Arizona Mobile Notary Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

Why should I use a notary?: Certain documents require notarizations in an effort to deter fraud, to prove authenticity of the signature and to ensure that the signature was made willingly and not under duress.

An Arizona commissioned Notary needs to take the required steps to authenticate the identity of the signer, the signature and ensure that all notarizations are properly executed according to the laws, rules and regulations for notaries by the State of Arizona.

It is essential that a valid form of identification (as defined in statutes of Arizona law) is presented to the notary at the time of the signing to determine that a signer is who he or she claims to be. For remote notarizations, a third party knowledge based authentication service is used along with credential analysis to ensure the identity of the signer.

At AZ Roving Notary, all of our notaries are commissioned by their respective state, are insured and bonded, completed certification training by the National Notary Association (NNA) and practice their profession at the highest standards.

Other questions this FAQ answers:
What is required for ID Verification?
What qualifications should I look for in a notary public?
What is an Arizona notary public?: In Arizona, a notary public is a public officer commissioned by the Secretary of State to perform notarial acts, as defined in the Arizona Revised Statutes. A notary, in essence, serves as an impartial witness pursuant to A.R.S. 41-328(B).

A notary should take the required steps to authenticate signature and ensure that all notarizations are properly completed and performed.

An Arizona notary may only perform notarizations within the state borders of Arizona. However an Arizona remote notary, if located at the time of the notarization is in the state of Arizona, may notarize documents for a person located anywhere in the world with the proper ID Authentication process.

There are three types of notaries that can be commissioned in Arizona and each one requires a separate commission ID:

Traditional or Mobile Notary: This type of notary performs all notarial acts on paper. The notary and the signer are both present in the same physical space. The notary might be located at a notary business, at a company or act as a mobile notary going to where the signer is located in Arizona.

Electronic Online Notary: This type of notary performs all notarial acts on a computer or tablet device. The notary and the signer are both present in the same physical space. The notary travels to the signer's location to perform the signing ceremony. This type of notary is sometimes referred to as an EON or an iPEN (in-Person Electronic Notary).

Remote Online (Virtual) Notary: This type notary performs all notarial acts using communications technology. The notary is physically located in Arizona and the signer can be anywhere in Arizona, the United States, the World or even in outer space. This type of notary is referred to as a RON.

Other questions this FAQ Answers:
What does a notary do?
Where can an Arizona notary perform notarial acts?
What is a Traditional or Mobile Notary?
What is an Electronic (iPEN) Notary?
What is a Remote Online (Virtual-RON) Notary?
What is satisfactory evidence of identification in Arizona?: Compliance: A notary shall identify the signer of a document. This is referred to as satisfactory evidence of identity. (A.R.S. 41-311)

Here are the only acceptable evidence of identification accepted (as of January 18, 2024).

1. Personal knowledge of the individual by the notary: A notary can use personal knowledge of the signer if the notary has known the individual for a sufficient length of time and the notary is assured that the signer has the identity claimed. The notary does not need to request other forms of identification from the individual.

2. Driver License or Non-operating Identification License: Unexpired and issued by a state or territory of the United States.

3. U.S. Passport: Unexpired and issued by the United States Department of State. (Currently US Passports are not accepted for Credential Analysis by third party vendors, but may be used for electronic and mobile notarizations.)

4. Armed Forces Identification Card: Unexpired and issued by any branch of the United States Armed Forces.

5. Inmate Identification Card or any form of inmate identification: Inmate must be in custody of State Department of Corrections or County Sheriff's Department and issued by the Arizona Department of Corrections or County Sheriff's Department.

6. Other Government Issued Identification Cards: unexpired, contains the signer's photograph, signature and physical description including height, weight, eye color and hair color. The card must be issued by the United States government, a state or U.S. territory, or tribal government.

7. Credible Person/Credible Witness: If a notary does not know the signer personally and the signer does not have a valid ID, the notary can use a credible person to identify the signer. A credible person must always be someone who knows the signer personally (also referred to as a credible witness [ARS 41-311(11)(A)(vii) and (viii)]) There are two types of credible persons:

a. Someone whom the notary knows and who also knows the signer. Satisfactory evidence of identity of the credible person is
personal knowledge. The credible person is placed under oath to swear or affirm that the signer has the identity claimed.

b. Someone whom the notary does not know personally but who personally knows the signer. The credible person must
present the notary with an ID card that meets one of the above requirements.

8. Certain Foreign ID is acceptable for Real Estate Transfer and Financing. Please discuss this directly with your notary.

Other Questions this FAQ Answers:
What is a Credible Person or Credible Witness?
Does the notary need to know the Credible Person or Credible Witness?
Does the signer need to know the Credible Person or Credible Witness
What happens before and after the mobile notary arrives?: Before the Notary Arrives:

1. During our initial call, we will need to know:

a. How many documents require notarization?
b. What is your time frame?
c. Have you secured your credible witnesses if required?
d. Do you have the proper ID for the notarization process?
e. Are you over 18?

2. To secure and finalize your appointment, you will receive an electronic invoice from us that must be paid in advance to schedule your appointment.

When the Notary Arrives:

1. Provide the notary with the documents to be signed and notarized for review to determine:
a. Is there an adjustment due to the invoice (to be paid prior to the start of the notarization process)? Pay the difference via Zelle or Paypal to the Notary.
b. Does the notary need to add any state forms for Jurat, Acknowledgment or Certified Copies? You must tell the notary directly which notarial certificate you require - the notary may not answer this question only explain the differences between the certificates.

2. Provide the notary with the proper identification and sign the Notary Log Book.

3. Fill in Signatures, Initials, dates and blanks where required on the document, and then the notary will provide the certification and stamp.

We are unable to provide you with legal advice on any legal matter or process. Our only responsibility is to provide notary services.

Other questions this FAQ answers:
What is the notarization process?
How much does the notarization cost?
What certificate is required for this notarization?
What Arizona cities does your mobile notary service?: As a commission notary public in Arizona, we can serve the entire state of Arizona.

Some of the cities we service include: Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Phoenix, Tempe, Fountain Hills, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Cave Creek, Carefree and Tucson. We have contracted notaries who can service other Arizona cities and if you need to, we offer online virtual notary services as well.

Our regular service area includes a 25 mile radius, but we will travel further if necessary.

We are a Mobile Notary Agency and our notaries charge roundtrip mileage based on the Arizona Regulated Mileage Fee Schedule at the rate of $0.655/mile. There may be other charges involved as well such as printing, drop off, pick up, etc.

Other cities we can service if we have an available notary to travel:
Rio Verde, Tonto Verde, San Tan, Apache Junction, Peoria, Surprise, Lichfield Park, Goodyear, Avondale, Buckeye, Tucson, Prescott, Sedona, Payson, Flagstaff.

Other Questions this FAQ Answers:
What does a notary charge for travel fees?
How much does a notary charge for mileage?
Can I set up a Corporate Account?: We welcome Corporate Accounts. We will set up a corporate account with monthly billing if you are interested in using our mobile notary services on an ongoing basis.

Our most popular corporate accounts are:

Estate and Family Law Firms

Real Estate Lawyers

Legal Document Preparers

Financial Planners and Wealth Management Firms

Escrow and Title Agents

Mortgage Companies

Real Estate Agencies

Hospitals, Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities

Terms: Corporate accounts receive a discount based on the number of documents per month they refer to AZ Roving Notary. Payable in advance of service via electronic invoice and credit card.


CONTACT US TO SET UP YOUR CORPORATE ACCOUNT TODAY: CLICK TO CALL
What is your State Regulated Notary Fee Schedule?: STATE REGULATED MILEAGE: $0.625/MILE ROUND TRIP

Other questions answered by this FAQ:
What does it cost to get my document notarized?
How much do you pay for mileage?
Can an Arizona Notary Perform their duties for signers outside the United States?: Short answer: YES

Long Answer: Arizona Senate Bill 1030 effective on April 10, 2020 allows for an Arizona Commissioned Notary to perform notary acts for signers outside the United States with the following conditions:

"Authorizes a Notary who is physically locate din Arizona and authorized to perform remote online notarizations to perform notarial acts by means of communication technology for a remotely located individual in Arizona, outside Arizona but within the United States, and outside the United States." (Summarized from the National Notary Association Website)

"Provides that if a Notary performs a notarial act by means of communication technology for a remotely located individual outside the United States the record must either be filed with or relate to a matter before a court, governmental entity, public official or other entity subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, or involve property that is located in the territorial jurisdiction of the United States or a transaction substantially connected to the United States" (Summarized from the National Notary Association Website)

"Provides that if a Notary performs a notarial act by means of communication technology for a remotely located individual outside the United States the Notary must have no actual knowledge that the act of making the statement or signing the electronic record is prohibited by the foreign state in which the remotely located individual is located."

VISIT OUR REMOTE ONLINE NOTARIZATION PAGE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

CLICK HERE
Is An Electronic Signature Legal on Notarized Documents?: At AZ Roving Notary our remote online platforms use digital signatures sometimes known as an electronic signature.

Our RON and iPEN notarial solutions give you 3 and 4 choices to create your signature on your document at the time of signing depending on the platform.

1. Type in your signature. Using a creative script font, the platforms create your digital signature and place it on the document where you need to sign. (Both Secured Signing and Pactima give you this choice).

2. Use a mouse to "handwrite" your signature. This can be a messy solution, but it is also considered a handwritten signature when called for by the document creator. If you are located in Pennsylvania, you need to choose this option from Pactima. If we are using the Secured Signing Platform, you have a choice of using the mouse or option #4 - transfer the signature to your smart phone.

3. Upload an existing signature. This option is available by both the Secure Signing and Pactima platforms. At AZ Roving Notary we use this option, so that our notary signatures are consistent between platforms and on every document we notarize. We don't recommend it for clients.

4. Send the signature to the smart phone. This is available for the Secured Signing platform. If you are on a desktop and you prefer to sign with your finger or stylus on your smart phone - you can choose this option and a link will be sent to your smart phone. Open the link on your smart phone and write in your signature. When you approve and confirm the signature, it automatically sends the signature to the document on your desktop. This is a great option for Pennsylvania documents that require online notarizations - but be sure to specify that your notarized document will be used in Pennsylvania. Our notaries will also have to hand write the signatures for Pennsylvania.

Do you need to do the signature one time only for all the documents in the transactions, or do you need to click on each signature individually? At AZ Roving Notary we want our signers to understand what they are signing and where they are signing it on the document, so this is not an option if you do remote online notarization with our Agency.

Of course if you are on a smart phone doing the notarization these choices are irrelevant because you will always get the option to sign on the phone with your finger or stylus if you use one.

Another question we get asked often is can "I sign once and then click click click as the notary moves me through the different documents in the transactions." Interestingly enough, we at AZ Roving Notary feel that if you save the first signature you do, and then use it for all signatures required during the transaction, your signature will be consistent throughout your documents. As an example, if you choose a typed font for one signature, you might forget which font you used and choose a different font for a second signature in the document. According to some of the recipients of notarized documents, although this is a legal signature, they want to see a consistent signature in order to accept the document.

Legal Disclaimer: According to Arizona law, notaries are not able to provide you with legal advice on immigration or any other legal matter or process. Our only responsibility is to provide the notary services as set forth by the laws and statutes of Arizona.

*All notarizations are guaranteed to be done according to Arizona statutes and regulations. Paperwork accuracy is the responsibility of the document preparer.
**Same day orders require 4 hours notice from the time of call to dispatch. Regular Business Hours: M-F/9am-6pm No Federal Holidays. (Additional charges are assessed for off-peak hours and rush orders)