Authenticity is very important in legal documents. Even if the document is drawn up as competently as possible, it will have no effect if its authenticity is in question. The notary acknowledgment was introduced to facilitate the authentication process.
In Ohio, this document is an integral part of many forms, such as living wills, trust deeds, and others. The notary verifies the identity of the parties to the agreement, their signatures on the document, and fills in the acknowledgment form.
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Before filling out or signing any printable notary form, it is recommended to check whether it requires notarization.
The state has forms of acknowledgment that you can legally use when certifying documents. These are set out in §147.55 of the State Law.
The wording is different and is drafted for:
However, the law does not also prohibit the use of other wording that has all the necessary parts.
The Cincinnati Bar Association compiled the Manual for Notaries Public, which is accepted in Ohio and contains important information for work:
The document is in public access and can be studied by everyone.
There are various websites to find the right local notary in Ohio. For instance, you can use these sites:
To make sure that the notary has the right to conduct the business, it is recommended to verify a notary. To do this, use the Ohio Secretary of State website.
Fill in all the required search boxes, and the site will give you the results. All specialists suitable for your request will be shown. You can also see their addresses, comments about them, notary types, commission dates, and numbers. Some notaries also provide electronic certification services, and this will also be reflected in the results table.
For the convenience of Ohio residents, remote notarization has been allowed in the state since September 2019. This is especially useful at this time, while COVID-19 is still here.
For a notary to be able to provide online services, they must undergo special training and pass tests. After that, they can certify any document online, just like offline.
To carry out the process online, the notary and the parties to the agreement will need to use a special platform and access audio/video services on a computer. After the certification of the document, the parties will also receive a video of the entire process.
We will tell you about the process itself and provide step-by-step instructions on how you can certify a document with a notary in Ohio.
1. Find a Notary
First, you need to find someone who will legally certify your document. Above, we wrote about the most popular and trusted search tools that we recommend using. Once you’ve found a suitable candidate, be sure to check through the Ohio Secretary of State website.
2. Prepare Documents
In Ohio, you are not required to sign a document right in front of a notary public. They certify the authenticity of the signatures, not the process itself. Therefore, it is better to sign the document you want to certify in advance.
3. Verify Your Identity
By law, a notary must be sure of your identity. Please provide proof of identity with a photo and current validity. You can also invite a third-party witness who is already well known to the notary.
4. Get the Documents
After verifying the identity and signatures, the notary fills out the acknowledgment on their own. This includes their full name, seal, title, number, signature. After the completion of the process, the notary returns all documents to you.