A notary public is charged with identifying the signer whose signature they will notarize at the time of signing; unless the signer is personally known to the notary. The signer must present identification which meets the state statutes in which the signing occurs. If the state regulations do not list or name the specific types of identification which are acceptable forms to rely on, a good general rule of thumb is to require identification which:

• Is government issued
• Contains a photograph of the signer
• Contains a physical description of the signer
• Is current
• Has a signature for comparison purposes

Not all types of valid, government issued identification contain all five of the items listed above. For example, a Military I.D. often does not contain a physical description or signature, yet if the state describes this as an acceptable form of I.D., the notary can rely on it.

The notary must be sure to review the identification in its entirety, comparing it to the person in front of him/her. Be sure to turn it over to make sure there is nothing suspicious on the back such as, "This is a novelty item."

The notary must enter into his/her journal how he/she identified the signer. Be careful! Only enter the information allowed by the state. For example, in the State of Texas a notary may not enter the driver's license number into their journal since it is considered non–public personal information but the journal is considered public record.