No Identification, but I have a copy of it!
By law a notary public is required to obtain and verify a VALID, GOVERNMENT ISSUED, PHOTO ID.
- A hospital wrist band does NOT meet any of that criteria: Is does not have a photo, it is not issued by the government and does not have a validation date or range of dates.
- A hunting license or fishing license does NOT meet all of that criteria: It does NOT have a photo on it. Sorry
- A student ID may not be used, NO, even if it is from a state funded school.
- An employee identification badge does not meet the criteria even if it is for a government agency.
- A police officer’s badge does NOT meet the criteria. Sorry, but it is a chunk of metal that signifies you’re a cop. It doesn’t have your full name, photo or other identifying information. You could have stolen it, bought it at a pawn shop or found it on the ground. We still need your driver’s license or other acceptable ID.
- A Driver’s license that expired a year ago will not work: IT IS NO LONGER VALID!
So what are acceptable forms of ID?
- State issued driver’s license or ID-Only card (The real, physical card…more on that later)
- Military identification card
- Permanent Resident card
- Passport
What if the signer does not have proper identification?
The signer or agent of a signer must make reasonable efforts to obtain the ID if one exists. “I left it at home” or “She’s in the hospital, I don’t know if she has it” doesn’t work. Find out if the signer has an ID. Have someone obtain it, mail it if they’re out of state, whatever it takes to get proper ID physically present with the signer and the notary public.
If an ID does not exist (rare) or is impractical to obtain due to time constraints or other issues, a notary public may rely on “Credible Witnesses”. These are people unrelated to the signer that do not benefit in any way from having a document signed AND have known the signer personally for a substantial period of time. The credible witnesses MUST have THEIR valid, government-issued photo ID with them and sign the notary’s journal swearing (or affirming) that the signer truly holds the identity they claim.
Now let’s go over who can and can not serve as a credible witness:
My neighbor who has lived across the street from me for 32 years: As long as they are of sound mind, have proper ID, know the signer, and don’t benefit from having the document signed, they’ll probably work.
The nurse that has been taking care of my mom in the hospital for two days: Probably not unless the nurse has known your mom for years on a personal level and would feel comfortable in front of a judge claiming that your mom is who she says she is.
The son of the signer who is leaving everything to him: No. The son is related and has a vested interest in having the document signed. That’s a conflict of interest.
A co-worker the signer has worked with for 10 years: Probably fine as long as the coworker has a valid, government-issued photo ID.
Random stranger I grabbed from the hallway at the nursing home: No. Just……..no.
My wife?: Are you or your wife going to receive any benefit at all from having the document signed? If so, no.
The hospital / nursing home made a copy of their license…can you use that?
I get this question a lot.
Let’s go over the criteria: Valid, government-issued, photo ID.
Valid: Try showing a cop that pulls you over a photocopy of your license and see if he doesn’t verify it.
Government-Issued: Did the government send you a photocopy of the ID? Probably not. Almost 100% guaranteed they didn’t.
Photo ID: It’s a photo of a photo ID. It is not an ID. It’s a copy of an ID.
Why can’t you use it?
Anyone with a cheap smart phone can take a picture of an ID and change the info on it and print it out claiming it’s a copy.
Let’s say a daughter wants to deed her mother’s home to herself so her sisters don’t get anything when mom shuffles off this mortal coil. She scans her ID, changes her info, prints it out, then has a notary public notarize a quitclaim deed. “Oh, I’m sorry, I don’t have my license but my brother found it and emailed me a photo of it. Here’s a picture of it!” The notary is an idiot, notarizes it and the daughter runs off to the courthouse to claim the property. The sisters find out, sue the daughter, then the notary is sued by the mom’s estate and the other sisters. The notary loses his or her commission/license and is caught up in a court case all over a travel and stamp fee because they relied on a copy of a license and didn’t think it was a big deal.
No, a copy is not sufficient.
Here’s a copy of my Driver’s license. I guess I can just walk in to the White House now since my ID says I’m Joe Biden and I live at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in Washington DC. It’s right there in the copy of my ID. That’s my photo on it! Does it make sense now why we can’t use a copy of an ID?
