Here is the short answer. 3 things. The complete document with every signature line still blank, every person who has to sign, and a current photo ID for each of them. That is it. Almost every appointment that falls apart falls apart on one of those 3, and every one of them is fixable the day before instead of at the table.
Here is what each one really means.
1. The document, complete and unsigned
Bring every page, not just the page with the signature line. A notary cannot stamp a document with blanks still to be filled in, and Section 47.1-15 prohibits putting a signature or seal on an incomplete notarial certificate.
And leave the signature lines blank. This is the single most common wasted trip. Depending on the type of notarization, the signer either signs in front of the notary or acknowledges the signature in front of the notary, and a page already signed at the kitchen table last Tuesday usually gets reprinted. If reprinting is impossible, say so when you book so it can be handled properly.
2. Every signer, in the room
The notary is verifying people, not paper. The same section forbids notarizing when the signer is not in the notary's presence, so everybody whose signature needs a stamp has to be physically there.
They also have to be awake, aware of what they are signing, and doing it willingly. That last part matters most at hospital and bedside signings, where a notary may quietly ask the family to step out for a moment.
People who do not need to attend: the person being appointed under a power of attorney, the recipient of the document, and anyone who is merely mentioned in it.
3. A current photo ID, for each signer
The standard is a current government-issued photo identification that carries a signature. In practice that means:
- A driver's license or state ID card
- A passport or passport card
- A military ID
- A permanent resident card
2 rules that catch people. The name on the ID has to match the name on the document closely enough to be the same person, so if a name changed after a marriage, bring what connects them. And expired usually means no. If an ID is expired, lost, or the patient's wallet is at home, tell the notary before the appointment. Virginia has other ways to identify a signer and none of them can be arranged from a doorstep.
What happens if the ID is expired or missing
This is the one worth solving before the appointment rather than during it, because it is solvable and it takes a phone call.
An expired license is normally a stop. The point of the ID is that a government checked this person and vouched for them, and an expired document is a government saying that check has run out. Some notaries will accept one recently expired, many will not, and none of them can be talked into it at the table.
If the ID is gone entirely, Virginia has another road. A notary can identify a signer through credible witnesses, people who know the signer, can prove their own identity, and are willing to swear to it. That takes arranging, which is exactly why it has to be raised when you book and not when the notary is standing in the room.
This comes up most at hospital and facility signings, where a patient's wallet is often at home in a drawer 20 miles away. Say it on the phone. It is a solvable problem with notice and an impossible one without.
What a notary cannot fix for you
A notary cannot choose your document, fill it in, or explain what a clause means. Virginia says a nonattorney notary shall not assist another person in drafting, completing, selecting, or understanding a document. If you are not sure which form you need, that answer comes from an attorney, and our page on what a Virginia notary cannot do explains the boundary.
A notary also cannot give you a certified copy of a birth, death, or marriage certificate. Those come from the Virginia Office of Vital Records. And a notary cannot be a witness on a document where they are also the notary, which surprises families signing a will or an advance directive.
The extras that depend on the document
- Witnesses. A will needs 2, and that requirement is a separate requirement from the notary. An advance directive needs 2 as well.
- A second signer's schedule. If 2 people sign, that is 2 acts and 2 IDs, and it changes what the visit costs.
- Facility rules. Hospitals, nursing homes, and jails all have visiting policies worth checking first.
- The destination country. If the document is going abroad it may need an apostille after the notarization, and getting an apostille in Virginia is its own process.
The 5 minute checklist
- Every page printed, signature lines blank
- Every signer available at the same time and place
- A current photo ID in each signer's hand, checked for the expiry date
- Witnesses arranged if the document needs them
- The address, and the room or suite number
Run that list and the appointment takes minutes. Skip it and you are booking twice. If the signing has to happen somewhere other than an office, a mobile notary is what that service is called. Around here, that is what a mobile notary in Suffolk does all week.