Posted by MB_AZ on 5/15/07 1:33pm
Msg #190231

Question re: notarizing Visual Verification of ID

Requests my name and notary seal at the bottom of the form. No signature to notarize just info from bo's drivers license - it states;
"I hereby certify that the borrower as named above have produced valid id and that the information contained herein is correct and that the signatures on the said id. match those on the document. "

I've never seen this doc where I had to notarize or certify the information is correct. Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks

Reply by PCasey/CO on 5/15/07 1:37pm
Msg #190232

I've seen them where the notary signs that they verified the identification but never where they are supposed to have the notary stamp affixed, you can't notarize your own signature and if you are affixing your notary stamp it also has to have the notarization language on the document. I'd check with your SOS and the company you are working with to verify.

Reply by Becca_FL on 5/15/07 1:43pm
Msg #190234

Have the borrowers sign if the wording on the doc allows. If not just sign and don't notarize.

AND/OR

Download the VV doc on PAW's site and replace it. In all my years of doing this, I have never had it come back to bite me.

Here's the link:

http://www.pawnotary.com/forms/Visual%20Verification%20of%20ID(v4a).pdf

Reply by MB_AZ on 5/15/07 1:55pm
Msg #190235

Thank you both for your help

I did call the title co. (in Florida). They told me to not worry about the form as long as I get a copy of the driver’s license (which I always do). The pkg also had the Patriot Act ID form which asks all the same info.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 5/15/07 2:13pm
Msg #190240

I have seen lots of these. Just fill out the info but do not put your seal on it. You cannot notarize your own signature.

Reply by sue_pa on 5/15/07 2:45pm
Msg #190244

We see this question quite often on these boards and it drives me crazy. This is a basic notarial question. The answer is what notarial acts does AZ permit you to perform? It appears that FL and CO don't allow you to certify. In PA I could notarize this document with no problem - I am not notarizing my own signature, I am certifying, an act permitted in PA. I have no idea nor am I going to look up for you what AZ permits. If you have a handbook it should be there. If not, check with your SOS or other governing office. ALL notarial answers are state specific and I'm always baffled when people don't know the basics.

Reply by Becca_FL on 5/15/07 2:49pm
Msg #190245

Great answer, Sue! n/m

Reply by MB_AZ on 5/15/07 3:00pm
Msg #190246

Sue-I was asking for comments

as to how other notaries handle this. I was not asking you to look it up in my SOS manual. I am not a newbie and I know what the AZ SOS states. I was basically looking for comments from anyone else that had seen this form. And yes, I read the board and did a search before I asked.

Reply by PAW on 5/15/07 4:01pm
Msg #190253

What Becca said!

I knew you (Sue) would provide your point when you read the post. Each state has a list of authorized duties and functions that often are different that every other state. This is one example. Others include performing marriages, verifying safe deposit box contents, verifying VINs, etc. The point being it is the individual notary's responsibility to know and understand exactly what they can and cannot do, and how they perform what they are doing.

Reply by Michelle/AL on 5/15/07 3:19pm
Msg #190249

MB, I'm glad you posted the question.

We don't have a handbook in AL and questions to the SOS often go unanswered. Granted, I can't assume what works in AZ or elsewhere applies to my state but I always learn something. It's good for me to know that this form exists.

Reply by PCasey/CO on 5/15/07 4:03pm
Msg #190254

Re: MB, I'm glad you posted the question.

states don't always have a "notary handbook", but they usually always have statutes of some sort. I googled the Alabama Secretary of State and there was a link on their Notary page to the rules governing notaries. I didn't read any of it so it may not be that specific but I think all states have something that governs notaries and their duties/authority.

http://www.legislature.state.al.us/CodeofAlabama/1975/143801.htm

Reply by Michelle/AL on 5/15/07 10:32pm
Msg #190285

Thanks PC

That was nice of you. I do have that information already and keep a copy with me. It's so vague it's pathetic. Even our previous SOS was quoted as saying AL has the worse notarial laws.

Reply by Ernest__CT on 5/16/07 9:09am
Msg #190304

Visual Verification: What works for me in CT

Because we can't notarize our own signatures, I don't use my embossing seal. I just sign and use my ink stamp which has my name (the same way as on my Commission), "Connecticut Notary Public", and the date my Commission expires. Nobody has ever complained.