What is the purpose of a notary?
We are often asked this question. A notary is a duly commissioned representative for the state of Florida to serve as a legal official who is responsible for witnessing and authenticating legal documents. A notary must pass an exam, have a background screening check, and be bonded to become a notary. Notaries are not able to give legal advice at any time.
When performing a notarial act a notary must be sure that the person signing the document has valid identification and is physically present in front of the notary at the time of signing. If a remote notary signing is to be used the signer must have access to an audio-visual computer, phone, or tablet. Identification process would be completed by a third-party vendor before the notary can complete the electronic notarization.
Acceptable identification documents would be a valid driver’s license, US passport issued by the US Dept of State, Foreign passports are acceptable if stamped by the US citizenship and immigration service, non-driver’s government issued id’s and US military id’s. Credit cards, social security cards etc. are NOT acceptable valid identification cards.
For a Florida apostille the document must be properly notarized by a Florida notary. We can provide remote notary service or provide our mobile notary service to properly notarize the document. If you have the document already notarized by a Florida notary the document can be sent directly to our Tallahassee office where we will physically bring the document to the department of state and have the apostille issued.
If you have a Florida state certified document such as a birth certificate, marriage license, or divorce decree the original document must be sent to us. This would not be notarized. The original document will be returned with the apostille.
We can provide fast Florida apostille service and certified translation services.
We are all experienced and familiar with apostilles and legal documents requiring notarizations.
Our Florida notary service is available 7 days a week in the Clearwater area and Tallahassee area.