Listen, I love doin this…I love getting out and meeting new people and resolving a need. But if I had a dollar for every person who came to me with an original birth certificate, passport, or marriage license expecting me to notarize it, I could probably stop doing this.
I say this with zero judgment—most people genuinely have no idea why I’m about to let them down:
We as notaries, cannot notarize origin documents. Full stop. Birth certificates, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, passports, driver’s licenses—nope, nope, nope. These are official documents issued by the government, and the rule is pretty clear: you don’t notarize the originals.
I know, I know. Makes no sense… You’ve got the real thing right here in your hand, and I’m trained to verify and stamp things, so why can’t I just… do it?
Because that’s not how it works, and honestly, if I did, it would actually make the document less legitimate, not more. A notarization on an origin document is basically meaningless. What you actually need is something different.
You can bring me that original document, and I can certify a copy of it instead. Here’s how it works: you make a copy (or I can help you with that), you show me the original so I can verify that the copy matches, and then I notarize the copy. Now you’ve got a certified copy—which is what most places actually want anyway.
The key is that you have to have the original document with you. I’m literally comparing the two and saying “yep, this copy matches the original I’m looking at right now.” That’s the verification piece that makes it legit.
So next time you’re panicking because you need something notarized and it’s an origin document—don’t panic. Just bring the original, we’ll make a copy, and I’ll certify it. Problem solved.
And yes, I do get asked this at couple of times a week. You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last. That’s literally my job.
