When you bring a notarized document for an apostille, the apostille office is not only looking at your document. It is checking the notary. If the office cannot match the notary’s name, commission and signature to its records, the document is refused, and you start over with a new notarization.
What the apostille office is actually verifying
An apostille does not vouch for what your document says. It confirms that the official who signed or sealed it had the authority to do so. For a notarized document, that official is the notary, so the office compares the notary’s signature and seal against the commission records it can access.
That is why a perfectly good document can fail. The problem is rarely the content. It is usually something about the notary or the notarization.
Five things to confirm about your notary
- The commission is active on the day of signing. A notary whose commission has expired or been suspended cannot notarize, and a later renewal does not fix an earlier act.
- The notary is commissioned in the state you are sending the document to. A notary commissioned in one state cannot be verified by another state’s office. See our guide on which state issues the apostille.
- The name matches the commission. The notary should sign and stamp the way they are commissioned. Variations in the signature or name on the stamp can cause a mismatch.
- The stamp is legible and complete. A smudged seal, or a missing commission expiration date where your state requires one, gives the office a reason to refuse.
- The notarial certificate is filled in. The date, location and the notary’s signature must all be present. A blank field is a common cause of rejection.
Before the notary’s part is done
Once the notary has signed, you generally cannot add to or correct the certificate yourself. If something is wrong, the fix is usually a new notarization. So check before you leave: read the certificate, look at the stamp, and confirm the notary’s details.
Notarizing a copy is a different act
If you need a copy of a document notarized, the wording and rules depend on the state, and some states limit what a notary may certify as a true copy. We explain the difference in certified copy vs. notarized copy. Ask which version your destination wants before you choose.
If you sign remotely
Remote online notarization follows the same principle: the notary has to be properly commissioned for that kind of notarization. Our guide on remote online notarization and apostilles covers what to check.
Check before you pay
The cheapest time to catch a notary problem is before the document goes to the apostille office. Send us a scan and our free document review will flag problems with the notarization, the stamp and the certificate before you submit.