Notary New York
Phone: 212-386-5495
Fax: 212-386-5477
New York, NY
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Notary New York

Mobile Notary Public

Notarization “FAQ”

Notary NY adheres to all New York laws governing the practice and procedures of Notary Public. These procedures vary from those of other states and countries.

• The notary document signer must physically appear before the Notary at the time of notarization – not before, not after. A telephone call from the signer or the Notary's familiarity with a signature is not a personal appearance. In the absence of this, a subscribing witness that personally knows and is able to prove their own identity to the Notary, can appear and swear or affirm to the Notary that they witnessed the singer execute the document.

• The Notary must identify the signer through either (1) current government-issued ID card with photograph, signature and physical description or (2) personal knowledge of the signer based on knowing the person for an extended period of time with direct interaction and contact.

• The Notary should not be a party to any document that they notarize. Notaries should be independent, impartial, and disinterested in any transaction they notarize. While not strictly prohibited, a Notary should avoid performing any official acts when the Notary's spouse or other relative is a party, or notarize any document which will in any way benefit the Notary.

• As part pf our best practices, the Notary must make a record of each notarization and require document signer to affix signature – in official journal of notary act.

•While in many jurisdictions outside of New York, a Notary can make a certified copy of many documents, the authorized act is called a Copy Certification by Document Custodian. While this is similar to a certified copy, it is not exactly the same, but is widely accepted in place of a “certified copy” across the United States and the world. In New York, the signer, or document custodian, not the Notary, attests to the copy of the document. The Notary must not make an officiate a copy certification by document custodian of a birth certificate or other vital record or of a recordable document such as a deed. Copies of these documents must be issued only by the appropriate public records custodian, and not by the Notary or the would be signer of a copy certification by document custodian.