Have you ever been requested to do a notarization for a minor? Doing a notary for a minor is unusual, and notaries don’t always know what to do. A signature of a minor is not legally binding, but that doesn’t prevent you from notarizing their signatures. If you are notarizing a minor, take the same steps you would take notarizing anyone else. But, take one extra precaution in your paperwork — indicate the age of the signer in your journal, and perhaps on the document so there is a record after the fact! Remember, the purpose of a notary public is to keep accurate and complete paperwork on signatures / transactions so they can be queried after the fact. The exact rules for how you do your documentation vary from state to state, and country to country — but the basic purpose of a notary public worldwide is still identical.
The next problem you might encounter when notarizing a minor is that they don’t always have photo identification. If there is no ID, then without credible witnesses, you can not identify them properly for the notarization. Not all states allow the use of credible identifying witnesses, so learn your state rules on the matter. Identifying a minor is not always possible, so just do your best.
The most important thing to understand when doing a notarization for a minor is not to panic. Just follow procedure and make special notations in your journal about whatever is unusual about the signing — especially the fact that the signer is under 18 years of age!
You might also like:
Notarizing for a minor – identification!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=6969
Rules for notarizing minors
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2362
Notary Public 101 – identification
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19507
The assignment was to notarize a photocopy of a passport. The holder of the passport was 1 year old. Yes, he did have proper photo ID, but getting a signature would be a problem. Sooooo. I had the Mother sign using the format below:
“Minnie Mouse for Baby Mouse as mother of the child”.
In the notary section only Minnie Mouse is named.
Thus, I processed this similar to a POA. Note that I did not require a birth cert as proof of her being the mother. Her statement as to being the parent was enough for me. As NY is an “adaquate proof” state with no specific ID requirements; it was adaquate proof for me that both mother and child had the same “Mouse” last name. In states that don’t allow representative authority, things might have been more difficult.
Comment by Kenneth A Edelstein — September 4, 2013 @ 4:48 am