Identifying Document Signers

Under California law, "satisfactory evidence" of identity generally means a current identification document issued by a federal, state, county, or municipal government that contains the individual's photograph, physical description, signature, and an identifying number. The most commonly accepted forms of ID are a California driver's license, a California identification card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles, a United States passport, a foreign passport stamped by U.S. immigration authorities, a U.S. military identification card, and an inmate identification card issued by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for currently incarcerated individuals. The ID must be current or, if recently expired, issued within the past five years. The notary must visually compare the photograph and physical description on the ID to the person appearing before them.

For an identification document to be acceptable, it must meet all four statutory criteria: a photograph of the individual, a physical description (height, weight, eye color, hair color), a signature, and a serial or identifying number. The document must be current or, if issued within the past five years, may be recently expired. Identification documents that do not meet these criteria—such as a social security card, a credit or debit card, a birth certificate, a library card, a workplace badge, or a check-cashing card—are not acceptable as primary identification. If the signer does not have an acceptable ID, the notary may use the credible witness procedure. However, the notary may never rely on an ID that they know (or should reasonably know) is fraudulent, altered, or does not belong to the person presenting it.

Even when a signer presents a government-issued ID that meets the statutory criteria, the notary must still independently assess whether the identification is sufficient. An ID is insufficient if: (1) it has expired more than five years ago; (2) the photograph or physical description does not reasonably match the person appearing before the notary; (3) the ID appears to be altered, defaced, or fraudulent; (4) the signature on the ID does not reasonably match the signature provided by the signer; or (5) the notary has reason to believe the ID does not belong to the person presenting it. If any of these conditions exist, the notary must refuse to proceed with the notarization based on that ID. The notary may then offer the signer the option of providing another acceptable ID or using the credible witness procedure.

When a signer lacks acceptable identification, a California notary may use the credible witness procedure to establish identity. Under this procedure, two credible witnesses—or one witness who is personally known to the notary—must appear and swear under oath that the signer is who they claim to be. Credible witnesses must meet the same identification requirements as any signer: the notary must identify each credible witness using either personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence. The credible witness must personally know the signer and be willing to swear to the signer's identity. The notary must record the names, addresses, and identification details of all credible witnesses in the journal. The credible witness takes an oath, administered by the notary, regarding the truth of their identification of the signer.

For remote online notarizations (RON), a California notary must use a technology platform that performs identity proofing through a multi-step process. The platform must conduct credential analysis, which uses technology to verify the authenticity of the signer's government-issued identification by examining security features such as holograms, micro-printing, and data consistency. The platform must also use knowledge-based authentication (KBA), which presents the signer with questions derived from public and private data sources that only the true individual should be able to answer. The entire audio-visual session must be recorded and retained. If either credential analysis or KBA fails or raises concerns, the notary must not proceed with remote notarization of that signer. The notary retains personal responsibility for assessing whether the identity proofing process has been satisfactorily completed.