Notarial Acts, Witnessing a Signature

One of the more common notarial acts is witnessing a signature. This is the most direct form of a the notarial process. A key point here is that the document should not be signed in advance. Accordingly, it should be signed in the presence of the notary public. This is a requirement in all States. Sadly, one of the most frequent violations made by notaries is the failure to require a signer to be present at the signing. We need to understand that as a notary public, we must meet certain requirements. This is a mistake. Actually, we advise that you read our article on Common Notary Mistakes.

Requirements for Witnessing a Signature

1. As we mentioned, the signer must appear before the notary at the time of the notarization.
2. We recommend that the signer signs the document in front of the notary.
3. The signer must show an ID to verify that they are who they claim to be.
4. The notary should be certain that the signer is not under any duress, and they are executing their signature voluntarily.

If the notary has a belief that the document is fraudulent, they should not complete the notarization. Or, if the document has blank spaces, the notary again should not complete the notarial service.

Chiefly, witnessing a signature is a rather straightforward notarial act. As long as the notary understands the law for his or her state, the notarial process is pretty clear-cut.

If you wish to become a Notary Public, at least in New York State, topics like this are what you will need to understand and implement. If you are already a notary and wish to renew your license, contact your county clerk. Or, visit the New York Department of State website.

We have written several articles like this to inform the student, and help them on their road to becoming a commissioned notary. Our notary training course is specifically targeted to teach the New York Notary License Law. You can take our online notary training course by visiting our New York Notary website homepage.