Notarize Legal Pennsylvania Organizing Personal Assets Forms For Free

Notaries public commissioned in Pennsylvania are authorized to notarize documents in any county in Pennsylvania. The office of notary public is an important position of public trust that has experienced many changes since its inception in ancient Rome.

You may act as the notary and a witness on the same document. However, the entity that prepared the document may prefer the notary and the witness not be the same person. You may not act as the notary and a witness when the signature of the witness needs to be notarized.

Before filing an affidavit with the courts, it needs to be notarized by a notary public. This is to ensure that it was signed voluntarily, without coercion, by the identity of the signer has been verified.

If you are notarizing an acknowledgment, the customer may sign the document before appearing for the notarization. If you are notarizing a verification on oath or affirmation or a witnessing or attesting a signature, you must witness the customer sign.

While this may seem convenient if a notary has a document to be notarized, the short answer is no, you cannot notarize your own signature. First, there is an obvious conflict of interest. A notary cannot notarize a document in which he or she has an interest, financial or otherwise.

Thus, it is always the safest practice to avoid even the appearance of a financial or beneficial interest and not notarize documents for immediate family. 57 Pa. C.S. 304 states a Notary Public may not notarize in any transaction in which he or she or the Notary's spouse has a financial interest.