Notary Public for the District of Columbia
In 1998, I obtained my commission to become a Notary Public for the District of Columbia for the first time. For 20-years, I have served the Washington, D.C. Community by notarizing an array of legal documents such as affidavits, wills, advance directives, etc.
On December 4, 2018, the Code of the District of Columbia for notaries public was amended.
Identification Requirements:
- The individual must personally appear before the notary.
- The notary must have personal knowledge of the individual or require current government identification with a signature or photograph of the individual.
- The new law allows the notary to take an oath or affirmation of a credible witness in lieu of identification of the person having the document notarized.
In this instance, the credible witness must provide the same form of identification as described above. - If an individual is physically unable to sign a record, the individual may direct an individual other than the notarial officer to sign the individual’s name on the record. The record shall indicate the name of the person who signed the document.
Notarization Prohibitions
- Incomplete or blank documents cannot be noarized.
- Documents for the notary him/herself or document for his/her spouse.
- The notary public or his/her spouse is a party to the record; or
- The notary public or his/her spouse is a party of interest to the record.
Jurisdiction
The notary and the individual for whom the document is being notarized must be in the geographic boundaries of Washington, D.C. when the notarial act is performed.
Notarial Fees
As of July 1, 2016 the fee a notary public may charge has been increased from $2 to $5.
Travel Expenses
A notary public may charge, upon agreement of the person to be charged, an amount not-to-exceed the actual and reasonable expense of traveling to a place where a notarial act is to be performed, if it is not the usual place where the notary public or electronic notary performs notarial acts. Travel expenses shall be in writing, itemized, and separate from the fee for the notarial act.
