Posted by BrendaTx on 10/7/12 3:00pm
Msg #437558

Questions - Visa -Part I & Apostille - Part II



Part I - Visa

I'm not a Visa expert (yet!!!!). I received a request the other day from a person who seeks a visa to travel to Italy. He did not say whether or not it was a business or tourist visa.

He wanted me to notarize a copy of his marriage license from Indiana and his birth certificate from Alabama to be submitted with his visa application.

Of course, I cannot "notarize" a copy of his birth certificate or his marriage license. (Yep, I know that I can indeed let him write a statement about those documents and notarize it, but I don't always think that is the best idea, either.) I was out of the country myself and could not accommodate the request. However, out of interest in this subject I looked to see what requirements there would be for issuing a visa to Italy that would generate this request. I did not note one right away.

Would anyone care to elaborate on why notarized copies of the above mentioned documents would be requested?

Part II - Apostilles

To me, it is not always acceptable to notarize statements attached to a marriage certificate or a birth certificate wherein the signer swears that it is a true/correct copy. It has come to my attention recently that some who request such requests also seek apostilles. Their purposes may be genuine, or they may be playing a sovereign citizen game. The secretary of state (or other authenticating government offices) does/do not hand out apostilles on any and every document these days.

I feel that I should find out from my SoS if they will even consider authenticating my notarial signature on such a document. Has anyone else given this thought?

Reply by LKT/CA on 10/7/12 3:19pm
Msg #437562

<<<To me, it is not always acceptable to notarize statements attached to a marriage certificate or a birth certificate wherein the signer swears that it is a true/correct copy. It has come to my attention recently that some who request such requests also seek apostilles. Their purposes may be genuine, or they may be playing a sovereign citizen game. The secretary of state (or other authenticating government offices) does/do not hand out apostilles on any and every document these days.>>>

According to the CA SOS: "Apostilles and Certifications ***only certify to the authenticity of the signature of the official who signed the document,<yada, yada> the Apostille or Certification does not validate the contents of the document***."

http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/notary/authentication.htm

I agree with you about the birth certificate - mainly because birth certificates (in and of themselves) are not originals - they are certified copies *from* the original on file with the county hall of records.

Reply by BrendaTx on 10/7/12 4:25pm
Msg #437576

******only certify to the authenticity of the signature of the official who signed the document,<yada, yada> the Apostille or Certification does not validate the contents of the document***."***

Right. Right. That is definitely the truth, but the ever-growing abilities of people to use good things for evil have made the jobs of the authentications offices harder. They don't just slap a certificate on them any more without looking at the contents. (Don't quote me...I don't have a source. I am following up with my SOS tomorrow. Some years back PAW and I both made references to this. He had more to offer than I . . . I should try to find that post, too.)

Reply by BrendaTx on 10/7/12 4:35pm
Msg #437577

I found PAW's answer...yay!

It helps that he (an apostille expert) also recognized my concerns.
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Re: Copy of Death Certificate
Posted by PAW of FL on 4/10/11 12:17pm Msg #379381
Only the FL Secretary of State can provide an Apostille or Certificate of Authority for the following Florida documents: vital record, e.g. birth certificates and death certificates, bearing the original signature of the State Registrar; vehicle titles certified by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles; corporation documents bearing the signature of the Secretary of State; and documents certified by any Clerk of the Court for any county in Florida (the fee for an Apostille on any county certified document is $20). Neither a notary nor the 'custodian' of this type of document can make a "Certified Copy" or an "Attested Copy". Attaching a written statement, notarized by a notary is not acceptable, nor is the "Attested Copy" certificate by a duly commissioned notary. (Florida notaries are authorized to make 'Attested' copies except for those documents listed above.)

Reply by MW/VA on 10/7/12 7:44pm
Msg #437597

I had a call from someone wanting an Apostille here

in VA. Here's what VA has to say about it.....
www.commonwealth.virginia.gov/authentications/
We cannot make copies of vital records.

Reply by SharonMN on 10/7/12 10:53pm
Msg #437617

Whenever I get a request for general notary work, I try to figure out what they really want to accomplish, and advise accordingly. If they need an official copy of a record, such as a marriage certificate or school transcript, I direct them to the keeper of those records (state or county clerk, school office, etc.) While it is often legal to simply notarize the requestor's signature,that is not normally what the party that needs the document really wants.

Reply by Pro Mobile Notary on 10/8/12 10:50am
Msg #437647

I believe the person making the request confused the need for a "certified" copy of the birth certificate from the records office from where the birth records are kept with a notarized document. I think too many people do not know the difference.