, or a bank employee cannot do it without that current commission.
The agent should not be the notary. Florida calls the agent an attorney-in-fact. The Florida Department of State says a person named as attorney-in-fact on the power of attorney is a party to that document and may not notarize the principal’s signature. Florida § 117.107(12) is the statute. The same section says a notary may not notarize a signature when the notary has a financial interest or is a party. Section 117.107(11) also bars a notary from notarizing for a spouse, son, daughter, mother, or father.
Pennsylvania says the notary who takes the acknowledgment shall not be the agent. The notary also shall not be one of the two witnesses. The agent shall not be a witness. Illinois requires at least one witness and a notarized signature on a property power of attorney. The notary may not also sign as the witness. The agent may not be the witness or the notary.
California Government Code § 8224 says a notary with a direct financial or beneficial interest shall not notarize that transaction. Being named individually as a principal in the financial transaction is that kind of interest. Pennsylvania § 304 says a notary may not notarize a record in which the notary or the notary’s spouse has a direct or pecuniary interest.
A bank employee can do this only with a current commission, and only when the conflict rule allows it. A name tag is not a commission. Call the branch and ask who is commissioned that day. We do not print a bank’s rule for who it will serve. New York Executive Law § 138 lets a notary who works for a corporation take an acknowledgment on a document to or from that corporation, if the notary is not a party. Florida lets an employee notarize for an employer when the only pay is salary and the legal notary fee. Pennsylvania says being an employee of a company that is a party is not, by itself, the banned interest, unless the employee personally benefits.
Can you notarize a power of attorney online?
Sometimes. Notarize a power of attorney online only when two things are true. The notary’s state allows that video session. The office that will receive the document will accept it. A bank, a county recorder, or a doctor’s office can still refuse.
California is the clear stop. The California Secretary of State says a California-commissioned notary cannot perform remote online notarization until the technology project is done, or until January 1, 2030, whichever is earlier. If the desk wants a California notary, you meet in the room.
Maryland law says nothing in the remote-notary section requires any person to accept the remote act. A video file can be real and still be the wrong product for that desk.
Florida lets a registered online notary work on a live call. That does not erase the power-of-attorney signing rule. The principal, two subscribing witnesses, and an acknowledgment still have to happen. Do not assume a checkout screen supplies the witnesses. Ask the office before you pay.
Which states let their own notaries run the video session is how a remote online notary works. Whether the session is free is is online notary free. This page does not reprint those answers.
A video session with Proof, also called Notarize, or with NotaryLive, is one way to meet a notary on a live call. Use it when the notary’s commission allows the session and the receiving office will take it.
Ready to get an online notary? Try these services.
How to notarize a medical power of attorney
A medical power of attorney is often a different document. It names someone to make health decisions. It can have its own witness rule. Do not assume the financial signing rule covers it.
The Texas statutory durable power of attorney says it does not authorize medical or other health-care decisions. A Texas medical power of attorney is signed in front of two qualified witnesses, or the principal signs and has the signature acknowledged before a notary. That choice is Health and Safety Code § 166.154. At least one witness has to meet the stricter list in § 166.003. That witness is not the person named to make the health decision, not a relative by blood or marriage, and not the attending physician.
Florida § 765.202 is a health care surrogate, not the financial power of attorney. The principal signs in the presence of two adult witnesses. The surrogate cannot be a witness. At least one witness is neither the spouse nor a blood relative. That section does not require a notary. The financial power of attorney still does.
New York Public Health Law § 2981 says a health care proxy is signed in the presence of two adult witnesses. The agent cannot be a witness. The New York Department of Health says you do not need a notary for that proxy. The financial power of attorney on the New York page is a different signing.
California Probate Code § 4673 says a written advance health care directive is acknowledged before a notary, or signed by two witnesses. An electronic one needs the notary. Section 4674 keeps the agent and the patient’s health care provider from being those witnesses. A doctor’s office can still refuse a form that does not match what it asked for.
A house or other real property
A power of attorney used on a house, land, or a mortgage usually has a stricter signing rule, because the county has to be able to record it.
California lets a financial power of attorney be acknowledged before a notary or signed by two witnesses. Government Code § 27287 says an instrument has to be acknowledged before it can be recorded. A power of attorney that affects real property cannot skip that and use witness proof instead. The warning in Probate Code § 4128 says a durable power of attorney that may affect real property should be acknowledged before a notary so that it may be recorded.
Texas Estates Code § 751.151 covers a durable power of attorney used in a real-property transaction that has to be recorded. Record that power of attorney with the county clerk in the county where the property is located. The statute’s deadline is the 30th day after the real-estate instrument is filed for recording. The statutory form adds a separate place rule for home equity loans. If the agent will sign those loan documents, the principal signs the power of attorney at the office of the lender, an attorney, or a title company.
Florida § 709.2106(5) says an original may be required for recording when the power of attorney is used to affect title to real property. Ask the county recorder which form it will accept before you choose a video session.
A copy or the original
A copy is not always enough. It is also not always worthless. The rule is in the state statute, and the office in front of you can still ask for the original.
Florida says a copy, or a copy sent electronically, has the same effect as the original, unless the power of attorney says otherwise. The same sentence allows an original to be required for a real-property recording. Texas says a copy of a durable power of attorney has the same effect as the original, except where another statute or the document says otherwise. North Carolina says the same thing in G.S. 32C-1-106(d). North Carolina also requires the power of attorney to be signed and acknowledged before it is valid. Take the signed original to the first office that asks for it. Ask before you rely on a copy.
If the principal cannot travel
You have two paths that do not start with the principal driving. A mobile notary comes to the principal. Or you use a video session, if the notary’s state allows it and the receiving office agrees.
The visit is mobile notary services. The notary needs an in-state commission for the state where you meet. Book it. Have the witnesses there if the state requires them. Do not sign before they arrive.
Use the video path only after the receiving office says yes. California still means the California notary is in the room. Maryland still lets the desk refuse a remote act. If the principal cannot travel and the desk wants someone in the room, book the mobile notary.
Sources
- California Civil Code § 1189: the acknowledgment certificate verifies only the identity of the person who signed, not the truthfulness, accuracy, or validity of the document.
- California Secretary of State, 2026 Notary Public Handbook, also linked from the handbook page: a notary may not prepare, draft, or select the kind of legal document, and may not give advice about a legal document. The handbook tells the notary to decline and refer the person to an attorney.
- 57 Pa.C.S. § 302: an acknowledgment is a declaration before a notarial officer that the individual has signed the record for the purpose stated in it.
- 57 Pa.C.S. § 305: for an acknowledgment, the notary determines identity, from personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence, and that the signature is that person’s.
- 57 Pa.C.S. § 304: a notary may not notarize a record in which the notary or the notary’s spouse has a direct or pecuniary interest. Employment by a company that is a party is not that interest unless the employee personally benefits. A flat notary fee is not that interest.
- 20 Pa.C.S. § 5601: the principal signs, or another person signs at the principal’s direction if the principal cannot sign. For a power of attorney under the current execution paragraph, the signature is acknowledged before a notary, and witnessed by two adults age 18 or older. The notary shall not be the agent. A witness shall not be the agent, the notary, or the person who signed at the principal’s direction.
- Florida Statutes § 709.2105 (2025): a power of attorney must be signed by the principal and by two subscribing witnesses, and acknowledged by the principal before a notary public, or as otherwise provided in § 695.03. If the principal is physically unable to sign, the notary may sign the principal’s name under § 117.05(14).
- Florida Statutes § 709.2106(5): except as the power of attorney itself provides, a copy, including a copy sent electronically, has the same effect as the original. An original may still be required for recording when the power of attorney is relied on to affect title to real property.
- Florida Statutes § 765.202: a health care surrogate designation is signed by the principal in the presence of two adult witnesses. The surrogate cannot be a witness. At least one witness is neither the spouse nor a blood relative. The section does not require a notary.
- Florida Statutes § 117.107(11) and (12): a notary may not notarize a signature of a spouse, son, daughter, mother, or father. A notary may not notarize when the notary has a financial interest or is a party. An employee may notarize for an employer when the only benefit is salary and the authorized notary fee.
- Florida Department of State, notary FAQ on financial interest: a person named as attorney-in-fact on a power of attorney is prohibited from notarizing the signature of the person executing it.
- California Probate Code § 4121: a power of attorney is legally sufficient if it is dated, signed by the principal or by another adult in the principal’s presence at the principal’s direction, and either acknowledged before a notary or signed by two witnesses under § 4122.
- California Probate Code § 4122: witnesses are adults, the attorney-in-fact may not be a witness, and each witness sees the principal sign or hears the principal acknowledge the signature.
- California Probate Code § 4128: the warning on a printed durable-power-of-attorney form says a durable power of attorney that may affect real property should be acknowledged before a notary so that it may be recorded.
- California Government Code § 27287: before an instrument can be recorded, its execution shall be acknowledged. A power of attorney affecting real property is excepted from proof by subscribing witness.
- California Government Code § 8224: a notary with a direct financial or beneficial interest shall not perform the notarial act. Being named individually as a principal to a financial transaction is that interest. Acting only as an employee for someone else who has the interest is not.
- California Probate Code § 4673: a written advance health care directive is acknowledged before a notary or signed by two witnesses. An electronic advance health care directive requires the acknowledgment before a notary.
- California Probate Code § 4674: each witness sees the patient sign or acknowledge the directive. The agent and the patient’s health care provider are not witnesses. Those witness limits do not apply to the notary who takes the acknowledgment.
- California Secretary of State, Customer alerts: a California-commissioned notary cannot perform remote online notarization until the technology project is complete, or by January 1, 2030, whichever is earlier.
- Texas Estates Code § 751.0021: a durable power of attorney is signed by the adult principal, or by another adult in the principal’s conscious presence at the principal’s direction, and acknowledged before an officer authorized to take acknowledgments of deeds and to administer oaths. § 751.0023(c): a copy, including a copy sent electronically, has the same effect as the original unless another statute or the document says otherwise. § 751.151: for a real-property transaction that must be recorded, the durable power of attorney is recorded with the county clerk where the property is located, not later than the 30th day after the instrument is filed for recording.
- Texas Estates Code § 752.051: the statutory durable power of attorney form says it does not authorize medical or other health-care decisions. If the agent will sign home equity loan documents, the principal signs at the office of the lender, an attorney, or a title company.
- Texas Health and Safety Code § 166.154: a medical power of attorney is signed in the presence of two witnesses who qualify under § 166.003, or the principal signs and has the signature acknowledged before a notary. § 166.003 sets who may be a witness. At least one witness must meet the stricter list.
- New York General Obligations Law § 5-1501B: the principal’s signature is acknowledged in the manner for a conveyance of real property and witnessed by two people in the principal’s presence. Those witnesses are not agents and not permissible gift recipients. The notary may be one witness. The agent signs, and the agent’s signature is acknowledged. That acknowledgment date is the effective date for that agent.
- New York Public Health Law § 2981: a health care proxy is signed and dated by the adult in the presence of two adult witnesses, who also sign. The agent shall not be a witness.
- New York Department of Health, Health Care Proxy: you do not need a lawyer or a notary for the health care proxy. You need two adult witnesses. The agent cannot sign as a witness.
- New York Executive Law § 138: a notary who is a stockholder, director, officer, or employee of a corporation may take an acknowledgment of a party to an instrument to or by that corporation, if the notary is not a party to the instrument.
- Michigan Compiled Laws § 556.205, effective July 1, 2024: a power of attorney created on or after that date is signed by the principal, or by another person in the principal’s conscious presence at the principal’s direction. To be durable, a principal’s own signature is acknowledged before a notary or signed in the presence of two witnesses. A witness may not be an agent nominated in the power. One witness may also be the notary. A signature made by someone else at the principal’s direction needs the two witnesses even if it is also acknowledged.
- 755 ILCS 45/3-3: the statutory short form property power of attorney says it will not be effective unless at least one witness signs and the signature is notarized. The notary may not also sign as a witness.
- 755 ILCS 45/3-3.6: every property power bears a witness signature and is notarized. The agent or successor agent may not be the witness or the notary. The notary and the witness also may not be the attending physician, certain facility owners or operators, or a parent, sibling, or descendant of the principal or the agent, or the spouse of such a relative.
- N.C.G.S. § 32C-1-105: a power of attorney must be signed by the principal, or in the principal’s conscious presence by another person the principal directs, and it must be acknowledged. A signature acknowledged before a notary is presumed genuine. § 32C-1-106(d): except as another statute provides, a copy, including a copy sent electronically, has the same effect as the original.
- Maryland Code, State Government § 18-214: nothing in that remote-notary section requires a person to accept the remote act.