For almost every notary appointment, you need one current, government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license, state ID card, or U.S. passport. The notary’s whole job is confirming you are who you say you are, and a valid photo ID is how that happens. If you’re wondering what identification you need for a notary, the short answer is one unexpired document from a government agency that shows your photo and, in most states, your signature. Show up without it and the notary is required to turn you away.
IDs Notaries Will Accept
Every state writes its own list, but the documents that work almost anywhere are short and familiar:
- A state driver’s license or non-driver ID card issued by your motor vehicle agency. This is the most common choice and is accepted everywhere.
- A U.S. passport or passport card. Useful if your driver’s license is from a different state than where you’re signing.
- A permanent resident card, often called a green card.
- A U.S. military ID, accepted for in-person notarization in most states. Many remote online platforms will not take it because federal rules restrict photographing or scanning military IDs.
- A foreign passport, which many states accept, particularly when it has a machine-readable zone.
Some states also accept a driver’s license from Canada or Mexico. If you plan to use anything other than a standard U.S. driver’s license or passport, call the notary first and confirm.
What Makes the ID Itself Valid
Bringing the right type of document is only half of it. The ID has to meet a few basic standards or the notary will refuse it.
It has to be current. The general rule in nearly every state is that your ID cannot be expired. A handful of states allow recently expired IDs within windows of three to five years past expiration, but most do not. Michigan, for example, flatly prohibits accepting expired identification. Don’t assume a notary will stretch the rule for you.
It has to carry your photo, and the photo has to reasonably look like you. If your appearance has changed a lot, the notary may ask questions or request a second ID. Most states also require the ID to bear your signature so the notary can compare it to the one you place on the document. And the card itself has to be legible: a cracked, faded, or peeling ID that obscures your name, photo, or expiration date can be refused.
Some states still require the ID to include a physical description such as height or eye color. That requirement is less common under newer notary laws but you may run into it.
IDs That Won’t Work
Plenty of cards people carry daily are useless at a notary’s desk because they lack the features a notary is trained to check.
- A Social Security card. No photo, no description. It proves a number was assigned to you, not that you’re the person in front of the notary.
- A birth certificate. Same problem, with no signature to compare and no current likeness.
- A student ID or employee badge. Not issued by a government agency, even if it has your photo.
- A credit or debit card, including those with an embedded photo. The issuer is a bank, not a government body.
- A library card or membership card. Wrong purpose, wrong security features.
- A digital ID stored in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. Most states and notary platforms do not yet accept these. Bring the physical card.
Stacking several unacceptable IDs doesn’t equal one acceptable one. The notary needs a single qualifying document.
If You Don’t Have a Valid ID
Elderly people who no longer drive, people whose wallets were stolen, and others sometimes arrive without qualifying identification. Two backups exist in most states, though neither is guaranteed everywhere.
Personal Knowledge
A notary who personally knows you can identify you based on that knowledge alone, with no ID required. Personal knowledge means the notary has interacted with you enough times, over a long enough period, to be reasonably certain of who you are. It’s a formally recognized method of identification, and the notary will note in their records that they identified you this way. The catch is that most people don’t personally know a notary.
Credible Witness
When you have no valid ID and the notary doesn’t know you, some states allow a credible witness to vouch for you. This is a last resort, not a workaround for a forgotten wallet. The witness has to meet every one of these conditions:
- They personally know you and can swear to your identity under oath.
- They have no financial interest in the document.
- They bring their own valid, government-issued photo ID.
- They reasonably believe you would find it very difficult or impossible to obtain a qualifying ID yourself.
If the notary does not personally know the credible witness, two witnesses may be required instead of one, each meeting the same standards and each presenting their own valid ID. Each witness takes a formal oath, and the notary records the arrangement in their journal. The process takes real time, so treat it as the fallback it is.
Remote Online Notarization Is Stricter
As of 2025, more than 44 states and the District of Columbia permit remote online notarization, where you connect with a notary over live video instead of appearing in person. Identity verification for a remote session is significantly more involved than handing over your driver’s license.
A typical remote notarization puts you through several layers:
- Credential analysis. You hold your physical government-issued photo ID up to the camera so the platform can scan and verify it. The ID must be unexpired and clearly legible on screen. Blurry, glare-obscured, or damaged IDs will stall the session.
- Knowledge-based authentication. You answer personal questions generated from your credit history and public records, covering things like past addresses, loan amounts, or vehicle registrations. Most platforms give you a limited number of attempts.
- Live biometric verification. Newer platforms use a live selfie video matched against your ID photo and are designed to detect impersonation using photos, masks, or deepfakes.
The whole session is recorded on audio and video, and the notary keeps that recording as part of their official records. Because of the scanning requirement, military IDs and digital wallet IDs generally cannot be used for remote online notarization. A passport or state-issued ID card is your safest option.
What Else to Bring, and What Not to Do
Identification is the thing people miss most, but a few other steps trip people up almost as often.
Don’t sign the document before you arrive. For some notarial acts, especially jurats and sworn statements, you must sign in the notary’s presence. Even for acknowledgments, where pre-signing is technically allowed in some states, showing up with a signed document can raise questions and slow things down. Leave every signature line blank until the notary tells you to sign.
Bring the actual document that needs notarizing. Notaries cannot notarize blank pages, copies you plan to fill in later, or a document shown on a phone screen for an in-person appointment. If the document also requires witnesses, arrange for them to attend with their own valid IDs.
Expect the notary to record details about your ID in their journal. In many states that entry includes the type of ID, its identifying number, and its expiration date. This is standard practice.
State Rules Vary, So Call Ahead
Notarization is governed entirely by state law, so the specifics shift depending on where you’re signing. The differences that matter most are which IDs are on the approved list, whether expired IDs are accepted at all, how many credible witnesses are needed, and whether the notary has broad discretion or must follow a rigid checklist. Some states let notaries accept any government-issued ID they find satisfactory; others name every permissible document.
If you plan to bring anything other than a current U.S. driver’s license, state ID, or passport, call the notary before your appointment and ask what they’ll accept. Two minutes on the phone is cheaper than a second trip.