Identity Verification and Signer Competence
Identification Methods
Candidates must know the hierarchy: personal knowledge, satisfactory evidence from an identifying document, and credible identifying witnesses or verification on oath in states that allow them. Acceptable ID is typically government-issued, current or recently expired, bearing a photograph, physical description, signature, and a serial or identifying number. Traps involve expired IDs beyond the statutory grace period, IDs lacking a photo, and reliance on a witness who has a stake in the transaction.
Competence and Voluntariness
A notary must confirm the signer appears competent and acting freely. Signs of diminished capacity, duress, or undue influence-someone answering for the signer, a signer who cannot state their purpose, or a family member directing every action-warrant pausing or declining. The notary does not make a medical judgment but must not proceed when awareness is clearly lacking. Language barriers require a competent interpreter; the notary may not serve as interpreter for a document the notary is notarizing.
Worked example
A signer presents an expired driver's license, expired eleven days, and the state allows a grace period of up to three years for expired IDs. The ID is acceptable if otherwise valid. If the state has no grace period, the notary must use another method.
Rule of thumb
Identify, observe, and confirm intent. If you cannot describe in your journal exactly how you identified the signer, you have not finished the verification.