PNW Notary Services / FAQ
Common questionsThe questions I get asked most, answered plainly. Including the ones where the honest answer is that a notary cannot help you.
Washington caps the fee for a notarial act at fifteen dollars per act, per signature. The cap rose from ten dollars in June 2024. A mobile notary may also charge a travel fee, which is separate, must be agreed in advance, and is not required by law. Loan signings are a flat rate paid by the title company or signing service, not by the borrower.
Current government issued photo identification showing your signature. A driver license, state ID card, US passport, military ID, or tribal ID all work. The name on the ID should reasonably match the name on the document. If your ID is expired or your name has changed, call before the appointment.
Yes. That is what a mobile notary is. I travel to homes, offices, hospitals, care facilities, and public meeting places across five counties, seven days a week with evening hours.
No. A Washington notary public is not an attorney and may not explain, interpret, or advise on the contents of a document, or recommend whether you should sign it. Doing so is the unauthorized practice of law. Questions about terms go to your attorney, loan officer, or escrow officer.
No. Washington notaries are not authorized to solemnize marriages. Only a handful of states, including Florida, Maine, Nevada, and South Carolina, allow that. In Washington, marriages are solemnized by judges, court commissioners, and religious officiants.
No. Washington prohibits notarizing where the notary has a disqualifying interest, and even where a family notarization might be technically permitted it invites a later challenge to the document.
No. For an acknowledgment you must sign or acknowledge your signature in my presence. For a jurat you must sign in front of me. Bring the document complete but unsigned.
Then the signing cannot proceed. The signer must be alert, must understand what they are signing, and must be signing willingly. If they cannot demonstrate that, I am required to decline. It is often worth trying again at a better hour.
No. All appointments are in person.
Skagit, Snohomish, Island, Whatcom, and King County, with north King being the practical southern edge. Twenty cities have their own pages under the service area section. Kitsap and San Juan by arrangement.
Cash, card, and mobile wallets including Apple Pay and Google Pay. Loan signings are invoiced to the title company or signing service on their terms.
In the closer cities, same day and next morning are often realistic. For anything more than about forty minutes out, a day's notice is better. Call 833.924.4278 and you will get a straight answer rather than a maybe.