FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Many people have misconceptions about notarization.  We at Mount Wolf Notary hope this information will help educate you and solve any issues before you reach our office. 

According to the Notary Act of Pennsylvania, there are requirements that all Notaries Public must follow.  Whether you go to an independent title clerk for PENNDOT, AAA, an attorney, medical office, or bank, you and the Notary Public must follow the law. 

The actual job of a Pennsylvania Notary Public is:

To provide a neutral witness of the execution of documents.

To identify signers properly and keep records of the act.

To prevent fraud by assessing willingness and understanding.

COMMON MYTHS ABOUT NOTARIZATION  

Notarization makes a document legal.

Notarization of a document DOES NOT MAKE IT LEGAL! Only an attorney can provide a legally binding document or opinion on a document. Remember a Notary Public is not an attorney or an officer of the court.

You do not have to sign the document in front of the Notary.

This is the biggest myth.  Notarization consists of a few different actions.  The main two are an Affidavit and an Acknowledgment.  An Acknowledgment clearly states you acknowledged you signed the document, which means you COULD sign it before notarization, but the notarial wording states the Notary properly identified you and you provided proper identification to the Notary.   So even though you MAY not have to sign the document in front of the Notary, you must appear in front of the Notary and identify yourself as the signer.

An experienced Notary will make you sign their log as proof you were there.   The second common act is an Affidavit, which says “Sworn and Subscribed before me, etc.” meaning you took an oath before signing and requires a “wet signature”.   This means you signed in front of the Notary, and were administered an oath by the Notary.   So you can see the difference is somewhat confusing.   My suggestion is, be safe, do not sign anything until you are in front of the Notary Public to avoid issues.

You do not have to appear in front of the Notary.

This is one of the biggest reasons for rejection by a Notary Public.  By law you MUST appear in front of the Notary regardless of the type of notarization.  That is the most important step in the identification and assessment process.

You do not have to show ID.

The law again requires proper identification to take place.  This is the whole purpose of notarization.  They must verify your identity against the ID presented and assess your willingness and understanding of the document you are signing.  The Notary does need to record the information from your ID.  Again by law not only must the Notary record this ID information in their log, but they must also verify the ID is correct and valid.  This information is recorded to protect them from errors and to protect you from fraud.

It does not matter what the document says.

Unfortunately that is also a misnomer.  The context of the document must be scanned for blank spaces and be completeness.  Notarization executes the document.  Nothing can or should be added or changed once the document is notarized.   Therefore ,the whole document must be presented in its entirety and be complete.

THE FACTS ABOUT NOTARIZATION

A Notary Public is not an attorney, nor an officer of the court.  Therefore we can not help you in the drafting of a document or suggest wording.  All documents must be prepared for notarization.  There are a few basic ideas that must be taken into consideration.  The document is question must have the proper wording and setup for notarization.  If it does not, the signer MUST contact the entity that requested the notarization and ascertain the type of notarization required.

Affidavit

The wording of the document will read “Sworn and Subscribed before me” or to that effect.  This states the signer is attesting to the truthfulness of the facts in the document by their signature.  The notary is attesting that they witnessed your signature and you were properly identity.

Acknowledgment

The wording will be similar to “On this date before me appeared” etc.  This wording states that you personally appeared before the notary and identified yourself according to PA law.  The notary is then vouching for your personal appearance and identity.

Certification

This is when you are requested to get true and correct copies or certified copies of documents such as school degrees, certificates of education, vocational licenses, etc.  To achieve this properly you must provide the ORIGINAL document to the Notary Public.  They will then make the copy and attest to it being a true and correct copy of the original document.  However in the case of “certified” copies of records or documents like birth, death, and marriage or divorce, only the issuing agency of these types of documents can provide “certified copies”.  A Notary will be able to clarify this issue for you.

Any document to be notarized must be complete and be free of blank spaces.

All items requiring information or completion must be done BEFORE notarization.

Notarization of a document DOES NOT make it a legal document.

The signer of the document to be notarized must be present with proper ID at the time of notarization.

A Notary Public is not an Attorney, and cannot provide legal forms, give legal advice or draft any legal documents.

A Pennsylvania Notary Public cannot perform a marriage.

If you are in need of legal advice, legal defense or a legal document, please contact an attorney of your choice.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at (717) 384-8191.