Notary Public

Acceptable Identification

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Identity of the signer can be established by the notary public’s reasonable reliance on the presentation of any one of the following documents, if the identification document is current or has been issued within five years:

 

1. An identification card or driver’s license issued by the California Department of Motor
Vehicles;

2. A United States passport;

3. An inmate identification card issued by the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, if the inmate is in custody in California state prison;

4. Any form of inmate identification issued by a sheriff’s department, if the inmate is in
custody in a local detention facility; or

5. There is reasonable reliance on any one of the following forms of identification, provided
that it also contains a photograph, description of the person, signature of the person, and an
identifying number:

     (a) A valid consular identification document issued by a consulate from the applicant’s country of citizenship, or a valid passport from the applicant’s country of citizenship;

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     (b) A driver’s license issued by another state or by a Canadian or Mexican public agency
authorized to issue driver’s licenses;

     (c) An identification card issued by another state;

     (d) A United States military identification card (caution: current military identification cards
might not contain all the required information);

     (e) An employee identification card issued by an agency or office of the State of California,
or an agency or office of a city, county, or city and county in California.

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     (f) An identification card issued by a federally recognized tribal government.

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Note: Condensed from the California Notary Public Handbook, 2022, page 10.