Over the weekend, while I was observing Passover dinner with my family, the conversation was about how artificial intelligence (AI) would definitely mean less jobs for all of us. As I was listening, it dawned on me, AI could never take the place of notaries and apostille agents.  

For notaries, one rule stands as a cornerstone of integrity and trust: the requirement for the signer’s personal appearance before the notary. It might sound simple, even obvious, but it’s one of the most misunderstood, and often overlooked, elements of proper notarization.  In fact, lack of personal appearance is one of the most common reasons for notary reprimands. And not observing personal appearance rules in your state can have dire consequences. 

So, what exactly does “personal appearance” mean, and why does it matter so much?

What Is Personal Appearance?

Personal appearance means that the signer of the document must physically (or virtually, where allowed) appear before the notary at the time of notarization. This allows the notary to:

• Verify the signer’s identity using approved identification
• Confirm the signer is willing and aware of what they’re signing
• Observe the signing of the document when required by law

Without personal appearance, the notary has no way to know whether the signer is who they say they are, or if they even authorized the signature.

AI can help us in many ways: it will help us write a blog and allow us to have better content for our social media posts, but AI cannot help us to observe personal appearance.  

Sure, some states now allow remote online notarization (RON), but even then, the appearance must be real-time via audio-visual technology. Pre-recorded videos, emails, or phone calls do not count as personal appearance.

In the world of apostilles, sometimes we are virtually verifying people who live in other countries, but still, we must observe personal appearance.  

Why Skipping It Is a Big Deal

Failing to require personal appearance isn’t just bending the rules, it’s a serious violation of notarial law in every U.S. state and territory.

Here are some potential consequences for a notary who notarizes without requiring personal appearance:

Administrative Penalties

Most states impose fines, suspension, or revocation of the notary commission for violating the law. Some may even permanently bar a notary from being commissioned again.

Civil Liability

If the notarization causes harm, like in the case of fraud or forgery,the notary may be held personally liable in a lawsuit, and may even have to pay damages out of pocket. Here’s a fun fact I learned from the National Notary Association’s Director of Training & Education, Nicola Jackson: 50% of claims against notary’s E & O insurance policies at just ONE insurance company, are due to the repercussions from notaries who did not require personal appearance. 

Criminal Charges

In more serious cases, especially involving fraud, a notary could face criminal charges such as false certification, forgery, or conspiracy.

Reputation Damage

Beyond legal consequences, improper notarizations can destroy a notary’s professional reputation, and in some cases, end their career. I’ve seen this happen in our industry! 

Plus, I know you’re like me- you didn’t come into this business to hurt people. You came in to help people. And to do that, you have to have work with integrity, which includes knowing what you can and can’t be doing. 

Real-World Scenarios

You might be thinking, “Well, how does this happen, Judi? Everyone knows personal appearance is the rule, right?” 

I don’t know about that. Look at the numbers. 50% of those E & O claims are because notaries didn’t require it. I think there’s two main reasons:

They just didn’t know they were supposed to require physical appearance. Maybe they slept through their training, or if their state didn’t require training in the first place, they probably never read their notary handbook. They paid their application fee, bought a stamp and hit the road. 

The more likely scenario, and the one I hear the most about from beloved friends in my community who have made this mistake, is that they trusted the wrong person. Sometimes they trusted a friend, a colleague, a co-worker, or boss, or they fell for a sob story during a rush job on a Sunday night. 

Here’s what it looks like sometimes: 

• A notary is asked to notarize a document for a friend who says, “It’s for my Mom, you know how she is, I’ll get her to sign it later.”
• An employer asks the notary to stamp documents already signed by someone who is out of town.
• Or, one of the common ones I hear about, “I bought this car from a guy who died/moved/is in prison/ and he already signed the title over to me. Can you just stamp it?” (Ugh)

If the notary agrees to situations like these, that’s a direct violation. Even with the best intentions, it’s illegal and potentially exposes the notary to liability. Again, no personal appearance, no notarization. The notary must refuse.

Why Your Role Exists

As a notary, our primary responsibility is to serve the public by helping prevent fraud. That starts, and ends, with requiring every signer to personally appear before you.

If you’re ever in doubt, remember: No appearance, no notarization. It’s not just a best practice, it’s the law. 

So back to my Passover dinner, it inspired me to get the message out:

We are safe.

We will always work.

As long as we are honest and act with integrity, our jobs are not in jeopardy and AI cannot take them away.    

And as usual, if you want to join me in the most comprehensive apostille agent training course, The World of Apostilles (with me and Bill Soroka from Notary Coach), just click the little link below and I'll teach you everything you need to know.

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