Posted by Kate/PA on 1/15/13 9:34pm
Msg #450628

Jailhouse/ Prison notarizations?

Okay so how do jailhouse notarized documents go about? How does the inmate verify his Indenity? Is the standard prison charge a minimum $100? What have been your experiences with prison notarizations? Thank you!

Reply by Michelle/AL on 1/15/13 10:13pm
Msg #450636

Kate, have you searched older posts on this subject? There's been a lot discussed on this subject over the years. Not sure about your state though. I treat these like any other appointment except a family member brings ID. Each facility has different rules.

Reply by CJ on 1/16/13 9:36am
Msg #450657

In California, one of the accepted ID's is the prison ID. It's on the test, so you should have this memorized.

I have done prison notarizations twice. They would not let me in until I brought my ORIGINAL notary certificate for them to copy. I had to go home and get it. Plus, they made me wait a LONG time to see the prisoner. I think it was almost an hour.

Reply by EileenHI on 1/16/13 10:46am
Msg #450667

Each state is different. I did one here in HI and a family member supplied the id, which I brought with me, had only a ten minute wait, it went smoothly, had no problem getting in, just showed my id, and set my own price with the family member. I was informed that there used to be a notary locally who would make a monthly visit to the prison to do any notarizations for free, but after several years is no longer providing this service. So now it is up to the prisoner to find someone to pay the fee and schedule the notary with prison officials.

Reply by EileenHI on 1/16/13 11:01am
Msg #450669

I forgot to mention..... the prison did a background check on me before they would allow the notarization to be scheduled. Took a week or so.

Reply by Kate/PA on 1/17/13 11:28am
Msg #450810

Thanks. I'm not in California though so this was not on my test.

Reply by Malbrough_LA on 1/16/13 7:53pm
Msg #450732

I've done quite a few of these. The first one I did for Orleans Parish Prison I had to have a background check done and bring my commission certificate with me for a copy. They also wanted a copy of my signature and stamp which I complied with and immediately drew a giant line through both prior to handing them over and contacted LA SoS to inform them of what I was doing for future reference. After that, I've just shown up because my information is on file.

The ones I've done in St. Charles were much easier to get into...though now that I think of it, that kind of worries me. Either way, a previous poster is correct, you could be asked to wait around for a while and you could get in immediately. It depends on the inmate and the charges they're facing (I'm only guessing on this one, but the gentleman in for murder 1 took me the longest to get into...ymmv) Charge accordingly. The first several I did were for free just to get my name out there and that I was available for such services. My minimum for prison/jail signings is now $45, but in LA we have no cap. If you're in a capped state, can you charge for administration/travel/misc? That's what I'd do.