The purpose a notary statement serves is to verify the authenticity of a statement or act. These notary statements have introduced a peace of mind as they demystify and streamline the authentication process. While these statements are primarily used to verify written statements during court proceedings, they are also used in a variety of legal transactions such as real estate or finance-related dealings.
Signature guarantees and notary stamps are both used to verify signers’ identity. Loan documents, for instance, require professional notarization to protect against fraud. The notary public verifies the signer’s identify – usually done by checking his or her driver’s license of state-issued ID card – and stamps the document to finalize its execution. While a signature guarantee shares some similarities to a notary stamp, they are two unique processes, each with its own purpose.
The primary duty of a notary public is to verify the identities of each signer on a document. This is done to protect against fraudulent acts that may otherwise void the notarized document. The notary public typically requests each signer to provide identification that verifies their identity. If the client fails to provide an acceptable form of identification, the notary public is legally obligated to refuse the service. So, what’s considered an “acceptable” form of identification when seeking the services of a notary public?
When it comes to dealing with legal documents and transactions, most states require either a signature guarantee or an official notarization.
Both signature guarantees and notarizations verify the identities of the signing parties, but they serve different roles and require different levels of oversight. Depending on the document you need signed, you’ll need to know the differences between these two closely related roles.
To help you understand whether you’ll need a notary or not, we’ve put together a brief walkthrough of both signature guarantees and notarizations — starting with the importance of these witnesses in the overall scheme of things.
Some professional notaries may find themselves in a position where they need a document notarized. For instance, a notary public may create an advance directive (living will), stating his or her preferences regarding medical care in the event they are unable to make them. Since they are already commissioned as a notary public by their respective state, the notary may assume that’s it’s okay to notarize the advance directive themselves. This would obviously save both time and money, which is why so many notaries bring up this question. So, can a notary public notarize his or her own document?
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