Notaries are allowed to use credible identifying witnesses to identify the signer of a document under certain situations. A credible witness is an individual who personally knows the signer and can vouch for the signer’s identity to the Notary.
The identity of a signer can be established by the oath of a single credible witness whom the notary public personally knows, according to CA Civil Code section 1185(b)(1). In order for the notary public to establish the identity of the credible witness, the witness must present paper identification documents as outlined in the law (Civil Code section 1185(b)(3) and (4)). The credible witness must also swear or affirm under oath that the following statements are true:
- The individual appearing before the notary public as the signer of the document is the person named in the document.
- The credible witness personally knows the signer.
- The credible witness reasonably believes that the circumstances of the signer are such that it would be very difficult or impossible for the signer to obtain another form of identification.
- The signer does not possess any of the identification documents authorized by law to establish the signer’s identity.
- The credible witness does not have a financial interest and is not named in the document signed.
It is important to note that the single credible witness must sign the notary public’s journal or the notary public must indicate in the journal the type of identifying document, the governmental agency issuing the document, the identifying number of the document, and the date of issuance or expiration of the document presented by the witness to establish the identity of the witness, as per Government Code section 8206(a)(2)(D).
Alternatively, the identity of the signer can also be established by the oaths of two credible witnesses whom the notary public does not personally know, as stated in Civil Code section 1185(b)(2). The notary public must first establish the identities of the two credible witnesses by the presentation of paper identification documents as outlined in the law (Civil Code section 1185(b)(3) and (4)). Under oath, the credible witnesses must swear or affirm under penalty of perjury to each of the statements sworn to or affirmed by a single credible witness, as outlined above. The credible witnesses must sign the notary public’s journal and the notary public must indicate in the journal the type of identifying documents, the identifying numbers of the documents, and the dates of issuance or expiration of the documents presented by the witnesses to establish their identities, as per Government Code section 8206(a)(2)(E).