Mobil Notary | All Purpose New York Notary | Apostille Processing | Legalization and Fingerprinting

Brought to you by Kenneth A Edelstein All Purpose Certified New York Mobile Notary

Sometimes you don't have to Sign the Document before the Notary.

While it's generally a good rule to not sign a document to be notarized until the notary is present; sometimes you can! It all depends on what the notary, (not you) will be saying. At the end of your document there is a "notary section" - it generally starts with "State of: and County of:. In the notary's statement (which is signed by the notary); most commonly are one of two key phrases. It is these phrases that determine if you can lawfully sign the document prior to the notarys arrival.

The first format "sworn to and subscribed before me"; has the keyword "subscribed" - this requires the notary to actually witness the signing process. No exceptions. All notarizations are "sworn to" - as a good notary will give the "oath" as part of the notarization process. But "subscribed" allows no leeway. You must wait for the notary to be present to witness your signature. What if you already signed? Most commonly the notary will simply ask you to sign again near the first signature. Some will request you to draw a single line thru the prior signature and initial the end of the line; a legal erasure.

However, if it says "this instrument was acknowledged before me" than the notary is only required to ask you if you did indeed sign the document! When you say "yes" you are acknowledging that you did do the relevant signature. Some notaries are not comfortable with this process, but it is "the letter of the law". I cover this and many other aspects and details about notarizations on my site: http://kenneth-a-edelstein.com and I invite you to use it as a resource for many notary related functions.

In either case above, as in any notarization; there is always the requirement for "face to face" contact with the notary. It is always illegal to notarize by Fax or phone. The notary always has the responsibility of checking your ID prior to completing the notarization.  I often hear that the procedure is "difficult" - due to the ID checking and the face to face contact requirement. Please understand that the procedures are designed to protect you from someone impersonating you. Notaries must check your ID in person to verify your identity. Most times a government issued photo ID is required; a social security card does not have a picture and will rarely be accepted unless other identification is presented. More links. and update's from Kenneth A Edelstein All Purpose Certified New York Mobile Notary

Keywords: Mobil Notary | All Purpose New York Notary | Apostille Processing | Legalization and Fingerprinting