I'm surprised how many people have a full name they don't have ID for. I just had one yesterday who is on title as (name changed of course): Mary Jane Doe. She had no ID that showed her middle name and said, "oh that's an old name I don't use anymore". She continues, "the lawyer said it was ok and other notaries have signed me with that name." Since I only had enough to prove she was Mary Doe, I said I would have to prove her ID with 2 credible witnesses, or refuse to notarize it myself and let her notarize with someone else who would do it.
I keep seeing "wrong" middle names perpetuated because somehow they get notarized with a "wrong" name.. of course they can use credible witnesses if they don't have correct ID, but I'm told they didn't get notarized that way. I don't think it is emphasized in the notary courses what is acceptable in terms of matching a name to what they are signing. It looks like another notary just notarized her without any problem... so I feel like a stickler but hey, what are we for?
Heather, you are doing your job correctly. Other notaries doing their job wrong, does not make it right. I know how difficult this is, I hear it all the time. "Well, the last notary didn't require this". My bottom line question to myself is, "If I had to go to court regarding this signing, did I do my due diligence to ensure that I properly identified the individual in front of me". It's your commission and you ultimately are responsible. Follow your laws for your State. I carry my Notary Handbook from the State with me at all times.
My position is that I must have personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence that the person described in the document being signed is the person in front of me. If the only evidence I have about that is an ID card, that isn't enough for me to accept a middle name that isn't on the ID. On the other hand, if the person is described in the document as having owned a particular piece of property for 30 years, the signing is being done in the property in question, and the little grandkids are calling the signer by the right name, that would probably be enough. It's about the totality of the circumstances. Of course, my state, Vermont, has no specific rules about how I ID people.
Heather, if you're a stickler you may want to note that this is not correct:
" of course they can use credible witnesses if they don't have correct ID"
No they can't - use of credible witnesses is for those who have NO identfication and it would be difficult if not impossible for them to obtain it. This is clear in your handbook. CW's are walking ID for those who can't obtain it, not for those who got "incorrect" ID or who were too lazy to renew their ID to begin with.
Joan is right though, as are you in the fact that you can't notarize a signature for someone if they can't prove who they are. What I would do (and I think this would pass in CA as well as in FL) is have her sign "Mary Jane Doe" but "Mary Doe" is in my certificate PROVIDED she can show me SOMETHING that she truly IS Mary Jane Doe. (Here in FL we can state in our certs "MJD, who represented to me that she took title as, or is also known as, Mary Doe). I don't like doing it that way but here it CAN be done.
I also don't buy into the "other notaries do it" pitch. When I've been told that, especially about something that I know is clearly wrong, my response is "well, perhaps other notaries don't mind breaking the law or not following proper procedure, but I do".
JMO
The rule that credible witnesses are for those who have no identification is in the California handbook, but is not necessarily the rule in other states. In Vermont the handbook says a credible witness who is known to the notary is better than relying on the signer's ID card (page 10-11), but even that is taking a chance, and the most prudent thing to do is to refuse to notarize for those you don't know personally.
