The importance of identity credentials and keeping them current
Even after the four-plus years that I have been providing mobile notary services, I am still surprised at how lightly some people treat the issue of proving their identity.
Proof of identity is the notary’s bread and butter. You can be forgiven if you think – as many do – that a notary stamp “legitimizes” or “legalizes” your document. This is NOT correct. A notary stamp on a document only verifies that the signer is who they purport to be, often under oath. As such, the notary must be satisfied of this fact and therefore requires irrefutable proof of it. Requirements for this proof vary from state to state, but in my state of Pennsylvania the rules are clear. Here is an extract from the PA Department of State’s website describing the proofs of identity that the notary is required to use when the person is not personally known to the notary:
- A passport, driver’s license or government-issued nondriver identification card, which is current and unexpired.
- Another form of government identification issued to an individual, which:
- is current;
- contains the signature or a photograph of the individual; and
- is satisfactory to the notary public.
Follow this link to the PA Department of State’s website for more information.
I am often confronted by signers who produce expired drivers’ licenses or passports and are indignant when I tell them I am unable to perform the notarization based on expired identity documents. “But it only just expired a month ago” or “Well, I’m still me, what’s the problem?”. The problem is that the rules require the ID to be unexpired and I’m required by law to follow the rules. Not doing so can risk my license!
The most frequent instances of expired IDs happen, understandably, in retirement homes, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, hospitals and similar institutions. If you have a loved one in one of these types of establishment, you will be doing them a huge favor by checking their ID documents and helping them to keep them up-to-date and current.
