What Can a Mobile Notary Notarize in Tennessee?

Is a mobile notary different from a regular notary?

No, not in authority. In Tennessee, notaries public are elected by a county legislative body, bonded, and commissioned through the Secretary of State's office. A mobile notary holds the same commission. What changes is the logistics: the notary comes to a home, office, care facility or job site rather than the signer traveling to a bank or shipping store.

That means the question "Can a mobile notary notarize this?" is the same as "Can a Tennessee notary notarize this?" If a notary at a desk could lawfully complete the act, a traveling notary can complete it at the signer's location. If a desk notary could not, travel does not change the answer.

Delator Field Services notaries can notarize any document a Tennessee notary public may lawfully notarize. Visits are scheduled during business hours.

What is the difference between an acknowledgment and a jurat?

An acknowledgment is a statement by the signer, made before the notary, that they executed the document. It confirms identity and execution, not the truth of what the document says. Deeds and many other instruments that will be recorded or relied on by third parties use acknowledgments. Tennessee generally requires acknowledgments to be taken under the notary's seal.

A jurat is used when the signer must swear or affirm that the contents are true. The notary administers an oath or affirmation, the signer signs in the notary's presence, and the notary completes the certificate stating the document was sworn to or affirmed before them on that date. Affidavits and sworn statements use jurats.

The notary verifies the signer's identity in both cases. In a jurat, the notary does not verify the facts in the affidavit; the signer is responsible for their truth under oath.

Which documents can a Tennessee mobile notary notarize?

Any document that calls for a notarial act a Tennessee notary may lawfully perform. The document type matters less than whether it is complete, the signer is present and identified, and the right certificate is attached or provided. Common examples include the following.

Some recipients, such as a county register of deeds, a lender, a court or a foreign government, have their own formatting or certificate requirements. Ask the recipient what they need before the appointment, because the notary cannot redesign the document to fit those rules.

• Affidavits and sworn statements for court or administrative matters
• Powers of attorney, including financial and health care documents prepared for the signer
• Deeds and other real-estate documents that require an acknowledgment
• Vehicle and title paperwork that requires a notarized signature
• Consent forms, including travel or medical consent documents prepared by a parent or guardian
• Business documents such as officer certificates, vendor forms, resolutions and agreements
• Verifications attached to pleadings or discovery responses prepared by counsel
• Employment and HR paperwork that requires an acknowledgment or jurat

What can a notary not do in Tennessee?

The limits protect the signer and the people who will rely on the document. A careful notary will stop an appointment rather than cross any of them, even when the deadline is close.

Tennessee law also restricts how non-attorney notaries advertise. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-16-401 and related sections, a notary who is not an attorney may not give legal advice or hold themselves out as able to, and advertising in a language other than English must carry a specific disclaimer. Questions about what a document means or which form to use belong with an attorney.

• Notarize for a signer who is not physically present at the appointment.
• Notarize without satisfactory identification of the signer.
• Give legal advice or explain the legal effect of the document.
• Draft, prepare, fill in or select legal documents for the signer.
• Notarize a document in which the notary has a financial or other interest, or sign as a party to it.
• Notarize a document with blanks that should be completed before signing.
• Certify copies of vital records, such as birth or death certificates.
• Notarize for a signer who appears unwilling or does not seem to understand what they are signing.

Can a notary certify a copy of a birth certificate?

No. Certified copies of Tennessee birth and death certificates come from the state's vital records office or a local health department, not from a notary. A notary's stamp on a photocopy does not make it a certified copy, and agencies that require a certified vital record will not accept one.

If you need a copy of a vital record for a court case, a passport application or an estate matter, order a certified copy from the issuing office. If a document asks you to swear that a copy is accurate, the attorney or agency that prepared it can tell you whether a sworn statement before a notary is an acceptable substitute.

Can a notary issue an apostille?

No. In Tennessee, apostilles and authentications are issued by the Secretary of State's office, through its Business Services Division. A notary's role, when the document is a notarized one, comes earlier in the process.

According to the Secretary of State's apostille guide, a notarized document generally goes through these steps: a Tennessee notary notarizes it, the county clerk of the county where that notary was commissioned certifies the notary's signature, and the document is then submitted to the Secretary of State with the request form and fee. Whether the receiving country needs an apostille or an authentication depends on that country, so confirm with the recipient or the consulate first.

A DFS notary can complete the notarization step during a business-hours visit. The county clerk certification and the Secretary of State submission are separate steps outside the notary's authority.

What identification does the signer need?

Tennessee law describes what counts as satisfactory evidence of identity. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-22-106, a notary may generally rely on a Tennessee driver license or ID card issued by the Department of Safety, or a U.S. passport, if it is current or was issued within the last five years. Certain other photo IDs, such as another state's driver license or ID card, a U.S. armed forces ID card or a foreign passport, may be accepted when they are current or recently issued and carry a photograph, description, signature and identifying number.

The statute also allows identification through a credible witness personally known to the notary, or through the notary's own personal knowledge of the signer. Mobile notaries rarely know the signer personally, so plan on a qualifying ID for every person who will sign.

Check the expiration date on each ID before the appointment. An ID problem is one of the most common reasons a notary visit ends without a notarization.

Can the notary notarize a document that is already signed?

It depends on the notarial act. For a jurat, the signer must sign in front of the notary after taking the oath or affirmation, so an affidavit that was signed beforehand will usually need a fresh signature. For an acknowledgment, the signer may have signed earlier and then acknowledge that signature before the notary, if the receiving party accepts that.

The safest approach is to leave every signature line blank until the notary arrives. That avoids a second visit if the document turns out to need a jurat.

The same caution applies to documents that arrive with a notarial certificate already printed. Read the certificate wording before the visit. If it says "subscribed and sworn," the signer will be placed under oath and must sign in front of the notary. If it says the signer "acknowledged" the instrument, it is an acknowledgment. If there is no certificate at all, ask the preparer which one to attach.

Does a will need to be notarized in Tennessee?

Tennessee's will statutes focus on witnesses. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 32-1-104, an attested will generally must be signed by the testator in the presence of at least two attesting witnesses, who sign in the testator's presence and in each other's presence. A notary is not one of those witnesses by default.

Some estate plans include an affidavit for the witnesses that is completed before a notary. Whether a particular will or affidavit should be handled that way is a question for the attorney who prepared it. A notary can complete the notarial act, but the notary does not supply witnesses unless that has been arranged in advance and does not advise on how the will should be executed.

General information, not legal advice

This guide summarizes general Tennessee notary law and practice as of its publication. Statutes change and recipients set their own requirements. It is not legal advice, and Delator Field Services does not provide legal advice or prepare documents. If you are unsure what your document requires, ask the attorney who prepared it or the office that will receive it.