As notaries, you are well aware that both the Secretary of State’s office and PAN truly believe that your “greatest responsibility is to be sure of the identity of the customer.”

Of course, you also are aware that you identify your customer in several ways: personal knowledge, satisfactory evidence using acceptable identification and a credible witness. Acceptable identification is defined by the law, as a current, government-issued identification card bearing a photograph or signature or physical description and a serial or identification number. Have you ever had a potential customer who showed you identification that you knew was bogus?

If so, we are interested in learning if you have ever dealt with a situation where a customer tried to use false identification and how you handled the matter.

If you have a false identification story you would like to share, please contact Marjorie Wertz by calling 800-944-8790 ext. 148 or you can send an E-mail to mwertz@notary.org.