To get a document notarized, bring a current government-issued photo ID and your document to a commissioned notary public, who will verify your identity, either watch you sign or confirm the signature is yours, and apply an official seal. A straightforward signing takes five to fifteen minutes. Fees are capped by law in most states, usually somewhere between $2 and $25 per signature. The steps are simple, but small mistakes, like signing the wrong document ahead of time or bringing an expired license, can send you home to start over.
What to Bring
Two things: acceptable identification and the complete document.
Your ID has to be government-issued, carry a photograph, and be current. A state driver’s license, U.S. passport, or military ID card all qualify. An expired ID does not, even if it lapsed recently. If you have no acceptable photo ID, some states let a “credible identifying witness” appear with you, meaning someone who knows you personally and can swear under oath that you are who you say you are. Not every state permits this, so confirm before counting on it.
Bring every page of the document, including attachments and exhibits. Missing pages or blank fields that should be filled in will stop the appointment. Whether you should sign in advance depends on the type of notarization the document calls for, which matters enough to look at on its own.
Know Which Type of Notarization You Need
Most notarizations are either an acknowledgment or a jurat, and the difference decides whether you sign before you arrive.
An acknowledgment is the more common act. You appear before the notary, prove your identity, and declare that you signed willingly and for the purpose stated. You can sign the document before the appointment; the notary only needs to confirm the signature is yours. Certificates for this act usually contain the phrase “acknowledged before me.”
A jurat requires you to sign in the notary’s presence and take a spoken oath or affirmation that the contents are true. Affidavits and sworn statements use this act. The notary will ask you to raise your right hand and swear or affirm; a silent nod does not count. Certificates read “subscribed and sworn to before me.” If your document needs a jurat, do not sign it beforehand.
If you are not sure which act applies, ask the attorney or agency that gave you the document. A notary cannot tell you which one to choose, because that would be legal advice.
One more detail about the signature itself: an acknowledgment needs a live wet-ink signature on the original. A faxed or photocopied signature will not qualify. And every person whose signature needs notarization has to appear before the notary individually. They do not have to come at the same time, but no one can be notarized in absentia. Remote online notarization is the exception, where presence happens through a live video connection.
Where to Find a Notary
Banks and credit unions are usually the easiest place to start. Many notarize documents free for account holders. Some will serve non-customers for a small fee, others will not, so call the branch first and confirm a notary is on duty that day.
Shipping stores, office supply chains, and mail centers commonly have commissioned notaries for walk-in service. County clerk offices and some public libraries also offer notarizations during regular business hours. These places generally charge the state’s statutory maximum, which is modest.
Mobile notaries come to you, whether that is a home, office, or hospital room. This helps if you are homebound, on a deadline, or need a signing outside business hours. Expect a travel fee on top of the per-signature charge. In most states, travel fees are not capped and are negotiated directly with the notary.
Remote online notarization is authorized in 45 states and the District of Columbia. You meet a commissioned notary over a secure video platform. The platform verifies your identity through credential analysis, which checks your ID against databases, and knowledge-based authentication, which asks questions only you should be able to answer. This option is especially useful in rural areas or outside standard business hours.
Before handing over sensitive paperwork, you can verify a notary’s commission is active on your state’s secretary of state website. Most states publish a searchable database showing the notary’s name, commission number, and expiration date.
What Happens at the Appointment
The steps run in roughly the same order whether you are at a desk or on a video call.
The notary examines your ID first, checking that it is genuine, unexpired, and that the name and photo match you. If something is off, they stop. Verifying identity is the notary’s core legal duty, not a formality.
Next, the notary makes a judgment about whether you understand what you are signing and whether you are acting freely. They will not explain the document’s legal effect, since that would cross into practicing law, but they are watching for confusion, impairment, or pressure. A competent notary who sees signs of any of those will refuse to proceed.
Then comes the act itself. For an acknowledgment, you confirm the signature is yours and that you signed willingly. For a jurat, you sign in front of the notary and take the oath or affirmation. The notary fills out the notarial certificate, which states what type of act was performed, and applies the official seal. The seal carries the notary’s name, commission number, and expiration date. For electronic notarizations, a tamper-evident digital seal is embedded in the file so any later alteration can be detected.
Finally, the notary records the transaction in an official journal, logging the date, the type of act, the identification method, and a description of the document. Some notaries also take a thumbprint. The journal exists as an independent record if the signature is ever challenged later.
What It Costs
Statutory caps for a standard acknowledgment or jurat run from $2 per signature on the low end to $25 on the high end, with most states between $5 and $15. About ten states do not cap notary fees at all and leave the notary to set a reasonable rate.
Mobile notaries charge the per-signature fee plus a travel fee. Only a few states cap travel fees, so in most places the charge is negotiated. Depending on distance and time of day, a mobile visit typically runs $50 to $150 total. Get a quote before booking.
Remote online notarization generally carries higher statutory caps, around $25 to $30 per signature. The video platform often adds its own fee on top, though some providers bundle everything into one price. Compare a few if cost matters.
If your bank offers notary service to account holders at no charge and your document is straightforward, that is usually the cheapest route.
Reasons a Notary Will Turn You Away
Notaries are legally required to refuse in several situations. Knowing them ahead of time saves a wasted appointment.
A notary must decline if you cannot produce acceptable identification, or if you are not physically or digitally present. They will refuse a document with blank spaces that should be filled in, missing pages, or no notarial certificate when you cannot say which act you need. They will stop if they believe you do not understand the document, appear under duress, or seem unable to consent.
Conflicts of interest also disqualify a notarization. A notary cannot notarize a document they signed themselves, one they have a financial stake in, or, in most states, one involving a spouse, parent, or child. Suspected fraud or illegality is grounds to decline.
And a notary cannot give legal advice. They cannot tell you which document you need, which act to request, or how to fill out your paperwork. Those questions belong to the attorney or agency that produced the document.
If You Do Not Speak English or Cannot Sign by Hand
The notary needs to communicate with you directly to confirm you understand the document and are signing willingly. In nearly all states, a third-party interpreter cannot stand in during a notarization. Only a handful (Arizona, Mississippi, and Colorado under limited circumstances) permit interpreters. The practical fix is finding a notary who speaks your language. If the notarial certificate wording on the document is in a language the notary cannot read, the notary should attach an English-language certificate instead.
Signers with physical disabilities have options. If you cannot sign your name with a pen, you can use a mark such as an “X,” and in some cases a thumbprint or fingerprint serves as the mark. Witness rules for a signature by mark vary by state. Some states also allow signature by proxy, where you direct another person to sign your name for you. A signature guide card can help visually impaired signers place their signature in the right spot.
If the Document Is Going Abroad
Notarization by itself is often not enough for use in another country. Most foreign uses require an added certification called an apostille, a standardized certificate recognized by the more than 120 nations that participate in the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention. It confirms that the notary’s signature and seal are legitimate.
For state-commissioned notaries, which covers most notarizations, you get the apostille from the secretary of state in the state where the notary is commissioned. The process usually means submitting the notarized document, a request form, and a fee. For federal documents, the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications issues apostilles and authentication certificates.1U.S. Department of State. Office of Authentications
If the destination country is not a Hague member, you need a full authentication certificate instead. That chain can involve the county clerk, the state secretary of state, and the U.S. Department of State before the document reaches the foreign country’s embassy or consulate for final legalization. Build in extra time.