No. Only the person whose signature is being notarized has to appear before the notary, so the question of whether both parties have to be present for a notary almost always answers itself: each signer handles their own notarization separately, and the other party doesn’t need to be in the room, in the same city, or even signing on the same day. In a two-party deal like a home sale, the buyer and seller each visit a notary on their own schedule.
Why Only the Signer Has to Appear
The notary’s job is tied to the individual signer, not to the transaction. The notary verifies that the person in front of them is who they claim to be, that they’re signing voluntarily, and that they appear mentally competent. Once those checks are complete for that one person, the notary’s obligation to them is done.
People assume notarization is a joint ceremony because so many notarized documents involve two sides. It isn’t. The notary doesn’t mediate the agreement, doesn’t need to see both parties consent, and has no role in the deal itself. If your document needs notarized signatures from more than one person, each of you handles your own notarization independently. Different notaries, different days, and different states are all fine.
Acknowledgments and Jurats
The two most common types of notarization have slightly different rules about what has to happen in front of the notary, though neither requires the other party.
An acknowledgment means the signer appears before the notary and confirms that the signature is theirs and was made voluntarily. The signer doesn’t have to sign the document right there — they can bring in a document they already signed and simply acknowledge the signature. Real estate deeds, contracts, and powers of attorney typically use acknowledgments.
A jurat is stricter. The signer must sign the document in the notary’s presence and take an oath or affirmation that its contents are true. Affidavits and sworn statements usually require jurats, and a pre-signed document won’t work because the notary has to witness the actual signing.
In both cases, only the signer needs to be there. The distinction just tells you whether that signer can arrive with the document already signed.
What the Notary Actually Verifies
A big part of the confusion over who has to be present comes from a related misconception: that the notary reviews and approves the deal. They don’t. A notary verifies the signer’s identity using government-issued photo identification, confirms the signer appears willing and aware, and applies the notary’s seal and signature. The notary has no obligation to read the document, evaluate its legality, or decide whether the terms are fair. That’s an attorney’s job.
So a notarized document isn’t inherently “more legal” than an unnotarized one. It’s simply one where the signer’s identity has been independently confirmed. That confirmation is what lenders, courts, and government agencies care about, and it’s why the notary only needs the signer in front of them, not the counterparty.
When Someone Genuinely Can’t Appear: Power of Attorney
If a party truly cannot appear, even remotely, another person can sometimes sign on their behalf using a power of attorney. The person holding that power (the attorney-in-fact, or agent) appears before the notary, proves their own identity, and signs on behalf of the absent principal. The notary verifies the agent’s identity, because the agent is the person physically present.
The signature format usually names both people to make the relationship clear, something like “Jane Smith, by John Doe, attorney-in-fact.” Some states require the notary to confirm that the agent actually holds a valid power of attorney; others leave that to the parties. One limit worth knowing: an agent generally cannot take a jurat oath on the principal’s behalf, because swearing to the truth of a document is a personal act.
Remote Online Notarization
If the reason you’re asking about presence is that getting everyone into the same place is inconvenient, remote online notarization solves most of the problem. As of 2024, at least 47 states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws authorizing some form of remote online notarization. RON lets a signer appear before the notary through a live, two-way audio-video session from anywhere with an internet connection and a camera. The notary and signer aren’t in the same physical space, but the notary still performs every verification step and applies a digital seal.
State laws are what actually authorize notaries to perform RON. The older federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN) and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) recognized electronic signatures as valid but stopped short of authorizing remote notarization. A federal bill, the SECURE Notarization Act, passed the U.S. House of Representatives in 2023 to create a nationwide framework for RON but had not been enacted into law as of the end of that congressional session.
How Remote Identity Checks Work
RON sessions use two layers of identity verification on top of what traditional in-person notarization requires. First, the signer’s government-issued ID goes through credential analysis, where automated software examines the ID’s security features, photograph, and data to confirm authenticity. Second, the signer completes knowledge-based authentication: five questions drawn from public and private records that only the real person should be able to answer, like past addresses or loan details. The signer must answer at least four of the five correctly within two minutes. Someone who fails can typically retry up to two more times within 48 hours, with at least 40 percent of the questions replaced each time.
The whole session is recorded on audio and video, and the notary keeps an electronic journal of the transaction. Most states require notaries to use an approved third-party RON platform that meets specific security and encryption standards.
What You Need to Sign Remotely
Requirements vary by state and platform, but at a minimum you’ll need a device with a working webcam and microphone, a stable internet connection, and a government-issued photo ID. Most RON platforms run in a web browser, so dedicated software usually isn’t necessary. If you can’t pass the identity quiz — perhaps because you recently moved or have a thin credit history — the platform may not let you proceed, and you’ll need to notarize in person.
Documents That Still Require In-Person Notarization
Even in states that broadly allow RON, certain documents are frequently carved out and still require physical presence. Wills and codicils are the most common exclusion — many states either prohibit electronic wills entirely or impose extra safeguards like requiring two witnesses to be physically present with the signer. Healthcare advance directives, powers of attorney for certain financial transactions, and agreements affecting spousal or inheritance rights also face restrictions in multiple states.
The reasoning behind these carve-outs is vulnerability. Those documents tend to involve elderly or ill people making life-altering decisions, and legislators worry that remote sessions make it harder to detect coercion or diminished capacity. For estate planning documents, confirm with your state’s secretary of state office or the RON platform whether the specific document type qualifies for remote notarization before scheduling a session.
When a Notary Must Refuse
Presence isn’t the only thing a notary checks, and a wasted trip can happen even when the right person shows up. A notary is legally required to turn a signer away in situations including:
- The signer isn’t actually present. Whether in person or on video, the signer must appear before the notary at the time of the act. Pre-signed documents sent over by courier don’t satisfy this for a jurat.
- The signer can’t produce a valid government-issued photo ID and no credible witness is available to vouch for identity.
- The document has blank spaces that could be filled in later. A responsible notary will refuse rather than invite fraud.
- The signer appears confused, intoxicated, heavily sedated, or pressured by someone else in the room.
- The notary is a party to the transaction or stands to benefit from it. Most states also prohibit notarizing for a spouse, parent, or child.
- Something about the transaction looks illegal, deceptive, or fabricated.
If a signer can’t produce valid ID, some states allow credible witnesses who appear alongside the signer, swear to the notary that the signer is who they claim to be, and present their own ID. State rules vary, and not every state permits credible witnesses at all.
If you’re turned away, ask the notary what specifically caused the refusal so you can fix the issue before the next attempt. The one thing that generally won’t cause a refusal is the absence of the other party to your agreement — because they were never required to be there in the first place.