Notary Plus

In 2018, Texas became one of the first states to permit remote “online notarization” of documents, by notaries who have been specially commissioned as an “online notary public.”

Notaries frequently encounter situations in which the name of the signer on a document does not match the name on the identification the signer furnishes. It is a common myth that notaries should accept an identification using a "less, not more" rule - i.e., if the document says John Quincy Smith but the identification says only John Q. Smith, the notary shouldn't perform the notarization. However, there is no law in any state stipulating such a rule.

Unless a document preparer has specific instructions requiring the name on the document to exactly match the name on identification, generally speaking, some name discrepancies can be overlooked. This is especially true in the example above. If the first and last name match, and the photo and signature match that of the signer, the notary should proceed with the notarization. Another common situation is when an ID contains a woman's maiden name instead of her married name. These types of discrepancies can be ignored if the notary reasonably believes the signer to be the person he or she claims to be.

Satisfactory evidence is often defined by state law to be the absence of any information contrary to the individual's declaration of his or her identity. This means that, unless there is some form of evidence that gives the notary a belief that the person appearing before him or her is not the person he or she claims to be, the notary should not refuse to notarize.

In the vast majority of cases, if the photo on the identification matches the face in front of you, the request appears to be legitimate, and the person is not behaving in a peculiar manner, there is no reason you can't continue to notarize with the identification provided. There is no law in the United States that standardizes what a person considers to be his or her “full legal name.” However, you may be interested to know that the Social Security Administration considers a legal name to be only the first and last name.

If you have any doubt about the signer’s identity, ask for another form of identification. If you are still not satisfied, you have the right to decline.

Names on identification and documents should be reasonably similar, but they need not be an exact match, and a middle initial on a driver’s license does not disqualify a constituent from signing his or her full middle name on a document or vice versa.

Always complete the notarial certificate using the signer’s name as written on the identification presented to you and not as printed on the document. When recording the notarial act in your notary journal, explain the name discrepancy in case you are ever questioned.

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A Notary Official Signature

The most critical element on a notarized document is the notary signature. The lack of a notary signature is fatal to the notarization. It is essential that the notary sign every notarial certificate that he or she notarizes. By signing the notarial certificate, a notary is certifying that the signer personally appeared before him or her, was properly identified, and signed the document for the purpose stated therein.

Even if the name of the notary public is spelled out in his official seal, even if he uses a rubber stamp that states his name, and even if his name appears pre-printed in the notary certificate, the lack of a notary signature is considered to be negligence that will render the notarization invalid.

One example of such a rejection occurred in Florida, where a candidate for re-election for the state legislature was denied access to the general election ballot due to one notary who failed to sign the notary certificate that accompanied the candidate's paperwork, followed by a second notary who failed to indicate in the notary certificate how he verified the signer's identity (which is a required item in Florida notary certificates). The result of these notary errors was that the candidate's district had to spend tens of thousands of dollars to hold a special election.

In states where notaries are required to file a specimen of their official signatures with their notary commissioning authorities, if that signature was legible cursive writing, the notary should not use an unreadable or scribble signature when signing as a notary. If his official signature includes his full middle name, the notary should not use just a middle initial when signing as a notary.

It is vital that the notary's signature match the signature on file with the commissioning authorities. When an apostille is requested, a matching signature is one way that the state government can verify that the notarization was done by the person whose name appears as the notary on the document. Additionally, matching signatures add consistency to all documents notarized during the notary commission term, which can cut down on notary identity theft. If the signatures are always the same, when a document is presented that has a different signature, this raises a red flag.

Consistently using your official notary signature on every document that you notarize avoids the problems outlined in this article. The laws governing notaries public vary greatly from state to state. Consult your own state's laws or commissioning authority for the specific laws concerning a notary's official signature