Witness Score is a notary directory. Mailbox quality, CMRA flags, and Google Business Profile are out of scope here. If you came from a mailbox signup, you still need a lawful notarial act or an in-person CMRA witness. That is the only reason this form is on this site.
What the form actually asks a notary to do
PS Form 1583 is the “Application for Delivery of Mail Through Agent.” It authorizes a Commercial Mail Receiving Agency to receive mail for you. It is not a change of address. It is not a domicile. It does not forward mail from last year’s apartment.
The June 2024 revision — still the file USPS hosted when we retrieved it in August 2026 — says the applicant must sign in the physical or real-time audio-and-video presence of the CMRA (or authorized employee) or of a notary public commissioned in a U.S. state, territory, possession, or the District of Columbia. The CMRA keeps a copy and uploads to USPS’s CMRA customer registration database.
That sentence is why RON is a legitimate 1583 path and why a California founder can use an out-of-state remote notary even though California notaries cannot perform RON yet. The form wants a U.S. commission and a real-time session. It does not want a California commission.
The two-ID rule, from the form’s footnotes — not from us
Footnotes on the June 2024 form are the part blogs flatten:
- Two types of identification for the applicant (and for any authorized individual you list).
- One must be a government-issued photo ID from the list printed on the form.
- The second must be an address ID that contains the home address you wrote in the home-address boxes.
- A driver license may fill the photo slot or the address slot, not both.
Utility bills are not on the address-ID list on this revision. If a blog told you to upload a power bill, check the PDF in your hand. The CMRA can be stricter than USPS. It cannot be looser and remain a lawful CMRA.
Do not put the mailbox street in the home-address boxes. Those boxes want the place you live. The private mailbox line is a different item. Name on the form should match the photo ID. That mismatch — not the choice of RON brand — is a common reject.
RON vs walk-in vs “the CMRA will witness it”
| Path | When it fits | What we can cite | What we will not invent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provider’s in-app RON | You are not standing at the CMRA. The mailbox brand documents a remote notary flow. | Form allows real-time A/V. Official RON floors: NotaryLive ~$25/session; Proof/Notarize ~$25 first seal / $15 extra; OneNotary online ~$25. | A guarantee that this CMRA will accept that platform’s PDF. Ask them first. |
| Independent RON (Proof, NotaryLive, OneNotary, BlueNotary) | The CMRA said any U.S. remote notary is fine, or you are using a generic upload. | Same official floors. California signers can use out-of-state RON now (Proof map; CA SOS still bars CA notaries from webcam acts). | That a random notary who has never seen Form 1583 will fill the jurat the CMRA expects. |
| Sign at the CMRA | You can walk in. An authorized employee can witness. | The form itself. No notary fee if they will do it. | That every “suite” pin has a person authorized to witness. Some do not. |
| Mobile or bank / UPS walk-in | The CMRA wants wet ink, or KBA failed, or you need a California-commissioned notary for a different paper in the same afternoon. | OneNotary mobile from ~$80. Walk-in prices are store-set; we do not invent a UPS sticker. | A national mobile rate for independent notaries. |
Scorecards for the notary — not for the mailbox
Availability, identity check, and session record. Buttons say Official page or Affiliate link.
Proof (Notarize Network)
Remote online notarization- Availability
- A
- Identity check
- B
- Session record
- C
Consumer RON through the Notarize Network, a Proof product. On-demand video session, digital seal, identity check before the notary joins.
Published price: Consumer Notarize Network page: $25 first seal, $15 each extra seal, $15 on-demand witness, $10 each extra signer. Retrieved August 2026.
Extra seal / signer / witness: $15 extra seal (consumer page); $10 extra signer (consumer page); $15 on-demand witness (consumer page)
Recording / storage: Session is recorded as a RON act. A single consumer-facing retention period is not printed on the pricing page we retrieved. We do not invent a number of years.
NotaryLive
Remote online notarization- Availability
- A
- Identity check
- B
- Session record
- B
Pay-as-you-go RON billed per session, not per seal. Browser session; no app required on the pricing page we retrieved.
Published price: Official pricing page: $25 per session. Extra signer $5. Extra 25 pages $5. On-demand witness $10. Additional seals: no extra charge. Retrieved August 2026.
Extra seal / signer / witness: No extra charge for additional seals (pricing page); $5 extra signer (pricing page); $10 on-demand witness (pricing page)
Recording / storage: Pricing page lists 10-year document storage.
OneNotary
RON and mobile- Availability
- B
- Identity check
- C+
- Session record
- D
The only vendor in this set that publishes both an online RON sticker and a mobile (notary travels to you) sticker on the same consumer pricing page.
Published price: Individuals pricing page: online notarization $25 with 1 stamp and 1 signer; extra seal $10; extra signer $10; OneNotary witness $15. Mobile notarization from $80 with 1 stamp and 5 pages. Retrieved August 2026.
Extra seal / signer / witness: $10 extra seal online; $5 extra seal on mobile (pricing page); $10 extra signer online (pricing page); $15 OneNotary witness online (pricing page)
Recording / storage: Individuals pricing page lists 7 days document storage for the consumer plan.
BlueNotary
Remote online notarization- Availability
- A
- Identity check
- B
- Session record
- B
RON platform with a published 24/7 on-demand product and a $10 on-demand witness line. No consumer per-session sticker on the homepage we retrieved — we will not invent one.
Published price: Homepage lists $10 for on-demand witness. A consumer $25-style session floor is not printed there. We do not invent a BlueNotary session price.
Extra seal / signer / witness: Not published on the consumer homepage we retrieved; Not published on the consumer homepage we retrieved; $10 on-demand witness (homepage)
Recording / storage: Help center: electronic journal and related records retained at least 10 years unless a state requires longer. Recording downloadable by signer or notary.
Walk-in and mobile remain the backup when the CMRA wants ink or IDV fails. Their grades live on the California page and the directory.
A sequence that usually works
- Ask the CMRA which notary path they accept. If they sell an in-app RON, use that path unless you enjoy resubmitting.
- Download the current PDF from about.usps.com/forms/ps1583.pdf or use the provider’s prefilled copy. Do not google a 2010 scan.
- Fill home address to match the address ID. Name to match the photo ID. Business legal name to match the SOS printout if you checked business use.
- Notarize or witness through the documented path. Upload both ID copies, readable, edges visible.
- Wait for activation. Then — only then — print the mailbox on anything that matters. Form 1583 will not make a CMRA acceptable to a bank. That is a different question, and not ours.
What Form 1583 notarization will not do
- It will not appoint a California registered agent.
- It will not change an IRS address (that is Form 8822-B).
- It will not decide whether the mailbox street clears KYC.
- It will not let a California-commissioned notary perform the act over video. If you need a California seal on a different document the same day, that is mobile or walk-in. See California.
Sources
- PS Form 1583, June 2024 (USPS) — presence rule, ID footnotes, real-time audio-and-video note.
- Proof RON map — California signers; 42 states + DC; five states without RON-for-notaries laws.
- California SOS customer alerts — CA notaries and personal appearance.
- Official pricing pages cited on the directory (NotaryLive, Notarize/Proof, OneNotary). BlueNotary: no invented session floor.