CERTIFIED COPIES – HOW TO GUIDE
Updated 05/29/2023
May 25,2023
Updated 05/29/2023
Notaries are not allowed to certify copies in every state. Notaries cannot certify copies of Vital Records such as Birth, Death or Marriage Certificates. The only authority allowed to issue a certified copy of a vital record is the issuing authority for that particular certificate. A copy certification is performed to confirm that a reproduction of an original document is true, exact and complete. Such originals might include college degrees, passports and other important one-and-only personal papers which cannot be copy certified by a public record office such as a bureau of vital statistics and which the holder must submit for some purpose but does not want to part with for fear of loss. This type of notarization is not an authorized notarial act in every state, and in the jurisdictions where it is authorized, may be executed only with certain kinds of original document. Information from the Alabama Secretary of States website, Notary Handbook https://rb.gy/5n3la
Steps to certify a copy:
These are the basics. Individual state laws may vary.
1. The document’s custodian requests a certified copy
The keeper of the original document (also called the “custodian”) appears before you and asks you to certify a copy of the original document.
2. The Notary compares the original and the copy
The custodian presents the original document and the copy so that you may confirm the copy is identical to the original. In some cases, the custodian may present the original document and you may be asked to make the copy.
3. The Notary certifies that the copy is accurate
Once you have confirmed the copy matches the original, you complete and attach to the copy a notarial certificate stating that the copy is true, accurate and complete.
The above steps taken from an article published by the NNA. It can be found here – http://rb.gy/dpqvf
Protect yourself and the public. Know the proper steps to take. Would you know if it was fraudulent? Get educated.
