What do you need to get something notarized: ID and what to bring

What do you need to get something notarized

Bring three things. A current government photo ID. The document, still unsigned. Every person who must sign, and any witness the document requires.

The notary’s in-state commission sets which ID counts. There is no single national list. The examples below are states whose official pages we read. If your state is not one of them, open that state’s page on this site. We do not invent an ID rule we did not read.

Where you meet the notary is a different question. A video call, a mobile notary who drives to you, or a bank or UPS counter are the three products. Those steps are on how to notarize a document. This page is what you bring, and which ID works.

What ID do you need to get something notarized

For a first visit, plan on a current government photo ID. A driver’s license, a state ID card, or a United States passport is the usual start. Some states also let the notary rely on personal knowledge, meaning the notary already knows you, or on a credible witness who swears to who you are. Do not count on a stranger already knowing you. Bring the ID.

California uses Civil Code section 1185. The California Notary Public Handbook says satisfactory evidence can be an identification document. If it is current, or it was issued within five years, the handbook lists a California identification card or driver’s license, and a United States passport. A second group works when the ID has a photograph, a description of the person, a signature, and an identifying number. That group includes a driver’s license from another state. The handbook also allows the oath of a credible witness.

Florida prints the list in Florida Statutes § 117.05(5). The ID must be current, or issued within the past five years, and it must have a serial or other identifying number. The list includes a Florida identification card or driver license, a United States passport, a driver license or identification card from another state, a U.S. territory, Canada, or Mexico, and an identification card from a U.S. armed forces branch. The same subsection also allows credible witnesses. The statute lists more IDs than this paragraph. Read the section before you leave an unusual ID at home.

Arizona A.R.S. § 41-255 calls the ID path satisfactory evidence. It includes an unexpired United States passport, an unexpired state driver license or nonoperating identification license (a state ID that is not a driver license), and an unexpired identification card from a branch of the United States armed forces. Another unexpired ID from the United States, a state, or a tribal government can work if it has a signature, or a photograph and a physical description, and the notary finds it satisfactory. A credible witness is also in that section.

Nevada NRS 240.1655 says the notary has satisfactory evidence if you are personally known, if a credible witness identifies you, or if you are identified with a document that contains a signature and a photograph. A consular identification card is also in that section. The section we read does not print an expiration date for that document.

What documents do you need to get something notarized

Bring the document that needs to be notarized. Bring every page. Leave the signature blank. You sign while the notary can see you sign. Do not sign at home and hope the notary will catch up later.

If the document names other signers, they come too. If it names witnesses, they come too. A power of attorney has extra rules about who signs and who may be the notary. Those rules are on how to notarize a power of attorney. This page does not repeat them.

Ask the office that will receive the document whether it will accept a video session. If that office wants you in the room, a video call is the wrong product. When a video session will not finish the document is on how a remote online notary works.

What do you need to bring

Use this list for the trip, in the room or on the call.

1. A current government photo ID. Use the kind your notary’s state accepts. The examples above are the lists we read.
2. The document, unsigned, with every page.
3. Every person who must sign. A witness, if the document or that state requires one.
4. For a video call, a camera, a quiet place, and the same ID for the on-screen check.

A mobile notary is the visit where the notary drives to you. What to check before that booking is on mobile notary services. The notary still needs an in-state commission for the state where you meet, and you still bring the ID and the unsigned document.

What ID you need to notarize online

An online session is RON. You show a government photo ID to the camera. The company then runs two checks the in-room visit may not use. Credential analysis tests whether the ID is genuine. Identity proofing tests whether you are the person on that ID. KBA is one form of identity proofing: questions drawn from public or private records.

Florida is the clearest statute we read. Florida Statutes § 117.265 says the online notary confirms identity by personal knowledge, or by all three of these: remote presentation of a government ID, credential analysis of that ID, and identity proofing. Identity proofing may be KBA. Section 117.201 defines those words. Remote presentation means a clear image of the ID on the live video. If the databases used for identity proofing do not have enough information, the online notary may not perform the act. That is when a mobile notary or a walk-in can finish.

Texas describes the same two checks on the Secretary of State educational page. An online notarization is a two-way video and audio session whose standards include credential analysis and identity proofing. Credential analysis means a third party affirms that a government ID is valid, using public and proprietary data. Identity proofing means a third party affirms who the person is, using public and proprietary data. The page we read does not print a question count.

Ohio Revised Code § 147.64 says an online notary has satisfactory evidence if you show a government ID on the call, including a passport or a driver’s license that has your signature and photograph, and the session runs credential analysis and identity proofing. Section 147.60 defines those checks. Identity proofing is a third person affirming who you are from public and proprietary data. A credible witness is a second path in § 147.64. It is not a skip of the ID check for a stranger.

Nevada’s online rule is NRS 240.1997. The electronic notary can rely on personal knowledge. Otherwise the notary needs all three of these: remote presentation of a government ID that has a photograph and a signature, credential analysis, and a dynamic knowledge-based authentication assessment. NRS 240.1825 defines that assessment as questions from public or private data sources that you have not already answered. If that check cannot finish, use a mobile notary or a walk-in.

Company grades for the ID check live on the directory, once. Methodology explains the three letters. Those letters are not a promise that a bank will accept the notarization.