Notary

The Benbrook Public Library offers basic notary services to the community at no charge.

Notaries cannot help prepare, draft, select, or give advice concerning the document being notarized. The notaries are prohibited by law from giving legal advice or providing assistance in preparing of legal documents. Notaries verify the identity of the signer and their signature on the document and nothing more.

Notaries may decline to perform a notary service at their own discretion if the signer, document, or circumstances of the request for service raise any issue of authenticity, ambiguity, doubt or uncertainty for the Notary.

Requirements:

• All signers must bring a valid photo ID to the appointment (see below for valid types of ID).
• Your document must have a space marked clearly for the notary to sign and stamp. Notarizations cannot be handwritten onto documents.
• Every signer for the document must be present in-person at the appointment.
• You are required to bring your own witnesses. The Notary and Library staff cannot serve as witnesses, and solicitation of library patrons to be witnesses is not permitted.
• Witnesses cannot have a beneficial or financial interest in the document.
• Your documents must be in English.
• Signatures must be made in the presence of the notary. Documents that have already been signed cannot be notarized.
• No more than 3 documents can be notarized per appointment.
• Notaries must be able to view the entire document to notarize it, so please bring all pages of your document.
• You must understand your own document before notarizing (knowing where to sign or initial, etc). The notary cannot advise you on how to fill out the document.

Certain documents are best handled by law offices or realtors; therefore we do not notarize the following:

• Wills, codicils, living wills, or trusts
• Power of attorney documents
• Documents of conveyance (transfer of title, deed, asset, and/or property)
• Documents related to estate settlements
• Depositions
• Business documents or documents for any business transactions

Texas notaries are not allowed to notarize or verify public record documents or photocopies of public record documents. These are considered certified copies and must be obtained by your County Clerk's office:

• Passport/Visa
• Diploma
• Birth Certificate
• Marriage License
• Death Certificate

Texas notaries are not allowed to certify I-9 forms for Employment Eligibility Verification.