New Mandates on Identifying Your Customers
New mandates for identifying customers has been issued by the new notary public law (RULONA). These mandates are effective October 26, 2017.
Satisfactory Evidence
A notary has satisfactory evidence of the identity of a customer if the notary can identify the individual appearing before him or her using the following:
You, as the notary, may require the customer to provide additional information and identification to your satisfaction.
Credible Witness
The credible witness must be personally known to you, the notary, and must personally know the customer. Both the customer and credible witness must appear in person before you. The credible witness may not have a direct or financial (pecuniary) interest in the document being notarized.
If a credible witness is used for the proper identification of a customer, the credible witness must complete a verification on oath or affirmation that each of the following is true:
There is personal knowledge of the identity of a customer if the individual is personally known to you, the notary, through dealings sufficient to provide reasonable certainty that the individual is who he or she claims to be. Satisfactory evidence is then not required.
Satisfactory Evidence
A notary has satisfactory evidence of the identity of a customer if the notary can identify the individual appearing before him or her using the following:
- A passport or passport card issued by the U.S. Department of State or a foreign government, which is current and unexpired and uses letters, characters and a language that is read, written and understood by the notary.
- Driver's license or non-driver identification card issued by a U.S. state or territory of Canada or Mexico which uses letters, characters and a language that is read, written and understood by the notary. The license and identification card must be current and unexpired.
- Another form of government identificaton, which is current and contains the signature or a photograph of the individual and is satisfactory to the notary. They include:
- Identification card issued by any branch of the U.S. armed forces
- Inmate identification card issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections for an inmate who is currently in the custody of the Department
- Identification card issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- Social Security card
- Medicare card
- Pennsylvania state and state-related university identification card
You, as the notary, may require the customer to provide additional information and identification to your satisfaction.
Credible Witness
The credible witness must be personally known to you, the notary, and must personally know the customer. Both the customer and credible witness must appear in person before you. The credible witness may not have a direct or financial (pecuniary) interest in the document being notarized.
If a credible witness is used for the proper identification of a customer, the credible witness must complete a verification on oath or affirmation that each of the following is true:
- The individual appearing before you 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 direct or pecuniary interest in the record being notarized.
There is personal knowledge of the identity of a customer if the individual is personally known to you, the notary, through dealings sufficient to provide reasonable certainty that the individual is who he or she claims to be. Satisfactory evidence is then not required.
