The Signer Who Cannot Appear
Marcus is a Connecticut notary working at a law firm. A client, Ms. Okafor, is traveling abroad for three months and needs her signature notarized on a power of attorney. She emails Marcus a scanned, signed copy and asks him to 'just stamp it and mail it back' to her hotel. She offers to video-call him while she signs a fresh copy so he can watch. Marcus has never met Ms. Okafor, though the attorney vouches for her identity and sends a copy of her passport. Marcus wants to help because the POA is time-sensitive.
1. Can Marcus notarize based on the scanned copy plus a video call? Explain the personal-appearance requirement.
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No. A core requirement for notarizing a signature is that the signer personally appear before the notary. A scanned document, a mailed copy, or a video call does not satisfy personal appearance for a traditional in-person notarial act. Watching her sign over video does not put her physically before Marcus.
Marcus should decline. He cannot 'stamp and return' a document he did not witness being signed by a person appearing before him. If Connecticut law permits remote notarization only under specific statutory conditions and registrations, that is a separate pathway-Marcus cannot improvise it with an ordinary video call.
2. The attorney says the passport copy and his personal assurance should be enough to establish identity. How should Marcus respond?
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A third party's assurance and a photocopied passport are not satisfactory evidence of identity for a notarial act. Satisfactory evidence generally requires the notary to personally examine an acceptable ID (such as a current government-issued photo ID) presented by the signer appearing before the notary, or to rely on a credible witness who personally knows the signer and appears before the notary under the applicable rules.
Because Ms. Okafor is not appearing before Marcus, he cannot examine her ID in person, and the attorney's vouching does not substitute. Marcus should explain that the signer must appear before a notary (for example, one near her location) or use a lawful remote process if available.