A Notary Public in any state is still a human and they can make common mistakes especially when signing a unique document or document that they are not used to notarizing. I am not saying that this behavior is acceptable, but I am telling you, as the signer, to consider checking these five (5) things before leaving your notary after a signing to avoid having to redo a signing due to a notary error.
- Has the correct date been inserted by the signer and by the notary?
- Has the notary used a stamp? Bear in mind not all states require a Notary Public to use a stamp. However, in the state of Florida – they do!
- Is the notary stamp legible? For example, in Florida, can you read the commission number displayed?
- Does the signer’s name match their identification? This includes any witnesses to the signing.
- Sometimes a notary signing area may request the notary to insert additional information or underline a segment of the area. Has the notary completed the notarization section in its entirety?
If the answer is “no” to any of the above, politely ask your Notary Public to double check the areas you noticed or point them out and say, “I noticed these areas are not completed, can we please complete them?”.
Written by: Genna Rubolino, FRP, General Manager
Florida Notary Public and Florida Online Notary
Guardian Ad Litem: 15th Judicial Circuit
Please note that I, as the author of this article, am not a licensed attorney and as such cannot offer legal advice. No content of this article/blog post is intended as, nor should it be construed as legal advice.