The purpose of a credible witness statement is for the signer to present it to a Florida Notary Public in lieu of the legally required identification. For example, if someone was visiting Florida and their identification had been stolen or lost during their stay and they needed to sign documents in the presence of a notary during that time.
Pursuant to Florida Statute 117.05, a Florida Notary Public may rely on a notarized credible witness statement as identification if the signer DOES NOT POSSESS any of the following identification:
- “A Florida identification card or driver license issued by the public agency authorized to issue driver licenses;
- A passport issued by the Department of State of the United States;
- A passport issued by a foreign government if the document is stamped by the United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services;
- A driver license or an identification card issued by a public agency authorized to issue driver licenses in a state other than Florida or in a territory of the United States, or Canada or Mexico;
- An identification card issued by any branch of the armed forces of the United States;
- A veteran health identification card issued by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs;
- An inmate identification card issued on or after January 1, 1991, by the Florida Department of Corrections for an inmate who is in the custody of the department;
- An inmate identification card issued by the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, for an inmate who is in the custody of the department;
- A sworn, written statement from a sworn law enforcement officer that the forms of identification for an inmate in an institution of confinement were confiscated upon confinement and that the person named in the document is the person whose signature is to be notarized; or
- An identification card issued by the United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services.”
Credible witness statements CANNOT be used as identification for online notarizations at this time in accordance with Florida Statute 117.265. Each online signer must present a “government-issued identification” whereas the purpose of the credible witness statement is that the signer DOES NOT have verifiable identification at the time of signing.
Additional information on this topic for Florida and other states can be found on the National Notary Association’s website, “The National Notary Bulletin” at Notary Essentials: Using Credible Identifying Witnesses | NNA (nationalnotary.org).
Written by: Genna Rubolino, CP, FRP, General Manager
Florida Notary Public and Florida Online Notary
Certified Paralegal, Florida Registered Paralegal
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.