Frequently asked questions
Identification Requirements for Notary Services
A notary may identify a document signer through any one of the identification documents listed below. The document must be: (1) current or if expired, issued within the past five years, and (2) bear a serial or other identifying number:
· Florida driver’s license or identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
· U.S. passport issued by the U.S. Department of State.
· Foreign passport if stamped by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
· Driver’s license or non-driver’s I.D. issued by another U.S. state or territory.
· Driver’s license officially issued in Mexico or Canada.
· U.S. military I.D.
· Inmate I.D. issued on or after January 1, 1991, by the Florida Department of Corrections or Federal Bureau of Prisons (but only to identify prisoners in custody).
· A sworn, written statement from a sworn law enforcement officer explaining that an inmate’s I.D.s were confiscated upon incarceration, and that the person named in the document is the person whose signature is to be notarized.
· Permanent resident card, or “green card,” issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
· A veteran health identification card issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
· When a document signer is not personally known to the Notary and is not able to present reliable identification documents, that signer may be identified through the oath (or affirmation) of two credible identifying witnesses. Every credible identifying witness must personally know the document signer. The Notary must obtain a sworn, written statement from each credible identifying witness that the person signing the document is the person named in the document and that the signer is personally known to the witness.
Source: Florida Notary Primer, 19th Edition (2017) National Notary Association