Questions and answers
The ones that come up before anybody books. Answers about a particular kind of document live on that document’s page.
Booking an appointment
- How does a mobile notary work?
- You say where you are and what needs notarizing, and the notary travels to you — a home, a hospital room, an office, a care facility, a coffee shop, a driveway. The notarization itself is the same act it would be in an office; the difference is who does the driving.
- How much notice do you need?
- Same-day appointments across the East Valley are usually possible, and a day's notice makes scheduling easy. 7am–9pm weekdays, 8am–8pm weekends, with after-hours and emergency appointments by arrangement.
- Do you work evenings and weekends?
- Yes, and they are part of the ordinary schedule rather than an emergency service. Hospital and hospice calls take priority whenever they come in.
- What does it cost?
- Arizona caps the notarial fee itself by statute — currently $10 per notarial act. Travel is separate and is quoted before the appointment is booked, so there is never a number on an invoice that was not agreed first.
Identification and witnesses
- What identification do I need?
- An unexpired government-issued photo ID: an Arizona driver's licence or state ID, an out-of-state licence, a passport, a permanent resident card or a military ID. The name on it has to match, or reasonably match, the name on the document.
- What if the signer has no ID?
- Arizona allows identification by a credible witness: someone who personally knows the signer, has their own valid ID, and has nothing to gain from the document. This comes up constantly at hospital bedsides, and it is usually the fastest way through.
- Do you bring witnesses?
- Bring your own where the document needs them: two adults who are not named in the document and do not stand to gain from it. The notary cannot be one of them on a document where the witnesses' own signatures are being notarized.
- Can somebody sign on another person's behalf?
- Only if they hold a power of attorney that permits it, and the document being signed allows it. That is a question for the receiving party or an attorney, not for the notary.
What a notary can and cannot do
- Can you tell me which form I need or how to fill it in?
- No. Choosing documents, completing them, or explaining what they do is legal advice, and a notary who gives it is practising law without a licence. A notary verifies who signed and that they signed willingly and knowingly — that is the whole job, and it is a job worth doing correctly.
- Can you notarize a document that has blanks in it?
- No. Every blank has to be completed, or struck through, before the notarization. A blank space above a signature is exactly the thing notarization exists to prevent.
- Can you certify a copy of my birth certificate?
- No. Arizona notaries cannot certify copies of records that are recordable public documents, and vital records are the clearest example. Order a certified copy from the office that issued it.
- What if the signer does not seem to understand what they are signing?
- Then the notarization does not happen. It is not a judgement about anybody's dignity — a signature taken from somebody who could not understand it is not worth the paper, and it is the first thing challenged when a document is disputed.
- Do you offer remote online notarization?
- Arizona authorises remote online notarization, and for people out of state it is often the right answer. Ask when you call and you will be told plainly whether your document is one that can be done remotely.
Questions about a specific document
Still not sure? Ask.
Send the details and you will hear back the same day. 7am–9pm weekdays, 8am–8pm weekends, with after-hours and emergency appointments by arrangement.