To get a notarized letter, write and print the letter but do not sign it, bring a valid government-issued photo ID to a notary public, sign in front of the notary, and pay the per-signature fee. The notary verifies your identity, watches you sign, and attaches an official seal and certificate confirming the act. Most notarizations take a few minutes and cost between $2 and $15 per signature, though mobile and online options cost more.
What a Notarized Letter Actually Is
A notarized letter is a letter whose signature has been verified by a notary public, a state-commissioned officer who confirms the signer’s identity and willingness to sign. Notarization is about the signature, not the substance. The notary does not read your letter for accuracy, check whether your claims are truthful, or give you legal advice about what the letter says. A notarized letter claiming you own a house free and clear carries no more factual weight than an unnotarized version of the same claim. What notarization does is make it much harder for someone to later argue the signature was forged or that you didn’t know what you were signing.
Step by Step: Getting Your Letter Notarized
1. Write the Letter in Full and Leave It Unsigned
Draft the letter completely before your appointment and fill in every blank. A notary should refuse to notarize a document with missing information in the body, because blank spaces create opportunities for someone to alter the document after notarization. The notary is only allowed to complete the notarial certificate section, not the letter itself.
The most common mistake people make is signing before they get to the notary. Don’t. The whole point of notarization is that the notary watches you sign. If you show up with a pre-signed letter, most notaries will refuse to proceed because they cannot verify who actually put pen to paper.1Uniform Law Commission. Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (2021) One narrow exception involves acknowledgments, where a document signed beforehand can sometimes be notarized if you appear in person and confirm the signature is yours.
2. Bring Valid Photo ID
Bring valid, government-issued photo identification. A current passport, driver’s license, or state-issued ID card all work. The name on your ID must match the name on the letter. If your ID is expired, some states will accept it as long as it expired within the last three years, but many notaries will turn you away rather than risk an invalid notarization.1Uniform Law Commission. Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (2021) A few states let you use a credible witness to vouch for your identity under oath if you have no acceptable ID, but don’t count on this without checking your state’s rules first.
3. Sign in Front of the Notary
The actual notarization is usually the fastest part. You present your ID, the notary examines it and compares the name and photo to you, and you confirm you are signing voluntarily. You then sign the letter while the notary watches. If the letter requires a jurat rather than an acknowledgment, the notary will also administer an oath, and you’ll answer out loud that the contents are true.
4. Let the Notary Complete the Certificate
After witnessing your signature, the notary fills in the notarial certificate attached to or printed on your letter, signs it, and applies an official seal or stamp. The certificate records what type of notarial act was performed, the date, and the jurisdiction. Many states also require the notary to log the transaction in a journal, noting your name, the type of document, the date, and how your identity was verified. Before you leave, glance at the finished notarization to make sure the seal is legible and every field in the certificate is filled in. A missing field can get the document rejected later.
Where to Find a Notary and What It Costs
Notaries are easier to find than most people expect. Banks and credit unions are the most common option, and many offer free notary services to their account holders.2Bank of America. Notary Services from Bank of America Shipping stores like UPS and FedEx locations frequently have notaries on staff. Law offices, real estate offices, tax preparers, AAA branches, public libraries, and some courthouses are other reliable options.
Fees vary by state because each state sets its own maximum allowable charges. Statutory caps for a standard notarial act range from as low as $2 per signature in some states to $15 in others. A handful of states set no specific cap, letting notaries charge market rates. If your letter requires multiple signatures or multiple notarial acts, the fee applies to each one.
Mobile Notaries
If you can’t travel to a notary’s office because of a medical condition, a scheduling conflict, or a deadline, a mobile notary will come to you. Mobile notaries charge the standard per-signature fee plus a travel or convenience fee. Total costs typically fall between $75 and $200 depending on distance, time of day, and the number of signatures. Evening, weekend, and rush appointments cost more. Confirm the full price before booking.
Remote Online Notarization
Most states now permit remote online notarization, which lets you complete the process over a live video call. You upload your letter to a secure platform, verify your identity through credential analysis and knowledge-based questions, and join a live audio-video session with a commissioned notary. You sign electronically while the notary watches, and the notary applies a digital seal and signature. The session is recorded and stored as a permanent record.
Online notarization is useful if you live in a rural area, have mobility limitations, or need something notarized outside normal business hours. Fees typically run $25 to $50 per session, higher than walking into a bank but often worth it for the convenience.
Reasons a Notary Will Turn You Away
Knowing these in advance saves a wasted trip:
- No valid ID, an expired ID the notary won’t accept, or an ID whose name doesn’t match the letter.
- A letter you already signed, when the act requires signing in the notary’s presence.
- Blank spaces or unfilled fields in the body of the letter.
- Signs that you are being pressured to sign, appear disoriented, or don’t understand what you are signing.
- A personal interest by the notary, such as being named in the document or standing to benefit from it. A notary can never notarize their own signature.
- Being outside the notary’s commissioning state. A notary commissioned in one state generally cannot notarize your letter in another, though remote online notarization has its own cross-border rules.
Acknowledgment or Jurat: Which Does Your Letter Need?
Not all notarizations work the same way, and the type you need changes what happens at the appointment. The two most common forms are acknowledgments and jurats, and the letter usually specifies which.
An acknowledgment is the more flexible of the two. You appear before the notary and confirm you signed a particular document voluntarily and understand its contents. With an acknowledgment, you can sign before you arrive, as long as you personally appear and confirm the signature is yours. Real estate deeds, powers of attorney, and contracts typically use acknowledgments.
A jurat is stricter. You must sign in the notary’s presence, and the notary administers an oath or affirmation requiring you to swear the contents are truthful. You respond to the oath out loud. Jurats are used for affidavits, sworn statements, and court filings where the accuracy of what you wrote matters, not just the authenticity of your signature. If you later lie in a document notarized with a jurat, you can face perjury consequences.
Look near the signature block of your letter. It usually says “acknowledgment” or “jurat” (sometimes called “verification on oath or affirmation”). If nothing is specified, ask whoever requested the letter. The notary can’t choose for you, because that would cross into legal advice.
Does a Notarized Letter Expire?
The notarization itself does not expire. Once a notary properly witnesses your signature and completes the certificate, that act remains valid indefinitely, even if the notary’s commission later expires. What matters is that the notary held a valid commission on the day of the signing.
The letter itself may have its own expiration based on its contents. A notarized lease that runs for one year expires on its own terms. Some institutions may also ask for a fresh notarization if a letter is several years old and the information in it appears outdated. If you’re submitting a notarized letter for a time-sensitive process like a real estate closing or court filing, check whether the recipient has any recency requirements before you hand it over.