Witnessing means you must sign in front of us
Every now and then people come to us for notary services with their documents already signed.
IF your document needs to be signed and witnessed by the notary public, then you must sign it in front of the notary public. This means that if you've already signed your document, you'll have to sign it again. If you don't want to sign your document twice, then you'll need to bring a clean document and still sign it in front of the notary public.
Why might you need to sign your document before your appointment?
Even though you should be signing your document in front of the notary public, there may be many reasons why your document might need to be signed before (or after). For example, if there are multiple people signing your document, and not everyone is in the same place, then it's likely that your document would be signed by different people at different times - depending on where they are and where your document needs to go. If you need to sign your document in front of witnesses, Maybe you need to sign in front of witnesses but your witnesses don't have to sign in front of the notary. In that case, you sign in front of your witnesses before (or after) you visit the notary and your witnesses can then witness your signature.
You can't sign somewhere else for comparison
If you've already signed your document, we can't sign your document unless you sign it again. Some people ask us to compare their signature with something else that they sign, however even 'signing elsewhere and comparing the signature' isn't considered to be witnessing. You have to sign the document you want us to notarise in front of the notary public.
You can't mentally sign
Usually, signing legal documents requires mental capacity. This means the person who signs needs to know and understand what they're signing. If they're mentally incapacitated (ie, they have a mental disability or illness) and don't know or don't understand what they're signing, the document won't be legally valid. If a person doesn't have mental capacity, they shouldn't be signing any legal documents and the notary public shouldn't be witnessing them sign any legal documents.
If the person who's supposed to sign has appointed someone as their attorney, in certain cases that person's attorney can sign on their behalf. However, you'll need to check with the recipient whether signing by the attorney will be acceptable for the intended purpose.
If we have any suspicions that the person signing doesn't have their mental capacity, we won't be able to witness their signature or notarise their document.
You can't physically sign
If you're unable to physically sign, a commonly accepted alternative is to put a thumbprint. Including a thumbprint (normally a left thumb) is quite common in India, however, whether this is acceptable really depends on the recipient and their specific requirements. If you're intending to use a thumbprint, check with the recipient with this is acceptable and if so, whether there's a specific requirement regarding the colour (ie, black or blue).
Can you sign electronically?
While we acknowledge that the world is moving towards (or has moved towards) digital and electronic signatures, this concept generally doesn't apply to notary public services (yet). Notarisation as a physical signature and seal (ie, often called wet signatures and wet seal) rather than as an electronic or digital signature and seal is widely accepted around the world. Of course, there are some places that may accept notarisaiton with an electronic or digital signature and seal, but at the moment, those places would be the exception. Considering many of the processes in India are remnants of the colonial and British system, it's unlikely any recipient in India will accept a document with digital or electronic notarisaiton - the traditional and more conservative approach would be to require wet signatures and a wet seal.
Accordingly, witnessing, certifying and notarising are all done as physical acts. You must be present in person, you must bring original documents, you must physically sign with a pen, and we physically sign and seal your document. In time, this may change but for now - this is the way it is.
