A lawyer can notarize a document when the lawyer is legally authorized to perform notarial acts in the state where the notarization takes place. In most states, being admitted to the bar does not automatically make an attorney a notary public, so the lawyer usually needs a separate notary commission. A few states provide special authority for attorneys to perform notarial acts without obtaining the ordinary notary commission.
Whether your lawyer can notarize a particular document also depends on issues such as personal interest in the transaction, the identity of the signer, physical or remote appearance requirements, and the type of document being notarized.
Does Being a Lawyer Automatically Make You a Notary?
Being a licensed lawyer and being a notary public are normally separate legal statuses.
A lawyer is licensed to provide legal advice and represent clients. A notary performs specific official acts such as:
- Taking acknowledgments
- Administering oaths and affirmations
- Witnessing or attesting signatures
- Performing jurats
- Certifying certain copies where state law permits
In many states, an attorney who wants to perform these functions must separately qualify and receive a notary commission.
Florida provides a straightforward example. A notary is commissioned by the governor, and applicants must satisfy the state’s requirements before performing notarial acts. Being a Florida lawyer by itself does not replace that process.
Are There States Where Lawyers Can Notarize Without a Separate Commission?
Some states give attorneys special authority.
Maine is a particularly clear example. Maine law authorizes an attorney who is duly admitted and eligible to practice in the state’s courts to perform notarial acts. The lawyer is treated as a notarial officer even without relying solely on an ordinary notary-public commission.
Other states may give lawyers certain exemptions in the notary application process without automatically making every lawyer a notary.
New York illustrates this distinction. Attorneys admitted to practice in New York receive an exemption from certain qualifying requirements imposed on ordinary notary applicants, but New York law still provides for appointment and commissioning of notaries public. A New York law license should therefore not simply be treated as an automatic notary commission.
This is why the correct answer always depends on the state.
Can Your Lawyer Notarize a Document for You?
Your lawyer may often notarize your signature if the attorney is authorized to perform notarial acts and no state rule disqualifies the lawyer from doing so.
For example, an attorney who is also a commissioned notary might prepare an affidavit for a client and then administer the required oath and notarize the client’s signature.
The lawyer still has to follow ordinary notarial procedures.
Depending on the state and the type of notarization, these can include:
- Confirming the signer’s identity
- Requiring the signer’s personal appearance
- Administering an oath or affirmation
- Confirming that the signature is voluntary
- Completing the correct notarial certificate
- Recording the transaction in a notary journal where required
- Using the required seal or stamp
A law license does not allow the attorney to ignore these procedures.
Can a Lawyer Notarize a Document They Prepared?
A lawyer who drafted a document can often notarize the client’s signature on that document if state law allows it and the lawyer does not have a disqualifying personal interest.
For example, an attorney might prepare:
- An affidavit
- A power of attorney
- A real-estate document
- A sworn declaration
- A business document
The fact that the lawyer prepared the document does not necessarily prevent the lawyer from acting as notary.
The more important question is whether the attorney is sufficiently disinterested under the state’s notary laws.
A lawyer who merely earns ordinary legal fees for preparing a client’s document is in a different position from a lawyer who personally owns part of the property involved or will directly benefit from the transaction.
Can a Lawyer Notarize Their Own Signature?
A lawyer generally cannot notarize their own signature.
A valid notarization requires an authorized notarial officer to perform the official act concerning another signer’s acknowledgment, oath, or signature.
Florida law expressly makes it unlawful for a notary to notarize their own signature.
Becoming both an attorney and a notary therefore does not allow a lawyer to self-notarize documents.
If an attorney’s own signature requires notarization, another authorized notary should perform the notarial act.
Can a Lawyer Notarize a Document When They Have a Financial Interest?
This can create a serious problem.
Notaries are generally expected to act as impartial public officers. State law may prohibit a notary from performing an act when the notary has a direct financial or beneficial interest in the transaction.
Pennsylvania, for example, prohibits a notary from performing a notarial act involving a record in which the notary or the notary’s spouse has a direct or pecuniary interest, subject to specific statutory distinctions.
Consider a lawyer who is personally purchasing property from a client. Even if the lawyer is a commissioned notary, notarizing signatures on documents in the lawyer’s own purchase transaction could create a disqualifying interest.
Using an independent notary is much safer in that situation.
Can a Lawyer Notarize a Family Member’s Document?
The answer depends on state law because restrictions involving relatives differ.
Florida prohibits a notary from notarizing documents for certain close family members, including a spouse, parent, or child.
Maine goes further in some respects and prohibits notarial acts for several categories of close relatives, including spouses, domestic partners, parents, siblings, children, and certain step, half, and in-law relationships.
Other jurisdictions may permit notarization for relatives when the notary has no financial or beneficial interest.
A lawyer should therefore check the specific state’s rule rather than assuming family notarization is permitted.
Can a Lawyer Notarize a Will?
A lawyer who has proper notarial authority may be able to notarize signatures or a self-proving affidavit connected with a will, but notarization does not automatically replace the legal requirements for executing the will.
Most traditional wills require witnesses.
For example, if state law requires two witnesses, simply signing the will before a notary usually does not substitute for those witnesses.
The notary may instead notarize a separate self-proving affidavit signed by the testator and witnesses. That affidavit can make probate easier by providing sworn evidence that the will was properly executed.
New York’s official notary guidance specifically cautions that notarizing an acknowledgment of a will’s execution is not equivalent to the attestation required for a will.
A person preparing a will should therefore follow the state’s will-execution rules rather than assuming a notary stamp makes everything valid.
Can a Lawyer Notarize a Power of Attorney?
An authorized lawyer-notary may generally notarize a power of attorney if the state’s law permits it and no conflict disqualifies the lawyer.
Powers of attorney often require notarization because they give another person significant authority over financial or legal affairs.
The notary’s function is generally to verify the required signature or acknowledgment rather than decide whether granting the power is a good idea.
An attorney performing both roles should keep them distinct.
As lawyer, the attorney may advise the client about what the power of attorney means.
As notarial officer, the attorney performs the required official authentication.
Does the Client Have to Sign in Front of the Lawyer?
When the particular notarial act requires personal appearance, the signer must properly appear before the notary.
The lawyer cannot simply receive a signed document from an assistant and stamp it later without satisfying the state’s appearance requirements.
California, for example, requires personal appearance for traditional acknowledgments and jurats. Its current rules do not treat a basic video image as satisfying the ordinary physical personal-appearance requirement for a traditional California notarization.
Other states have enacted remote online notarization systems that allow qualifying notarizations through approved audiovisual technology.
Whether remote notarization is available therefore depends on the state and the notary’s authorization.
Can a Lawyer Notarize a Document Over Zoom?
A lawyer cannot assume that an ordinary Zoom call is enough.
Remote online notarization is regulated separately in states that permit it.
The process may require:
- Special registration
- Approved technology
- Identity verification
- Audiovisual recording
- Electronic signatures
- Electronic notary seals
- Record-retention procedures
A casual video call followed by the lawyer applying a notary stamp may not comply with the law.
The lawyer must follow the remote-notarization statute of the relevant state.
Is a Lawyer’s Signature Better Than a Regular Notary’s Signature?
A document does not ordinarily become more legally valid simply because the notary happens to be an attorney.
When performing a notarial act, both are exercising the notarial authority granted by law.
A non-lawyer notary who properly verifies identity and completes the required certificate can provide a perfectly valid notarization.
The advantage of using a lawyer arises when legal advice is also necessary.
A regular notary generally cannot:
- Interpret a contract for you
- Recommend legal provisions
- Draft legal documents as an attorney
- Tell you how a transaction affects your legal rights
A lawyer can perform those legal services within the scope of the lawyer’s license while separately performing an authorized notarial act.
What Does a Notary Actually Verify?
Notarization is frequently misunderstood.
A notary usually does not certify that everything written in the document is legally correct.
Depending on the type of notarial act, the notary may be confirming matters such as:
- The signer’s identity
- That the signer appeared before the notary
- That the signer acknowledged signing voluntarily
- That an oath or affirmation was administered
- That the signature was witnessed
California’s notary guidance specifically explains that a notary’s function can relate to the signature rather than the substantive content of the document.
A notarized contract can therefore still contain legally defective provisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Can my attorney notarize an affidavit they prepared for me?
An attorney who is legally authorized to perform notarial acts can often notarize the client’s affidavit if state law permits it and no conflict or personal-interest restriction applies. The attorney must still properly identify the signer and administer any required oath.
Q2. Can the same lawyer be both my attorney and my notary?
The same person can sometimes act as both lawyer and notarial officer in the same matter. The lawyer must satisfy the requirements of both roles and avoid transactions in which state notary law considers the lawyer insufficiently impartial.
Q3. Is a document invalid if a lawyer signs it but does not have a notary commission?
A lawyer’s signature does not substitute for required notarization merely because the signer is an attorney. Unless state law independently authorizes that lawyer to perform notarial acts, a valid notary or another authorized official must complete the notarization.
Q4. Can another lawyer in the same law firm notarize my document?
Another attorney in the firm may be able to notarize the document if that attorney is authorized to perform notarial acts and has no prohibited personal interest. Whether the attorney’s involvement with the firm creates a disqualifying interest depends on the state’s notary law and the nature of the transaction.
