Pocket reference guide for Florida notaries

Download this handy pocket reference guide for Florida notaries: click here.

The one-page document includes the statutory certificates for an acknowledgment individually, acknowledgment in a representative capacity, oath or affirmation (jurat), and attested copy. It also includes a list of the required elements of a Florida notarial certificate, a list of acceptable forms of identification, and important reminders on taking acknowledgments and administering oaths.

What legal services can Florida notaries provide without being accused of UPL?

Unless a notary is also a licensed attorney, he may not give legal advice or accept fees for legal advice. Case law has established what a non-lawyer can provide as legal services (Fla. Bar v. We the People Forms & Serv. Ctr. of Sarasota, Inc., 883 So. 2d 1280). There is nothing prohibiting a non-lawyer notary from selling blank legal forms, from typing in legal forms completed by a client, from selling general printed legal information, or from selling their own notarial services. What a notary can not do is advise a client as to what type of notarization is necessary, make changes to documents prepared by clients, or explain documents to clients.

Of course, notaries who work as a paralegal or legal assistant, under the supervision of an attorney who is a member of the Florida Bar, are free to draft or explain documents under attorney supervision. However, when a notary-paralegal drafts documents, they are doing so in their capacity as a paralegal, and not as a notary. Similarly, notaries employed by title agencies may frequently draft real estate closing documents and explain those documents to clients.