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October 13, 2017

Notary Public 101 — Identification

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IDENTIFICATION

As a Notary Public, the most important thing you do is to identify a signer. Different states have different rules for what identification document you can use and how someone is to be identified. If a Notary fails to do a good job identifying a signer, that Notary can quickly end up in court as a witness or defendant. In my opinion if you don’t do a good job identifying signers, you might as well not be a Notary Public.

Identification Documents & Characteristics
Commonly accepted ID’s include passports, driver’s licenses, state issued ID cards, military ID’s. Green cards (permanent resident cards) are not necessarily allowed, so look that one up in your handbook. As a rule, an acceptable ID must be:

Current — (there are exceptions in California, Tennessee and perhaps other states that allow the ID to be issued within five years even if it is expired.)

Government Issued — Some Notaries think that a signature affidavit or gas bill is a good secondary form of ID, but those are not government issued and you don’t know what the source of the information for the names on them are.

Photo ID — An acceptable ID should have a photo. I do not think that many states allow social security cards as secondary identifications. However, you can look that up in your handbook.

Physical Description — the ID would say your height, eye color, etc.

Serial Number — the ID should have a number such as A58362D.

Expiration Date — the ID should have an expiration date somewhere. Normally there is an issue date as well somewhere.

Signature — the signature on the ID is important because you will need to compare that to the one in your journal and on the document made by the same person.

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THE NAME ON THE ID

Different states have different rules for what the name on the ID should say relative to the name on the document. Some states do not require the names to match. Others require that the Notary be reasonably sure that the person in the ID and the person on the document are the same person. Reasonably sure is a wishy-washy term. You can never be 100% sure it is the same person because ID’s can be falsified and there could be multiple people with the same name as well as multiple people who look similar to each other. Identifying humans is easier than identifying squirrels, but there can still be confusion. The name on the document’s signature must be provable to the name on the ID, otherwise it would be questionable and risky to notarize that signature.

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PROCEDURE

When you do a Notary act, you ask for the signer’s identification. You record that information in your journal and you keep a journal whether your state requires it or not as that is your only evidence in court. You compare the name on the ID to the name on the document. If the name on the document is not provable based on the ID then you are advised to decline the notarization, especially if it is for a Deed. Here is a summary of the ID and acknowledgment notarization process.

(1) Ask for ID.
(2) Record ID information in journal
(3) Have signer(s) sign your journal and the document(s)
(4) Compare the name in the document to the name on the ID. Make sure the name on the document is provable based on the ID.
(5) Make sure the signature in the journal, document and ID all match.
(6) Fill out the certificate, sign and seal.

Examples of provability in ID
ID says John Smith — document says John W Smith…. name is NOT provable.
ID says John W Smith — document says John W Smith… name is provable
ID says John William Smith — document says John W Smith… name is provable based on the ID.

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FAKE ID

Keep an eye out for fake ID’s. There are guide books that can yelp you identify a false identification. If there is peeling lamination or the signature is above the lamination then it is fake. You can ask the signer what his sign is or what his birthday or height is. If he does not know his sign or birthday based on the ID, then his ID is fake. If he does know his sign that is great, but does not prove the ID is real.

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THUMBPRINTS

If you value your life, ask for journal thumbprints. They can keep you out of court. People might complain about being asked to be thumbprinted as it can seem like an invasion of privacy and a hassle — but a thumbprint is the only way an investigative agency can have a paper trail leading to an arrest of an identity thief. Thumbprints are the only unique form of identification a Notary can use at this point in time. No two thumbprints are alike, and they cannot be forged at a Notary appointment unless they wear a latex thumbprint on their thumb which would be easily detectable.

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You might also like:
Is it legal to photo copy a military ID?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22120

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4 Comments »

  1. told by SOS office to not use fingerprinting in this state

    Comment by Frederick Kanakry — March 18, 2018 @ 7:28 pm

  2. I think that the sequence of steps you list for the ID and notarization process can cause problems, mainly if you find out on step 4 that the ID name and document name are not provable, then you will have to decline the signing and nos you have a n entry on your journal that needs to be crossed of. Steps 4 and 5 should follow 1.

    Comment by Miguel S Buchwald — May 4, 2018 @ 1:55 am

  3. How I do it:
    1. Ask for ID.
    2. Compare the name in the document to the name on the ID. Make sure the name on the document is provable based on the ID.
    3. Record ID information in journal
    4. Have signer(s) sign my journal and get thumbprint(s) of signer(s).
    5. Have signer(s) sign document(s)
    6. Make sure the signature in my journal, document and ID all match.
    7. Fill out the certificate, sign and seal.

    Comment by Harroll V. Chisom — September 17, 2018 @ 10:39 pm

  4. FYI, there are still some IL F.O.I.D. (Firearm Owner’s Identification Card), cards still current that do NOT have an issue date. Some of them are about to expire and the state has changed the card to now Show the issuance date on all new cards.
    ALTHOUGH I have carried this card for many years, and I KNOW that Most are issued to expire 10 years later (same date), not every one is. I was just issued an IL Concealed Carry ID, and they REissued My FOID, which shows recent issuance 2018, with expiration 2021.
    This is a very good ID bc it has a photo, DOB, all information is on the front of the card AND the owner needs to undergo a government background check to be issued this card, I would refuse to use it IF there is no issuance date on the card.

    Comment by betty — March 5, 2019 @ 4:54 pm

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