Notary Services
1. Before you stop for your appointment, please have ALL your documents filled out and ready for ID verification.
2. The state of Iowa requires that ANY blank lines be "Lined Through" or write "Not Applicable".
3. If a signature of the signee already exists on the document, the signee or witness will be required to sign a NEW original signature above or below the existing signature.
4 .After document inspection and ID verification, the notary will sign and place the Iowa Notary seal on the document(s).
The Role of the Iowa Notary & Notary Public Function
A notary public is a person of integrity commissioned by the Iowa Secretary of State to serve the public as an impartial and unbiased witness by identifying persons who come before the notary. The most common function of the notary is to prevent fraud by attesting that a person actually signed a document.
Notaries do NOT have the authority to prepare legal documents or to provide legal advice. A notarys only duty is to perform the notarial act and complete the notarial certificate.
Iowa notaries may only perform notarial acts anywhere within the geographical boundaries of the state of Iowa.
Document Requirements
Notaries will review the document for blanks. If the blanks are intended to be left unfilled, the signer must line through each space or write “not applicable.”
Also, all non-electronic signatures that are original must be made in ink.
Stamps and Seals
Iowa law requires a notary public to use a notary stamp or seal on all notarized documents.
Determination of Identity
Individuals seeking a document notary must provide satisfactory evidence that a person is the individual whose true signature is on the document.
Identity may be proven through personal knowledge, identification documents (e.g., driver’s license), or verification on an oath or affirmation of a credible identifying witness.
• Acceptable identification documents: a passport, driver’s license, or government-issued nonoperator identification card, which is current or expired not more than three years before performance of the notarial act OR another form of government identification issued to an individual, which is current or expired not more than three years before the performance of the notarial act, contains the signature or a photograph of the individual, and is satisfactory to the notarial officer.
• Credible witnesses must also personally appear before the notarial officer and must be:
1. Known to the notarial officer.
OR
2. Identified by the notarial officer through an acceptable form of identification (see above for acceptable forms of identification).
Willingness
The notary is required to make sure the signer is not being forced to sign the document. If a notary suspects coercion, the notary may refuse to notarize.
Awareness
If a person signing a document is not aware of the significance of the transaction, the notary may refuse to proceed with the notarization.
Appearance
Personal appearance by the individual requesting notarization is required at the time of notarization in ALL instances.
Signers with Disabilities
Iowa Code section 9B.9 states that if an individual is physically unable to sign a record, the requesting individual may direct an individual other than the notarial officer to sign the requesting individual’s name on the record.
In this situation, the notarial officer shall insert, “Signature affixed by (name of other individual) at the direction of (name of requesting individual)” or words of similar import.
• The person who signs the document MUST be in the presence of the disabled person at the time of notarization.
• Communication technology must allow for communication facilitation with a remotely located individual who has a vision, hearing, or speech impairment, when necessary and consistent with other applicable law.
Certificate Wording
The notary must check the document to be notarized for certificate wording to confirm which notarial act is to be performed. If there is no certificate wording present, the notary may ask the signer which notarial act the signer is requesting, and the notary may add certificate wording upon the signer’s indication of which notarial act is to be
performed.
NOTARIAL CERTIFICATE
When notarizing a document, the notary is REQUIRED TO complete and sign a notarial certificate. The certificate indicates the procedure that was followed in performing the notarization. A notarial act shall be evidenced by a notarial certificate that meets ALL the following requirements:
1. Executed contemporaneously with the performance of the notarial act for which the certificate applies
2. Signed and dated by the notarial officer and, if the notarial officer is a notary public, signed in the same manner as on file with the Secretary of State
3. Identifies the jurisdiction in which the notarial act was performed
4. Contains the title of office of the notarial officer
5. Indicates the date of expiration, if any, of the notarial officer’s commission
NOTE: The notarial certificate WILL NOT be completed until the notarial act has been performed.
The most common types of certificates include:
Acknowledgment
A formal declaration made before the notary that the signer who signed the document did so freely, voluntarily, and for the purpose stated in the document.
The document does NOT have to be signed in the notary’s presence, but the signer MUST personally appear before the notary at the time of notarization to acknowledge being the individual who signed it.
Verification on an Oath or Affirmation
Certifies that the notary witnessed the signer sign the document and that the notary administered an oath or affirmation to have the signer swear or affirm the truthfulness of the statement(s) contained in the document.
A. An example of an oath is, “Do you swear that the statements in this document are true, so help you God?”
B. An example of an affirmation is, “Do you affirm, on your own personal honor, that the statements in this document are true?”
Copy Certification
A certified copy is a document that has been verified as an accurate reproduction of the original, privately held document.
Copies of documents that are public records, such as birth and death certificates, court records, and deeds, should be taken to a county seat for notarization of a copied document.
What is the procedure for filing a complaint against a notary?
If a person believes a notary public has acted improperly in performing a notarial act, a Statement of Complaint should be completed and filed with the Secretary of State’s Office. The Secretary of State may also initiate investigations without the filing of a complaint if information is provided to the Secretary of State that a notary public has allegedly engaged in conduct prohibited in Iowa Code section 9B.23. A copy of the complaint or a notice of investigation shall be sent to the notary public. To obtain a complaint form, visit the Iowa Secretary of State website.