Florida Notary Public Updates

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What should a Florida notary do when a person is recently married and asking for documents to be notarized?

When you get married, there is a million things to do. Changing your name on all of your various forms, identifications, and accounts can be tedious and time consuming. There is usually an awkward period of changing your name in various areas.

But what’s a notary to do if they encounter a newlywed during this period? It would be difficult to notarize a document for someone with their new, married name when their ID still had their maiden name, or vice versa.

During this situation, you could identify the witness by personal knowledge or you could utilize credible witnesses to verify their identity.

There are two options:

1. One credible witness who personally knows the notary and the signer.

Or

1.  Two credible witnesses unknown to the notary but who personally know the signer.

In either case, the credible witness(es) will have to make a sworn statement verifying the identity of the signer. For a full list of what their testimony must include, look in your Florida Notary Handbook.

For more information on credible witnesses, you can refer to your Florida Notary Handbook or call us at 800.385.7019.