A notary public is the official most people use to notarize an affidavit, but they are not the only option. Judges and court clerks, certain military legal personnel, and U.S. consular officers at embassies and consulates abroad are also authorized to administer the oath and witness your signature. In more than 45 states, a remote online notary commissioned in that state can now do the same work over a live video call. Which of these officials you can use depends on where you are, who you are, and how the affidavit will be used.
Notaries Public
A notary public is a state-commissioned officer whose core job is witnessing signatures and administering oaths. For a routine affidavit, this is almost always the person you want. Notaries work at banks, law offices, shipping stores, real estate agencies, and many insurance offices. Banks frequently notarize for account holders at no charge.
A notary’s commission is valid only within the state that issued it. A notary commissioned in one state cannot perform notarizations in another. Some states further restrict notaries to a specific county, though most allow practice anywhere within the state’s borders. As long as you and the notary are in the same state, the notarization will be recognized by every other state once it is complete.
Fees are capped by statute in most states, with maximums ranging from $2 to $25 per notarial act. A handful of states set no cap at all. Typical in-person charges fall between $5 and $15. Mobile notaries who come to you add a travel fee on top.
Judges and Court Clerks
Judges and court clerks can administer oaths and notarize affidavits within their official capacity. This option is widely underused. If you are already at a courthouse for a filing or hearing, the clerk’s office can often handle the notarization on the spot, sometimes at no charge and sometimes for less than a private notary. It is worth a phone call to the clerk’s office before paying a mobile notary.
Military Notaries
Federal law authorizes specific military personnel to perform notarial acts for service members, their dependents, and others eligible for military legal assistance. The authorized list includes judge advocates, civilian legal assistance attorneys, adjutants, and civilian paralegals at military legal assistance offices.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1044a – Authority to Act as Notary
These services are typically free and available at installation legal offices worldwide. For military families stationed overseas, a base legal office is usually the simplest route, since the notarial act carries full legal effect in the United States without the extra authentication that civilian overseas notarizations may require.
U.S. Consular Officers
If you need an affidavit notarized while living or traveling outside the United States and you do not have access to a military legal office, consular officers at U.S. embassies and consulates can help. Federal regulations require consular officers to administer oaths, take affidavits, and perform any notarial act that a notary public could perform domestically, as long as the document is for use within the United States.2eCFR. 22 CFR 92.4 – Authority of Notarizing Officers of the Department of State Under Federal Law A consular notarization carries the same legal weight as a domestic one in the federal court system. You will usually need to make an appointment and pay a fee set by the State Department.
Remote Online Notaries
As of early 2025, at least 45 states and the District of Columbia have enacted permanent laws allowing remote online notarization. A remote online notary is still a notary public commissioned in a specific state, but the entire session — identity verification, oath, signing, and seal — happens through live audio-video software.
The notary must be physically located within their commissioning state during the session. You, as the signer, can usually be anywhere, including another state or another country. States that follow the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts add one limit for signers outside the U.S.: the document must have a connection to the United States, such as involving U.S. property, a U.S. court proceeding, or a U.S. government entity.
Identity verification for a remote session is more rigorous than what happens in person. The platform runs credential analysis on your government-issued ID and asks knowledge-based authentication questions drawn from your credit and public records. The session is recorded and stored. Expect a surcharge above the standard notary fee, usually $25 to $50 per session.
Who Cannot Notarize Your Affidavit
Even an official on the authorized list is disqualified in certain situations. A notary can never notarize their own signature. Most states also prohibit a notary from notarizing any document in which the notary is named as a party or would directly benefit from the transaction. If you are splitting an inheritance and the notary is one of the beneficiaries, that notary cannot handle your affidavit, no matter how routine the paperwork looks.
Rules about notarizing for family members vary. Some states ban notarizations for spouses, parents, and children outright. Others restrict notarizations involving any blood or marriage relative. Many states have no specific family prohibition, though the general conflict-of-interest rule still applies if the relative has a financial stake. When the relationship is close enough to raise the question, use a different notary. A voided notarization costs more to redo than a neutral one costs upfront.
A notary should also refuse any document that is incomplete or has blank spaces in the main body. Fill in every blank before the appointment. A responsible notary will turn you away rather than risk their commission on an incomplete document.
What the Notarizing Official Will Require
Whichever official you choose, three things need to be in order before the appointment:
- Valid government-issued photo ID. A driver’s license, state-issued ID card, U.S. passport, military ID, or permanent resident card all work. Social Security cards, birth certificates, and credit cards are not acceptable.
- The completed affidavit, unsigned. Because an affidavit requires a jurat rather than an acknowledgment, the official must watch you sign. A pre-signed affidavit will be rejected and you will need a fresh copy.
- Payment in a form the official accepts. Not every notary takes cards; cash or a check is safest for a private notary. Court clerks and military and consular officers have their own fee rules.
If your only ID is expired, call ahead. Some states accept IDs expired within the last three to five years; others require current ID with no grace period. If you have no acceptable photo ID at all, many states allow a credible identifying witness to vouch for you under oath, with the exact requirements varying by state.
Why the Choice of Official Matters
An affidavit is not just a signed statement. It is sworn testimony, and the oath has to be administered by someone legally empowered to administer it. That is the point of the list above: notaries public, judges, court clerks, military legal personnel, and consular officers all hold that power under state or federal law. A signature witnessed by someone outside that list, no matter how well-intentioned, does not make the document an affidavit.
The oath also carries real consequences. Making a false statement in a sworn affidavit is perjury. Under federal law, perjury carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1621 – Perjury Generally State perjury statutes vary but typically classify the offense as a felony. The notary’s journal entry, and for remote sessions the video recording, document that you knowingly took the oath, which is why courts treat a properly notarized affidavit as reliable evidence in the first place.