FAQs

What documents can you notarize?

A notary can notarize a wide range of legal, financial, and personal documents, including deeds, powers of attorney, mortgage documents, contracts, affidavits, and wills. A notary cannot notarize vital records like birth, marriage, or death certificates, nor can a notary notarize documents that are incomplete, improperly signed, or do not have a signer present.

How much does it cost to get something notarized?

To secure an online appointment, you are charged a $50 convenience fee and $10 for one (1) signature notarization, totaling $60 to be paid in advance. 

We accept cash, credit/debit cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, and Paypal- NO checks.

Additional notarial services:

• Additional signature notarizations- $10.00 per signature being notarized (this is an Indiana Secretary of State guideline)

• Healthcare Facility/Hospital Visit- $15.00

• Service Area outside of Lake County, Indiana- $25.00 minimum, fee increases dependent upon county and exact location

• Witness Signature- $10.00 per witness signature line (this service is for our notary to sign as an impartial third-party witness on your document) 

• Document scan to a pdf file- $10.00

• Document printing (black and white only)- $5.00 for up to 10 pages, 11+ pages are an additional $1.00 each

• Fingerprinting- $5.00 (not for background checks, this is only if your document requires you to include a fingerprint)

• Wait Time- $.83 per minute (if for any reason, we are available and waiting beyond the allotted 15-minutes for your appointment, we will charge per minute)

• Loan Signings- varies, please contact us to discuss your needs

• Apostille Services- varies, please contact us to discuss your needs

What can I expect to happen during a notarization?

1. Personally Appear- Everyone that needs to have their signature notarized, must personally appear, in-person, face to face. No exceptions. If witnesses or other associated parties are needed, they must also personally appear and present their ID. Please note, in most cases, we will only be able to wait up to 15 minutes for needed witnesses or additional parties. If we are available to wait more than 15 minutes, we will charge a waiting fee per minute. We also are not able to bring witnesses for you. All witnesses must be age 18+. If all associated parties are not able to appear in time, we will not perform the notary services and the convenience fee will not be refunded. ALL parties MUST be able to communicate in English with the notary without the help of a translator.

2. Have Identification- According to the Indiana Secretary of State guidelines, the following types of identification may be used to positively identify a client, as long as the IDs are current and or not expired for more than three (3) years:

1. • A driver's license or identity card issued by any state;

   • A U.S. passport or an officially recognized passport of a foreign country;

   • A U.S. military identification card;

   • An identity card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe; or

   • At least one current document issued by the federal government or a state, county, or other local government which contains the person's photograph.

All IDs must be physically presented, we cannot use a printed, photo or digital copy of an ID to verify anyone's identity. If when we meet and the ID name does not match the name that appears on the document, the notarization cannot be performed, and the convenience fee will not be refunded.

3. Document must be completely filled out, no blanks or missing portions- By law, a notary is not permitted to provide you with any forms or documents, or give you any advice on how to fill a document out. If you have questions about what document you need, or how to fill it out, you should contact an attorney or whoever will be receiving the document for them to advise you on what they need before you schedule your appointment. We will visually scan the document to make sure any printed names match your ID and there are no blanks or missing portions, before notarizing the document. If the document does not have notarial language, please let us know in advance, as you will need to choose an acknowledgement or jurat certificate that we will provide to be attached (stapled to the document) by the notary. We cannot just stamp a document and sign it, that is an illegal notarization!

4. Determine all notary services and complete payment in full- When scheduling online, you are only billed for the $50 convenience fee and $10 for one (1) signature to be notarized. If any additional services are requested, you must make full payment BEFORE any services are rendered.

5. Sign the notary journal- Although not required by the State of Indiana, we maintain details of all notarial acts and transactions in a notary journal. To complete your notarization, you will be required to sign our notary journal, if presented.

6. Document is stamped by the notary- The notarial certificate section on your document will be filled out and stamped, to complete the notarization.

What is your refund policy?

Unless otherwise specified on this website, if after arrival, it is determined that notarial services are not able to be completed for any reason (ex. signer no show, ID names not matching documents, blank forms, witnesses not available, etc.) only the prepaid notarization fee of $10 will be refunded.

If there are any additional questions you may have, don't hesitate to contact us: Call or Text 219-702-6680 ~ Email chantay.notarypublic@gmail.com