Frequently Asked Questions

  • You have several options for obtaining your NYC birth certificate:

    Online:

    The easiest and fastest way is online VitalChek: https://www.vitalchek.com/birth-certificates/new-york. This authorized vendor offers expedited service for both online and phone orders.

    Birth certificates outside NYC: If you were born outside New York City, you'll need to contact the state's or county's vital records office.

  • You can obtain a Letter of Exemplification for your NYC birth certificate alongside the certified, long-form copy from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

    They are only issued as part of the same request; you cannot get them separately.

    The fastest way to apply for both the certified copy and the Letter of Exemplification is online.

    VitalChek: https://www.vitalchek.com/birth-certificates/new-york. This authorized vendor offers expedited service for both online and phone orders.

  • A Notary Public is an official of integrity appointed by the Secretary Of State. Notaries serve the public as impartial witnesses (duty-bound not to act in situations where they have a personal interest) in performing various official fraud-deterrent acts related to signing important documents. These official acts are called notarizations or notarial acts.

    The most frequent service a Notary Public performs is the simple one of taking someone’s acknowledgment. An acknowledgment is the solemn statement of a person that he or she signed a paper of their own free will. The notary verifies the person’s identity, presses his/her notary seal on the document and signs it where the notary is meant to sign

  • Notarization does not guarantee that the information on a document is accurate or legal.

    The signer is responsible for the content of the document. The Notary Public certifies the signer’s identity by verifying a current identifying document containing a photo, physical description, and signature.

  • To deter fraud.

    Having a notary serve as a third-party witness ensures that the signers of a document are who they say they are and that they signed the document of their own free will. The most common notarization is an acknowledgment – a person’s sworn statement that he or she signed a paper of his or her own free will. To do this, a notary must verify the signer’s identity, apply his or her seal to the document, and sign it.

  • For a notary to issue acknowledgment, the document doesn't need to be signed in his or her presence. However, the signer must still appear before the notary at the time of the acknowledgment to swear he or she freely signed for the purposes stated in the document under his or her own will.

    Some services, such as jurats, require the document to be signed in the notary’s presence. A jurat requires the wording “subscribed and sworn to” on the document just above where the Notary Public signs his or her name.

  • Each signer must present at least one of the forms of photo ID listed below unless the signer is personally known to the Notary.

    The ID must be current or, if expired, have been issued within the last five years; contain the signer’s photograph, personal description, and signature; and bear a serial or other identifying numbers. A document signer personally known to the Notary doesn’t need to present an ID.

    • Current driver’s License or non-driver’s ID card issued by a U.S. State

    • Current U.S. Passport

    • Current U.S. Military Identification Card

    • Current driver’s license issued in Mexico or Canada

    • Current foreign passport

    • Current inmate ID.

  • No.

    State law strictly prohibits Notaries from the practice of law. Notaries should never advise on any matter relating to a document unless they are an attorney or professionals certified or licensed in a relevant area of expertise.

  • It is a notarial act in which:

    • The Notary certifies having positively identified a document signer who personally appeared before the Notary and admitted signing the document freely.

    • It shows that acknowledging party appeared personally before the Notary Public took the acknowledgment.

    • Identifies acknowledging party by a name corresponding to the one in the document.

    • A notary public signs it.

    • It is sealed with the Notary’s official stamp/seal.

    • Proves signature’s authenticity.

    For a notary to issue acknowledgment, the document doesn’t need to be signed in his or her presence. However, the signer must still appear before the Notary at the time of the acknowledgment to swear he or she freely signed for the purposes stated in the document under his or her own will.

  • It is a notarial act in which a Notary certifies having watched the signing of a document and administered an oath or affirmation.

    The Notary’s function in executing a jurat is to appeal to the signer’s conscience and initiate a process that could result in a criminal conviction for perjury if the signer is lying under oath.

    In executing a jurat, the Notary must watch the person sign the document, then have the signer make either a solemn, oral promise of truthfulness to a Supreme Being (called an oath) or a promise on one’s honor (called an affirmation). The oath and affirmation have the same legal effect.

    Jurats are common with documents that may be used as evidence in court proceedings, such as depositions and affidavits.

  • There are a few reasons why notary public, by law, must refuse to notarize the document:

    • The notary cannot verify the identity of the signer;

    • The notary has a beneficial or financial interest in the document;

    • The notary is unable to communicate with the signer (the person is not mentally competent to sign);

    • The notary knows that the transaction is fraudulent;

    • The notary public has reasonable grounds to believe that the signer is being coerced or appears incapable of understanding the nature of the document.

    • The signer did not personally appear before the notary at the time of the notarization to confirm that he/she signed the document;

    • The document contains blank spaces;

  • Notary Public cannot make “certified,” “attested,” or “true” copies in New York State.

    Only a few states allow Notaries to make “attested” or “true” copies” – CA—POAs only, CO, ID, ME, MN, MO, MT, NH, ND, OK, PA, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY.

  • At Notary911, we will notarize signatures under foreign documents as long as the signer has a valid photo ID and understands what type of document they are signing. We will attach an English notarial certificate to the document.

    The signer and the Notary must be able to communicate in the same language without the reliance on a third party who, intentionally or unintentionally, may misinterpret the conversation.

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