Notary Questions, Answered

A mobile notary is a commissioned notary public who travels to you instead of making you come to them. The notarial act itself is exactly the same one you’d get at a bank — what changes is that I come to your home, your office, a hospital room, a care facility, a jobsite, or a parking lot at 11pm because that’s when the paperwork surfaced.

In Florida a notary public is a public officer appointed by the Governor. Florida notaries are authorized to perform six acts: administer oaths and affirmations, take acknowledgments, attest to photocopies of certain documents, solemnize marriage, verify vehicle identification numbers, and certify the contents of a safe-deposit box.

Jacksonville and the surrounding area — all of Duval County, plus Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, and Orange Park. That covers homes, offices, hospitals, senior living and rehab facilities, and anywhere else you need to meet.

If you’re just outside that ring, ask anyway. I’d rather quote you a longer trip than have you assume the answer is no.

Yes — 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Hospital admissions, deadline closings and family emergencies don’t keep business hours, so neither do I. Late-night and holiday appointments carry a higher travel fee, quoted to you before I leave.

• The complete document. Every blank filled in. A Florida notary may not notarize a document that is blank or incomplete.
• Valid photo ID for every person who is signing. Not just the main signer — everyone.
• Any witnesses your document requires. A power of attorney, a deed and a will each need witnesses in addition to the notary, and finding them at the last minute is the single most common reason an appointment stalls.
• An unsigned document, unless you’ve been told otherwise. Some notarial acts require you to sign in front of me. If it’s already signed, tell me when you book — that’s often still fine, it just changes which act applies.

Sí. I’m fully bilingual and can conduct the entire appointment in Spanish or English. This matters legally, not just for comfort: a Florida notary may not take the acknowledgment of a person who does not understand English unless the nature and effect of the document has been translated into a language the signer does understand.

Sí, hablo español. Puedo realizar toda la cita en español. Recuerde: no soy abogada y no puedo darle asesoría legal ni traducción legal certificada.

Florida law requires that I either personally know you or have “satisfactory evidence” of who you are. In practice that means current photo ID. Accepted forms include:

• Florida driver license or Florida ID card
• United States passport or passport card
• Driver license or ID card from another U.S. state, a U.S. territory, Canada, or Mexico
• United States military ID
• Veteran health identification card issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• USCIS identification card
• A foreign passport
• Inmate ID issued by the Florida Department of Corrections or the Federal Bureau of Prisons

The ID must be current or have been issued within the past five years, and must carry a photograph, a signature, and a serial or other identifying number. An expired license from eight years ago will not work, and I can’t make an exception — the rule isn’t mine.

There is a legal path, and it comes up constantly at bedside. Florida allows identity to be established by credible witness instead of by document:

• One credible witness who is personally known to me and who personally knows the signer, and who swears to that in writing; or
• Two credible witnesses whom I don’t know but who each present their own satisfactory ID, personally know the signer, and swear in writing that the signer has no acceptable ID and could not reasonably obtain one.

Tell me this before I leave so I can bring the right affidavit forms and we don’t waste the trip. A family member at the bedside frequently qualifies.

It depends on which notarial act your document calls for, and that’s determined by the certificate wording already printed on it.

• If the document calls for an acknowledgment — the signer is confirming they signed it willingly — a signature made earlier is generally fine. You appear before me and acknowledge it.
• If the document calls for a jurat, an oath, or an affidavit — where you swear the contents are true — you must sign in my presence. If it’s already signed, you’ll typically need to sign again in front of me.

Either way, you must be physically present. And note that I can’t choose the act for you — that comes from the document or from the party who gave it to you.

Florida law provides for this specifically, and it is one of the more common situations I handle at hospitals and rehab facilities. There are two routes, depending on what the person can manage:

• Signature by mark. The signer makes an X or other mark. I print their first name at the start of the signature line and their last name at the end, with “His Mark” or “Her Mark” below it.
• Directing another person to sign. A signer with a disability may direct someone else — including the notary — to sign their name on their behalf, at their direction and in their presence.

Both routes require two disinterested witnesses who watch both the signing and the notarization and print their names and addresses beneath their signatures. Please arrange those in advance. The signer must still understand what they are signing.

All three are workable, each with its own required step:

• Blind signer. Florida law requires me to read the document aloud to the signer before taking the acknowledgment. I’ll note in the certificate that I did.
• Signer who doesn’t understand English. The nature and effect of the document must be translated into a language they do understand. An oral translation satisfies the law — and in Spanish I can do that myself.
• Deaf signer. We communicate in writing, or with an interpreter you arrange.

Note the boundary: translating the nature and effect of a document so a signer understands what they’re signing is part of the notarial act. Certified legal translation is a different professional service and I don’t provide it.

Florida caps the fee for a notarial act at $10 per act. That cap is set by statute and applies to every Florida notary — me, your bank, the shipping store, everyone. A notary who charges more than the statutory fee can have their commission suspended.

Note that the cap is per act, not per appointment. A document needing three separate notarizations involves three acts.

Travel. The $10 statutory cap covers the notarial act itself. Coming to you — the drive, the wait at a hospital security desk, the after-hours call, printing your documents on site if you don’t have a printer — is a separate, non-notarial service that Florida does not cap.

Two things I hold myself to: the travel fee is quoted and agreed before I leave, and your invoice lists the notarial fee and the travel fee as separate line items so you can see exactly what you paid for. Florida’s guidance for notaries is to give the customer an itemized list of non-notarial charges beforehand, and that’s the standard I work to.

For a quote, send me a request or call — it depends on where you are and when you need me.

Yes — solemnizing marriage is one of the six acts a Florida notary is authorized to perform. You must bring a valid Florida marriage license; I can’t issue one, and I have to check that it hasn’t expired.

The ceremony fee is capped by statute at the same rate the clerk of the circuit court charges for the same service. Travel is separate, as above. It’s also recommended that two witnesses other than the notary sign the marriage certificate, in case proof of the ceremony is ever needed.

A Florida power of attorney must be signed by the principal, signed by two subscribing witnesses, and acknowledged by the principal before a notary public. All three elements are required. A POA with a notary stamp but only one witness, or no witnesses, is defective.

This is the single most common reason a signing has to be rescheduled, so please line up your two witnesses before the appointment. If the principal is physically unable to sign, the notary may sign the principal’s name at their direction — see the question above on signers who can’t sign.

I can’t tell you whether your POA form is the right one or whether its powers are adequate. That’s a question for an attorney.

No, Florida does not require notarization for either one. A living will and a health care surrogate designation must each be signed in the presence of two adult witnesses, and at least one of those witnesses may be neither your spouse nor a blood relative. The person you name as your surrogate cannot be one of the two witnesses.

People still have these notarized regularly, and I’m happy to do it — an out-of-state hospital, a bank, or a court is more likely to accept a notarized directive without argument. Just understand that in Florida the notary is optional and the witnesses are not.

If what you actually need is a qualified witness rather than a notary, say so when you book. That’s a service I provide.

A deed conveying Florida real property must be signed by the grantor in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, and is acknowledged before a notary for recording. As with a power of attorney, the witnesses are a separate requirement from the notarization.

Whether the notary may also serve as one of the two witnesses depends on the document and on who is receiving it, and practitioners disagree. I don’t guess on this one — ask your title company or closing attorney what they will accept, and I’ll work to it.

I can notarize the self-proving affidavit attached to a Florida will, which is what allows the will to be admitted to probate without tracking down the witnesses years later. The will itself is executed with two attesting witnesses; the affidavit is the notarized part.

One firm limit worth knowing before you plan the signing: because the witnesses’ signatures are themselves notarized on a self-proved will, the notary may not be one of the witnesses — and neither may the notary’s spouse, child, or parent. You need two witnesses in addition to me.

I’m not required to make a will self-proving and I can’t explain the purpose or effect of doing so. That’s an attorney’s job.

Yes. Verifying a vehicle identification number is one of the six acts a Florida notary is authorized to perform, and a Florida notary is among the officials who may complete form HSMV 82042, the Vehicle Identification Number and Odometer Verification. This is what you generally need when bringing an out-of-state vehicle into Florida.

I have to physically inspect the vehicle and read the VIN off it myself — I can’t verify from a photo or a document, so the car needs to be where I am.

Yes, but not acting as a notary, and this distinction matters if anyone ever audits the form.

An employer may designate any person — including a notary public — as an authorized representative to examine a new hire’s original identity and work-authorization documents and complete Section 2 of Form I-9. In that role I am acting as the employer’s agent, not in my notarial capacity. Form I-9 does not require notarization, and I will not apply a notary seal to it — a seal adds no legal weight and can cause the form to be questioned.

Employers with recurring remote hires: standing accounts are available.

Sometimes. Florida calls these attested photocopies, and three conditions must all be met:

• The document must be an original — I can’t attest a copy of a copy, or a copy of another certified copy.
• It must not be a public record for which a certified copy is available from another public official.
• I must make the photocopy myself, or watch it being made. Comparing your copy to your original isn’t enough.

So: a diploma, a passport, or a private contract, generally yes. A birth certificate, no — see below.

No, and no Florida notary can. These are public records with certified copies available from the issuing agency, which puts them outside what a notary may attest.

Order Florida vital records from the Florida Department of Health’s Bureau of Vital Statistics, or from the clerk in the county that issued the record. If a notary offers to certify one of these for you, that is a red flag about that notary.

What I can do is courier the certified copy once you have it — to a title company, an attorney, a consulate, or the Clerk of Courts.

No notary can issue an apostille. In Florida, apostilles and certificates of notarial authority are issued by the Florida Secretary of State, on written request, for a fee payable to that office.

What I do is the step before: notarize the underlying document correctly, so it isn’t rejected and returned. The notarization must fully comply with Florida law or the Department of State will send it back for correction — which is where most apostille delays actually come from.

Requesting the apostille is the document signer’s or bearer’s responsibility, not the notary’s. I can courier the package to Tallahassee for you as a separate service.

Yes — this is the core of what I do. I spent a decade in healthcare administration before I was commissioned, so a hospital floor isn’t unfamiliar territory: I know how to check in at the desk, how to work around a shift change, and how not to be in the way of the people delivering care.

Bedside signings for medical directives, powers of attorney, and financial paperwork are routine. Call any hour — these situations rarely announce themselves in advance.

Only if, at the time of the notarization, the signer appears to understand the nature and effect of what they’re signing. Florida law is explicit: a notary may not notarize a signature if it appears the person is mentally incapable of understanding the document, and may not notarize for someone adjudicated mentally incapacitated whose capacity has not been restored.

In practice I’ll speak with the signer alone, ask questions unrelated to the document, and ask them to tell me in their own words what they’re signing. Being medicated is not automatically disqualifying; being unable to understand is.

I will decline if I’m not satisfied, and I’d rather tell you that on the phone than after you’ve paid for a trip. A notarization performed on someone who lacked capacity can be challenged later, which is exactly the outcome the family is trying to avoid. If capacity is genuinely uncertain, that’s a conversation for the treating physician and an attorney, not for me.

A notary is not required to furnish witnesses, and you shouldn’t assume any notary will arrive with them. Tell me when you book how many witnesses your document needs and I’ll tell you honestly whether I can help arrange them for your appointment or whether you need to line them up.

Two constraints to plan around: on a self-proving will the notary may not be one of the witnesses, and a health care surrogate designation cannot be witnessed by the person named as surrogate.

Same-day pickup and hand delivery of time-sensitive documents — to title companies, law offices, lenders, and the Duval County Clerk of Courts. Chain of custody stays with one person from pickup to drop-off, and you get confirmation when it lands.

The combination is the point: I can notarize your document and then hand-deliver it the same day, in one appointment and one invoice, rather than you coordinating a notary and a courier separately and hoping the handoff works.

Yes. Title companies, law firms, lenders, HR departments with recurring remote hires, and senior living facilities can set up a standing account with agreed rates and consolidated invoicing instead of booking one job at a time.

If you’re evaluating this for your organization, send a request with your volume and turnaround needs and I’ll put numbers to it.

Yes — send them ahead and I can print on site. This is a separate, non-notarial convenience service, quoted with your travel fee before I leave.

Please don’t email me documents containing Social Security numbers, account numbers, or medical details unless we’ve arranged a secure method first. Email is not a secure channel.

No, and this is the boundary I get asked to cross most often. A Florida notary who is not an attorney is prohibited from giving legal advice, which specifically includes:

• advising you which notarial act your document requires
• preparing or drafting legal documents for you
• explaining the contents or the legal effect of a document

Crossing that line is the unauthorized practice of law and a ground for suspending a notary commission. If you don’t know which act your document needs, ask the party who gave it to you — the bank, the court, the title company, the employer — or consult an attorney. If it looks to me like you don’t fully understand what you’re signing, I’ll say so and suggest you get advice before we proceed.

Not for a spouse, parent, or child — Florida prohibits it outright. A notary also may not notarize a transaction in which the notary has a financial interest, and may never notarize their own signature.

Other relatives aren’t categorically barred by statute, but if there’s any interest in the transaction the safe answer is to use a different notary. A notarization that can be attacked for bias isn’t worth the convenience.

No. A Florida notary may not notarize a signature on a document that is blank or incomplete, may not sign a blank certificate for later use, and may not change anything in a document after it has been signed.

Fill everything in first. If a section genuinely doesn’t apply, mark it “N/A” rather than leaving it empty.

Not at this time. Every notarization I perform is in person, with the signer physically in front of me.

Florida does permit remote online notarization, but it requires a separate commission as an online notary public, an approved RON technology platform, and an electronic journal. Rather than imply a capability I don’t hold, I’ll say plainly: if you specifically need RON, you need a commissioned online notary. If you need someone to come to you today, that’s me.

Yes, and a good notary sometimes should. I will decline if the signer isn’t physically present, has no acceptable ID and no credible witness, appears not to understand the document, appears to be under pressure from someone else in the room, the document is incomplete, or the notarization would be prohibited for any of the reasons on this page.

I’ll always tell you why. Often the problem is fixable in a day — a witness, a current ID, one filled-in blank — and I’d rather reschedule than produce a notarization that gets challenged later.