Notary Public Services

If a bank, a title company, a school or a government office has told you a document must be notarized, what you need is a Notary Public. Coral Springs, FL is where ours works: 1700 N University Dr STE 210, in English or in Spanish, usually in the same visit as a tax return, an EIN or a new company.

A Florida Notary Public is a public officer appointed by the Governor for a four-year term: "The Governor may appoint as many notaries public as he or she deems necessary", and "A notary public shall be appointed for 4 years" (s. 117.01(1), Florida Statutes 2024). The commission is narrow on purpose, and knowing exactly where it ends protects you as much as it protects us.

What we can notarize

Three acts cover almost everything people bring through the door:

• Acknowledgments. You sign a deed, a power of attorney, a corporate resolution, a parental consent form, and you confirm to the notary that the signature is yours.
• Oaths and affirmations. You swear that the contents of an affidavit or a sworn statement are true.
• Attested photocopies. The notary supervises the copy and attests that it matches the original — allowed "provided the document is neither a vital record in this state, another state, a territory of the United States, or another country, nor a public record, if a copy can be made by the custodian of the public record" (s. 117.05(12)(a), Florida Statutes 2024). Your diploma or your signed contract, yes. A birth certificate or a marriage license, no: those have to come from the agency that issued them.

What a Notary Public cannot do

This is where people get hurt at other counters. A Florida Notary Public who is not an attorney cannot give you legal advice and cannot draft your document. The Florida Department of State states the limit plainly: a nonlawyer "may only sell legal forms and then type those forms which have been completed in writing by the customer," and is "prohibited from counseling your customer about appropriate legal action" (Florida Department of State, Notary Public FAQ, Unauthorized Practice of Law).

So the notary confirms who signed. It never confirms that the document is correct, complete, or good for you. If what you are signing is a tax matter, that is a different conversation — and one our Enrolled Agents and CPAs can actually have with you.

What to bring, and who has to be here

• The signer, appearing before the notary. "A notary public may not notarize a signature on a document if the person whose signature is being notarized does not appear before the notary public either by means of physical presence or by means of audio-video communication technology as authorized under part II of this chapter at the time the signature is notarized" (s. 117.107(9), Florida Statutes 2024). Florida does allow remote online notarization under part II of chapter 117; what this office does is the in-person kind, so plan on coming in. Either way, you cannot sign for an absent spouse, parent or partner.
• Current photo identification. Florida accepts a state driver license or ID card, a U.S. passport, a foreign passport stamped by U.S. immigration, and a short list of other government IDs — each one "current or ... issued within the past 5 years" and bearing an identifying number (s. 117.05(5)(b)2., Florida Statutes 2024).
• The document, complete but unsigned. Fill in the blanks first, then sign in front of the notary, not before you arrive.

One rule worth planning around: a notary may not notarize for "the spouse, son, daughter, mother, or father of the notary public" (s. 117.107(11)).

A notarized copy is not a certified copy

Applicants learn this the expensive way every season. For an ITIN, the IRS is blunt: "We don't accept notarized documents." Supporting documents have to be originals or copies certified by the agency that issued them. If that is your situation, a notary is the wrong tool — the right one is our ITIN application service, where your documents are verified in this office and go home with you the same day.

Bilingual Notary Public services in Coral Springs

You will notice we never write "notario." That is deliberate. In Latin American countries, The Florida Bar explains, "the notary public must be a lawyer," and the Spanish translations of the title "generally refer to an attorney, law offices or the practice of law" (The Florida Bar, Consumer Pamphlet: Notaries, Immigration and the Law). Florida bans the translation outright: "Literal translation of the phrase 'Notary Public' into a language other than English is prohibited in an advertisement for notarial services" (s. 117.05(11), Florida Statutes 2024). If a Florida business advertises to you as a notario, treat it as a warning sign, not a credential.

Cost is rarely the question, but for the record Florida caps it, with exceptions: "The fee of a notary public may not exceed $10 for any one notarial act under this part, except as provided in s. 117.045 or s. 117.275" (s. 117.05(2)(a), Florida Statutes 2024). The exceptions matter. For an online notarization the real ceiling is $25 — "An online notary public or the employer of such online notary public may charge a fee, not to exceed $25, for performing an online notarial act under this part" (s. 117.275) — and when a notary solemnizes a marriage the fee "may not exceed those provided by law to the clerks of the circuit court for like services" (s. 117.045). Most of our signings happen alongside other work anyway — resolutions and consents when we handle your Florida incorporation, an affidavit when a lender or an insurer asks for one.

Book a signing in Coral Springs

Call +1 (954) 724-1114 before you come and tell us what the document is. We will tell you what to bring, who needs to be present, and whether a notary is even what the situation calls for. Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 5:00, at 1700 N University Dr STE 210.