What ID a California notary can accept

A California notary public has one fundamental duty above all others: to be satisfied that the person signing is who they say they are. The law sets out precisely how that may be established, and a notary who departs from it risks their commission. So when a notary turns an appointment away over ID, it is not fussiness – there is genuinely no discretion available.

Identification documents a notary may accept

California permits reliance on a document that is current, or issued within the past five years, and that contains a photograph, a physical description, a signature and a serial or identifying number. In practice, that means:

• A California driver's licence or non-driver identification card issued by the DMV
• A United States passport or passport card
• A driver's licence or official state-issued ID from another US state
• A United States military identification card
• A foreign passport, which is generally accepted (stamping by US immigration is required for some foreign-issued documents, so bring the whole passport)
• A permanent resident card (“green card”) or other approved consular or immigration identification
• An inmate identification card issued by a California correctional institution, for a signer in custody

What is not acceptable

• Expired documents, outside the limited five-year rule
• Social Security cards – no photo
• Birth certificates – no photo, and they identify a record rather than the person in front of you
• Credit or bank cards, library cards, club memberships, work badges
• Hospital wristbands, which identify a patient record and not an individual to legal standards
• Photocopies or photographs of an ID, including a picture on your phone. The physical document has to be present.
• Someone else vouching for you informally. There is a formal route for that, below, and it is not the same as a relative saying so.

The name on the ID must match

This catches people constantly. The name on your identification must be the same as, or more complete than, the name you are signing on the document. Working examples:

If you have recently married, divorced or legally changed your name and your ID has not caught up, tell us before the appointment. Sometimes the document can be amended to the name on your ID, sometimes credible witnesses solve it, and sometimes you need to update the ID first. All of those are easier to deal with a day early than on the doorstep.

If you have no acceptable ID: credible identifying witnesses

California provides a formal alternative. One or two credible witnesses may identify the signer to the notary, under oath. The rules are strict:

• Two witnesses are needed if neither is personally known to the notary. Each must have their own acceptable ID.
• One witness suffices if that witness is personally known to the notary.
• Each witness must personally know the signer – not have just met them in the waiting room.
• Each must swear that the signer is who they claim to be, that they do not have acceptable ID, and that obtaining one would be difficult or impossible.
• A witness must have no financial interest in the document and must not be named in it.

This route is used often in hospitals and detention facilities, where personal property including ID is frequently not accessible.

What about the thumbprint?

California requires a notary to take the signer's right thumbprint in their journal for documents affecting real property – deeds, quitclaim deeds, deeds of trust and powers of attorney. It is a normal part of the process, not a sign that anything is wrong, and we bring the pad.