SM Mobile Notary Service

It depends. A Notary should only notarize a will if clear instructions and a notarial certificate are provided. If the signer of the will is relying upon the Notary for advice on how to proceed, the Notary should refer the individual to an attorney.

NO. To simply stamp and sign a photograph is improper. A Notary's signature and seal must appear only on a notarial certificate (such as a acknowledgement or jurat) accompanying a written statement signed by another person. However, a signature on a written statement refering to an accompanying or attached photograph may be notarized.

NO. California Notaries are authorized to certify copies only of power of attorney however a Notary may notarize an affidavit of a person requesting a certified copy of a birth or death certificate.

YES

If a document signer recently had a name change (i.e. marriage) and the document signer is unable to present reliable ID cards, can the notary accept the signers prior “before Marriage”  ID cards as acceptable document (ID Cards)?   NO

The signer may be identified on the oath (or affirmation) of one or two credible witness(es)

Qualifications: 

• Every credible identifying witnesses must personally know the document signer.
• If there is only one credible identifying witness vouching for the signer's identity....to identify the signer, the notary should personally know the witness and the witness should personally know the signer, except  
• If there are two (pair) credible identifying witnesses identified through identification document (ID Cards),
• A credible identifiying witness must not have an interest, or be named, in the document. 
• A credible identifying witness must know that the signer has no identification and that it would be impractical to obtain the necessary ID (Civil Code, Section 1185).   

Acceptable Identification (ID Cards)

A Notary may identify a signer through;

• California driver’s license or nondriver’s ID issued by the DMV
• U.S. Passport
• Foreign passport stamped by the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS)
• Driver’s license or nondriver’s ID issued by another U.S. state.
• Driver’s license issued in Mexico or Canada
• U.S. military ID that contain all required elements. The Common Access Card (CAC) California Notaries may not accept as identification for notarizations.
• Inmate ID issued by the CDC (but only to identify prisoners in custody).
• ID card issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services but only for notarization of USCIS forms.

Yes

The following instructions is called proof of execution by a subscribing witness

Other than a quitclaim deed, grant deed (other than a trustee’s deed or deed of reconveyance), mortgage, deed of trust, or security agreement.

» The identity of the subscribing witness must be established by the oath of a credible
witness who personally knows the subscribing witness and who is known personally by
the notary public. In addition, the credible witness must present an identification document
satisfying the requirements of Civil Code section 1185(b)(3) or (4).

The requirements for proof of execution by a subscribing witness are as follows:

» The subscribing witness must prove (say under oath) that the person who signed the
document as a party, the principal, is the person described in the document, and the
subscribing witness personally knows the principal (Civil Code section 1197); and

» The subscribing witness must say, under oath, that the subscribing witness saw the principal sign the document or in the presence of the principal heard the principal acknowledge that the principal signed the document (Code of Civil Procedure section 1935 and Civil Code section 1197); and

» The subscribing witness must say, under oath, that the subscribing witness was requested by the principal to sign the document as a witness and that the subscribing witness did so (Code of Civil Procedure section 1935 and Civil Code section 1197); and

» The notary public must establish the identity of the subscribing witness by the oath of
a credible witness whom the notary personally knows and who personally knows the
subscribing witness. The credible witness must also present to the notary public any
identification document satisfying the requirements for satisfactory evidence as described
in Civil Code section 1185(b)(3) or (4) (Civil Code section 1196); and

» The subscribing witness must sign the notary public’s official journal. The credible
witness must sign the notary public’s official journal or the notary public must record
in the notary public’s official journal the type of identification document presented, the
governmental agency issuing the document, the serial number of the document, and the
date of issue or expiration of the document.