The Facebook notary form is a one-page identity document you download from Meta, sign in front of a notary public, and upload back to the platform to prove you are the person behind your account. Meta most often requires it before you can run ads about social issues, elections, or politics, and sometimes requests it during account recovery when a standard ID photo hasn’t cleared you.1Meta for Business. Confirm Identity With a Notary Form The steps below walk through getting the correct form, completing it properly at the notary, and submitting a scan that Meta will accept the first time.
When Meta Asks for a Notarized Form
Advertising is the usual trigger. Publishing ads about social issues, elections, or politics on Facebook or Instagram requires identity confirmation as a transparency measure, and the notarized form is the path Meta uses.1Meta for Business. Confirm Identity With a Notary Form Meta may also escalate to the notarized form when a standard ID upload doesn’t clear its automated checks.
Outside advertising, users have reported being asked for the form after severe account security events such as a hack or a prolonged lockout, and in name disputes where a profile name doesn’t match a government-issued ID. The notarized form counts as a higher level of proof than a plain ID photo because a licensed public official personally attests that you signed the document and that your ID checked out.
Download the Correct Form
Meta provides the form itself. You can download the blank document from facebook.com/id or through a link in a support message from the platform. Do not substitute a third-party template or draft your own version. Meta is explicit that it will not accept any form other than the one it provides.1Meta for Business. Confirm Identity With a Notary Form
Print on standard letter-size paper. If your printer produces faded or streaky output, find a better one. Every field on the finished document has to be legible when it’s scanned back in, and that starts with a clean print.
What to Prepare Before the Appointment
The form asks for information that ties your physical identity to your Facebook account. Have these ready:
- Your full legal name, written exactly as it appears on both your government-issued ID and your Facebook profile. A mismatch across any of the three is the fastest route to a rejection.1Meta for Business. Confirm Identity With a Notary Form
- Your Facebook account email address or profile URL, for the account-identifying fields.
- A valid government-issued photo ID. A driver’s license, passport, or national identity card all work. The name on that ID is what the notary will verify against the form.
You can pre-fill your name and account details at home, but leave the signature line and the date blank. Signing beforehand invalidates the document because the notary has to personally witness your signature.1Meta for Business. Confirm Identity With a Notary Form
At the Notary
The appointment has to be in person. Meta does not accept digital or remote online notarizations, so video-call notary services will not work for this form.1Meta for Business. Confirm Identity With a Notary Form Notaries are available at banks, UPS stores and shipping centers, law offices, and county clerk’s offices. Many banks offer free notary services to account holders.
Bring the unsigned printed form and your photo ID. The notary will check your ID, watch you sign, then apply an official stamp or seal and record their commission information. Confirm the notary’s commission is current before they stamp; Meta specifically rejects forms stamped by a notary whose commission has expired.1Meta for Business. Confirm Identity With a Notary Form
Notary fees for a single document vary by state, typically between $2 and $25 for the notarial act. A mobile notary who travels to you will add a travel charge. Many people pay under $10 total using a bank or storefront notary.
Scan and Upload the Signed Form
Once the document is stamped, turn it back into a digital file with a flatbed scanner or a good phone scanner app. The notary’s stamp, signature, commission expiration date, and every handwritten field must be clearly legible in the image.1Meta for Business. Confirm Identity With a Notary Form A blurry off-angle phone photo will likely be rejected.
Upload the scan through the identity confirmation flow where Meta originally prompted you, or attach it to your open support ticket. If you received a direct link in a support message, use that link. Save a copy of the notarized document for your own records before submitting.
Review Timing and Common Rejections
Meta notifies you of the outcome through your registered email address or the platform’s support dashboard. Exact review times aren’t published; users commonly report waits from a couple of days to about a week depending on volume. If the submission clears, your account features or ad authorization are restored or activated.
When Meta rejects a form, it usually says why. The recurring reasons are:
- Name mismatch across the form, your ID, and your Facebook profile. Even a middle name that appears on one document but not another can cause a rejection.
- An illegible scan where the stamp, signature, or a field can’t be read.
- An expired notary commission on the date of stamping.
- Use of any document other than the exact form Meta provides.
- A form that was obviously signed before the notary appointment.
A rejection means repeating the notarization with a corrected form and paying the fee again. If your profile name doesn’t match your legal name and you can’t change the legal name, update your Facebook name to match your government ID before starting the process a second time.