I hate to beat a dead horse. But it seems that quite a few of you still believe that the ‘Name affidavit‘ is a way to identify individuals that don’t have the proper ID. I’ll say it again for the thousandth time. You cannot use this form in place of current GOVERNMENT ID. The whole point of your job is to have the person appear before you and identify the signer through proper (current) government issued identification. There are usually no exceptions to this rule (except for one; when you feel that they will not be able to get ID. They then will need to be identified through credible witnesses (usually two) who will swear under oath to you, to the signers identity and they will have current government issued ID themselves. However, keep in mind that we do not usually use this method with loans. For some lenders this may be acceptable way to identify their borrowers but for many of us notaries in certain states it is prohibited. But under no circumstance no matter what state you hold your commission in are you to use the name/signature affidavit to ID anyone. NEVER!
So you may ask what is the form for? The name affidavit form is included in the loan document package to identify all the names of the borrower that have been reported to the credit bureaus and that appear on the individuals credit report. It is not for your use and dont let ANYONE tell you that it is used for any other purpose. It is to make the borrower aware that these are the names that the report has listed for them. These may include but not limited to married, and /or maiden names and/or their name has been misspelled.
So in closing, remember when you confirm a job make sure that all signers have proper identification and that the ID is government issued and is current. If you make sure of this when you call and confirm the assignment this will save you and your borrower allot of headaches.
Until next time! Be safe!
You might also like:
When ID and Documents have different names
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=230
Glossary: Signature Affidavit and AKA Statement
http://www.123notary.com/glossary/?signature-affidavit-and-aka-statement
Can a notary sign an out of state quit claim deed?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2182
