To make a notarized letter, finish writing it, bring it unsigned along with a current government-issued photo ID to a notary public, sign it in front of the notary if the document requires a sworn oath, and let the notary complete and seal the notarial certificate. The notary confirms your identity and that you signed willingly; they do not verify that what the letter says is true or that it accomplishes what you want legally. Get the small details right and the process takes a few minutes.
Finish the Letter Before You Go
A notary can refuse to work with an incomplete document, so every field that should contain information needs to be filled in. Blank spaces raise fraud concerns, and most notaries will decline rather than risk their commission. If you don’t know what belongs in a blank, contact whoever requested the letter or consult an attorney first. The notary cannot advise you on content or help you draft language.
Whether you should sign before the appointment depends on the type of notarization the letter requires, which is the next thing to sort out.
Acknowledgment or Jurat
There are two main types of notarization, and they are not interchangeable. Using the wrong one is a common reason documents get rejected.
An acknowledgment is where you confirm to the notary that you signed the document voluntarily and for its intended purpose. You may sign the document before the appointment as long as you personally appear before the notary and declare the signature as yours. Acknowledgments are typical for contracts, deeds, and powers of attorney.
A jurat is where you sign the document in the notary’s presence and then swear an oath or make an affirmation that the contents are truthful. The notary administers the oath out loud and you must answer verbally. A silent nod does not count. Jurats are used for affidavits, sworn statements, and any letter where truthfulness is being certified under penalty of perjury.
Look at your document. Pre-printed language reading “subscribed and sworn to before me” signals a jurat, which means don’t sign it until you’re in front of the notary. Language reading “acknowledged before me” signals an acknowledgment, and pre-signing is fine. When in doubt, bring the letter unsigned and let the notary guide you.
What to Bring
Bring current, government-issued photo identification. Accepted forms generally include a state driver’s license, a state-issued ID card, a U.S. passport, or a U.S. military ID. The ID should display your photograph, your signature, and a physical description. An expired ID will almost certainly be rejected.
If the name on your ID doesn’t match the name on the letter, bring supporting paperwork such as a marriage certificate or court-ordered name change. The notary compares the two before proceeding, and mismatches without documentation will stop the appointment.
If the letter has more than one signer, everyone does not need to appear together. Each signer can visit a notary separately, and each notary completes their own notarial certificate for the person who appeared in front of them. That’s useful when signers live in different places.
Where to Find a Notary
Notaries are common. Banks and credit unions are a reliable first stop, and many offer free notarization to account holders. Shipping stores like The UPS Store, law offices, real estate firms, and some public libraries also have notaries on staff. Call ahead to confirm availability and ask about fees.
State law caps what notaries can charge per notarial act, and the caps vary widely. Some states set them as low as $2 per signature, others allow up to $25, and a number of states set no maximum. For a straightforward notarized letter, expect to pay somewhere between $5 and $15 in most places.
Mobile notaries travel to your home, office, or hospital, which helps if you have limited mobility or a tight schedule. They typically charge a travel fee on top of the notarization fee. Rules on travel fees differ by state.
Most states now also allow remote online notarization, where you connect with a notary by live video. The notary verifies your identity through knowledge-based authentication questions, digital analysis of a photo of your ID, and a live comparison of your face to the ID photo. The session is recorded. Federal legislation to standardize remote notarization across state lines, the SECURE Notarization Act, passed the U.S. House in 2023 but has not been enacted into law, so state rules control whether a remote notarization from another state will be accepted.1Congress.gov. H.R.1059 – SECURE Notarization Act of 2023 Confirm with whoever is receiving your letter that they’ll accept a remotely notarized document before choosing this route.
One more constraint on who can notarize: a notary is supposed to be impartial. Most states prohibit a notary from notarizing a document if they’re a party to the transaction, stand to benefit beyond their standard fee, or are a close family member of the signer (typically a spouse, parent, or child). A notarization tainted by a conflict of interest can be challenged and thrown out.
What Happens at the Appointment
The notary examines your photo ID, confirms it’s current and matches your appearance, and compares the name on the ID to the name on the letter. If anything doesn’t line up, the notarization stops until you resolve it.
For an acknowledgment, you tell the notary the signature on the document is yours and that you signed it willingly. For a jurat, the notary watches you sign and then administers an oath or affirmation. The oath version typically asks you to swear that the statements are true, “so help you God.” The affirmation version replaces the religious language and asks you to affirm truthfulness under penalty of perjury.2U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual. 7 FAM 850 – Taking an Affidavit Making a false statement under oath carries criminal penalties either way.
After the signing, the notary completes a notarial certificate attached to or printed on the letter, signs it, and applies their official seal or stamp. The seal generally shows the notary’s name, the words “Notary Public,” the state where they are commissioned, their commission expiration date, and a commission number. Some states require additional details.
Mistakes That Invalidate the Notarization
Small errors can make the whole notarization worthless. These cause the most rejections:
- A seal impression that’s too faint to read, overlaps important text, or is missing entirely.
- A signature and seal with no notarial certificate wording. The certificate is what specifies which type of notarization was performed and under what circumstances.
- Acknowledgment language on a document that required a jurat, or the reverse.
- A jurat performed without the signer physically present, or an acknowledgment where the signer never appeared in person even though they signed earlier.
- A jurat where the spoken oath or affirmation was skipped. Courts have declared notarizations invalid on this ground alone.
- A notary whose commission had already expired at the time of notarization, which voids the entire act. Check the expiration date on the seal.
Check the Document Before You Leave
Confirm the notary’s signature, seal, and date are all clearly visible. Make sure the seal is legible and doesn’t cover the document’s text or your own signature. Verify the certificate uses the correct wording for the type of notarization you needed. Fixing a problem while you’re still sitting there is much easier than tracking down the same notary later.
Make at least one photocopy of the completed letter and store it somewhere secure. If the original is lost in transit, a copy makes replacement much easier. For anything going to a court or government agency, send the original by certified mail or a trackable delivery service so you have proof of delivery.
If the Letter Is Going Abroad
A domestic notarization is not enough for use in another country. You’ll almost always need an additional certification called an apostille, a standardized certificate recognized by more than 125 countries that have joined the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention.3HCCH. Apostille Section For a notarized letter, you request the apostille from the secretary of state in the state where the notary is commissioned. For federal documents, the U.S. Department of State handles it.4USAGov. Authenticate an Official Document for Use Outside the U.S. If the destination country is not part of the Hague Convention, you’ll need the full embassy or consulate legalization process instead, which is slower and more expensive. Check the destination country’s requirements before spending time on the wrong type of certification.