What is a Notary Public, and What Exactly is it That They Do?

Notary publics are officials of integrity that are duly appointed by state government — usually the secretary of state — to serve the public as an objective and impartial witness in performing a variety of fraud-deterrent acts related to the signing of important documents. In order to become a notary public, one must satisfy certain educational requirements and pass rigorous background screening. Once all pre-licensing educational requirements and integrity standards are met, the pursuant licensee must pass the notary public state administered exam in order to become commissioned by state government. Once commissioned by the state, notary publics are considered "ministerial" officials, meaning that they are expected to follow written rules without the exercise of significant personal discretion, as would otherwise be the case with a "judicial" official.

In addition to authenticating the identity of document providers and signers, notary publics are able to carry out a number of different notarial acts; including, but not limited to: acknowledging the signature of legal and non-legal documents, administering oaths and affirmations, and even providing assistance with the apostille process for documents that will be utilized in a foreign country. These official acts are called ‘notarizations', or ‘notarial acts’. Some of the most common documents that notary publics encounter are contracts, deeds, powers of attorney, wills, trusts, advance health care directives and other important documents. The notary public's signature and seal are usually required in order for the document be considered valid.