Identifying the Signer: Personal Appearance, Satisfactory Evidence, and Credibility
Appearance comes first
Every act begins with the signer personally appearing before you, at the same time and place as the act. Remote notarization is governed by separate authorization and technology requirements; a notary who has not been approved for it cannot notarize over video.
The hierarchy of satisfactory evidence
- Personal knowledge - you know the signer from prior dealings and have no reason to doubt identity.
- Government-issued photo identification bearing a signature - current, not expired, and reasonably matching the person in front of you.
- A credible witness - one witness who personally knows both you and the signer (or, where the statute provides, two witnesses who know the signer), sworn under oath.
Credibility is a live judgment
Identification is not a rubber stamp. Assess coherence, consistency, and behavior. If something does not add up - a mismatched name with no explanation, a nervous refusal to answer basic questions, an ID that looks altered - you may and should decline the act.
Traps
Accepting an expired ID. Accepting a photocopy or a picture on a phone. Accepting an ID with no signature without a second piece of evidence. Ignoring a name change (maiden versus married name) instead of requiring documentation that connects the names. Accepting "I've known him online for years" as personal knowledge. Relying on a witness who knows only the signer, when the statute requires the witness to know the notary as well.