A notarized letter or document is certified by the notary to confirm that the signatures made on the instrument are authentic. The notary has a licensed officer who serves the public as an unbiased witness while the documents are signed by the parties. A document or letter is notarized to avoid fraud. The notary holds the power to refuse to be a witness if it is felt that one of the parties is acting under coercion. People are required to get the letter notarized to be submitted to institutions like banks or public offices.
While writing a letter that has to be notarized it has to be kept in mind that it must include the personal details of the signatories to the letter. The letter should hold the date and place where the letter is being notarized. Such a letter should have a title at its center. It should be checked that the facts in the letter or the document should be true.
Steps to Notarize a Letter:
- Unsigned Letter: The document or letter which has to be notarized must be unsigned. The notary has to ensure that the signs are authentic and, thus it will never notarize a signed document.
- Identification: The notary needs to ensure that you are not impersonating someone else. Thus, you will be required to take some official identification that has a photograph in it. A driver’s license or passport would work.
- Fee: A fee is required to be deposited at the notary to notarize your document.
- Notarization: After completing these few simple steps, the notary with certify the document by affixing the seal to it.
How To Write the Letter?
- When you want to notarize a personal letter, you can draft it just like you draft any other letter. You have to ensure that you give the letter a title in capital letters and draft this letter using correct grammar. Some other things which should be taken into consideration are:
- Personal Information: While you need to include all the personal information which you do in a letter, you also need to include some other information that is relevant to the material facts in the letter.
- Signature: This is the whole point of getting the letter notarized, thus make sure you do not sign it beforehand.
- Notary Seal: While writing the final draft of the letter ensure that you have left some space for the notary to affix its seal on your letter.
- Date and Place: Inclusion of the date and place is substantial for the notarization of a document.
- Language: Even if you are drafting a personal letter, if you want to get it notarized you should use formal language and refrain from using any slang.
Format of the Letter:
[INSERT TITLE OF THE LETTER]
[Insert Date]
XYZ- Receiver’s Name
[Insert the Receiver’s Address]
[Include the name of the city, then state, and then the zip code of the place.]
Re: [Required to write the subject line.]
Dear ABC [Insert the Receiver’s name],
The content of the letter should be mentioned in around 3-4 lines.
Furthermore, I declare under the penalty of perjury that all the facts I have mentioned here are true to the best of my knowledge.
Sincerely,
[Insert Sender’s Name]
[To be signed]
NOTARY ACKNOWLEDGMENT
On, [insert date], [Insert the name of the parties to the letters], appeared before me [insert name of the notary], a notary public in [Country’s name] of the state [insert name of the state]. The signees confirmed that they subscribe to this instrument within and acknowledged to me that they executed the same.
IN WITNESS of which, I hereunto set my hand and affix my official seal.
[Insert name of the notary]
[Insert Notary signature]
[Seal affixed by the notary]
Reasons to Notarize a Letter:
There might be different reasons to notarize a letter.
- Financial and medical matters when delegated to another party need to be done through a notarized letter.
- Home or property rights need to be granted to another person through a notarized letter.
- The rights of children can be vested in any relative or guardian by using a notarized letter.
- A bank transaction can be disputed through this letter.
Many circumstances require that a letter should be notarized. Ensure that the place, date, and every other material fact is correctly mentioned. According to these reasons, the legal consequences of notarized reasons also vary. Such consequences depend on the content of the letter. It is to be noted that the only function which is to be performed by notarizing a letter is confirmation of the signature of the parties with free consent. These officers cannot act as legal advisors. So, before notarizing any letter if you have any doubts regarding the contents then you can consider taking a piece of advice from your attorney.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- What are the documents which are required to be shown before notarizing a letter?
It is a mandate the notary officer follows that they have to check your documents. The common documents which might be asked for include a birth certificate, green card, passport, a driver’s license (which has not expired), if you have a school/college ID card then it might also be demanded.
- What do you mean by a notary letter?
The seal of the notary at the end of the letter is the sign that the letter has been notarized, such a letter is called a notarized letter. The seal on the letter implies that the letter has been signed and executed properly. The contents of a notarized letter are similar to having taken an oath about the facts in a court of law.
- How much will it cost to get a letter notarized?
Usually, the notary charges a very small amount as its fee. The cost might be around $20 or even below this amount. At certain places, the notary gives the service of certification for free. Such places include the banks and certain credit unions which provide their customers this service.
- Can a handwritten letter be notarized?
There is no bar as to whether a letter that has to be notarized should be handwritten or typed. There are templates of letters available that can be filled by hand. However, you should not leave any space blank and if something does apply to you it can be filled by writing N/A.
