How to authenticate a Notarial Act

To authenticate a notarial act, read the notary's name and commission number from the stamp or seal, then look them up in the commissioning state's official notary database to confirm the commission is real, matches the name, and was active on the date of the act.

A notarial act, the notary's official certification that they verified a signer's identity and witnessed the act, carries weight precisely because a state-licensed official stands behind it. That weight only holds if the official is genuine. Authenticating the act is how you confirm the signature and seal trace back to a real, active commission rather than a fabricated one.

What a Notarial Act Includes

A properly executed notarization leaves a consistent set of marks you can check:

• The notary's stamp or seal, which carries their name, their commission number, the commissioning state, and often the commission expiration date.
• The notary's signature, which should match the name printed on the seal.
• The certificate wording, describing what the notary actually did, such as verifying the signer's identity and witnessing the signature.

Those details are not decoration. The name and commission number are the exact inputs you need to verify the commission independently.

How to Authenticate It, Step by Step

• Read the stamp. Note the notary's name, commission (lookup) number, and the state that commissioned them.
• Open the state's notary lookup page. Each commissioning authority, typically the Secretary of State, publishes an official database for verifying a notary's commission.
• Search by name or commission number. Confirm the record exists and that the name matches the one on the document.
• Check status and dates. Verify the commission is active and that it was valid on the date the notarial act was performed, an expired or revoked commission is a red flag.

If the lookup matches on all counts, the notarial act is authenticated: the person who performed it held a real, active commission under the name on the seal.

How PinpointVerify Makes This Easy

Authentication only works if you actually have the notary's details, and on many notarized documents the stamp is faint, cropped, or missing from the copy you receive. PinpointVerify removes that friction. Along with the notarized record, PinpointVerify provides a clear photo of the notary's stamp, including the notary's name and lookup number, the precise inputs the state's notary lookup page asks for.

That means you are never taking the notarization on faith. You can take the name and lookup number straight from the stamp photo, enter them on the commissioning state's database, and confirm the commission behind your verification yourself. It closes the loop: an in-person identity check, performed by a verifiably commissioned official, that you can authenticate end to end. For how that check is carried out, see how in-person verification works.