Guide
Updated · 6 min read
A Florida notary cannot give legal advice, cannot notarise a signature for someone who is not physically present, cannot notarise their own signature or a document in which they have a financial interest, cannot notarise an incomplete or blank document, and cannot proceed if the signer appears not to understand what they are signing or seems to be under duress.
This is the boundary people push hardest against, and it is a criminal one. A Florida notary who tells you which form to use, drafts language for you, or explains what your document means in your situation is committing the unauthorised practice of law.
The notary is a witness to identity and signature. They are not trained in law, are not insured for legal advice, and cannot be held to a lawyer’s standard of care. The rule exists to stop you relying on advice from someone with no competence to give it.
Personal presence is the foundation of the entire institution. A notarisation asserts that the notary saw this person, checked their identity, and watched them sign. Without presence there is nothing to assert.
No amount of familiarity changes it. Not a spouse dropping off a document. Not a signature you sent by photograph. Not "she signed it in the car outside". The lawful alternative, if presence is genuinely impossible, is remote online notarisation by video — which is presence, just mediated.
A notary cannot notarise their own signature, and cannot notarise any document in which they are a party or have a financial interest. A notary named as a beneficiary, an agent under the power of attorney, or a party to the contract must step aside and find another notary.
Florida does not flatly ban notarising for a relative, but a notarisation performed for immediate family invites exactly the challenge the rule is designed to prevent. Our practice is to decline.
A document with blank spaces can be filled in after the seal is applied, which turns your notarisation into authentication of something you never agreed to. A notary who seals a blank form has created a fraud instrument.
If a section genuinely does not apply, strike it through and initial it rather than leaving it empty.
If the signer cannot demonstrate they understand what they are signing, or appears to be signing because somebody in the room wants them to, the notary must stop. This applies to sedation, advanced dementia, acute confusion, and to the adult child standing over a parent answering the questions for them.
This is the rule that makes people angriest in the moment and grateful later. A notarisation obtained from someone lacking capacity is exactly what a probate challenge is built on. Refusing protects the signer, the family, and the document.
No. A notary cannot notarise their own signature. Doing so is misconduct and the notarisation is void — the notary would be certifying their own identity, which is circular and worthless as evidence.
Florida does not have a blanket prohibition, but it prohibits notarising any document in which the notary has a financial interest or is a party. Notarising for immediate family creates an obvious appearance of conflict, and best practice — ours included — is to decline and refer you to another notary.
Yes, provided the document is complete, the signer is present with valid ID, and there is a notarial certificate — the wording stating what act is being performed. A handwritten page with no notarial wording cannot simply be stamped; the appropriate certificate has to be attached.
Florida can suspend or revoke the commission, and the notary may face civil liability and, for serious breaches such as notarising an absent signer, criminal charges. The notarised document itself can be voided — which is usually the part that actually harms the person who wanted it done.
Tell us what the document is and where you are. You will get a time and a total on the call — before we get in the car.
Mon–Sat 8am–8pm · Sun 9am–6pm · After-hours by appointment