I have a question, on the notarial certificate….
When writing the name on the area, personally appeared, the name you put what the signature is correct. Example: if the signature is first and last name. But the name that’s written on the document has their middle name written out.
The personally appeared is just their first and last name correct? I don’t have to include the middle name?
Speaking as a signing agent for real estate transactions: Most hiring parties will instruct to have signers sign however their name appears under the signature line. For example: if signature line says “John James Doe”, he is to sign that full name; not John J. Doe or J. J. Doe or John Doe. If their signature is a scribble and they state to me that that scribble represents that entire name, I’m good with that. 
Insofar as my notarial certificate, that will reflect that signature line and the government-issued photo ID.
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Ok thank you. I had a Power of Attorney and it was handwritten on the document. But her signature was only her first and last name.
I put her first and last name down in personally appeared and not her middle name.
Do you think it will get denied?
yolicue mentions real estate transactions, where it isn’t just a matter of what’s legal, it’s also a a matter of what the person or organizations that will receive the document are willing to accept. I agree with her post up to but not including the “Insofar as my notarial certificate, that will reflect that signature line and the government-issued photo ID” part.
If you want to be sure what the signer’s signature could be, you’d have to check with a lawyer admitted to the bar of your state; I’m not a lawyer in any state. But usually the requirements are very vague, it could be pretty much any mark. So I don’t go by the signature to tell me what the name of the person who appeared is, for the purposes of the document. I go by what is written in the document, which might be under the signature line, or might be somewhere else, like near the top. That is the name that will go in my certificate, IF I decide to complete the notarial act.
For most notarial acts, the person must prove to my satisfaction that they are entitled to use the name that appears in the document, or else I won’t complete the notarial act. If all I have to go by is an ID and that isn’t close to the name on the document, I’m not notarizing. Putting a name from the ID in the certificate that disagrees with the name printed in the document is a no-go for me.
Ok. Thank you. This was my first notary act. I told the client if it got denied just because I didn’t put the whole name, I can do it again.
I’m still learning. Thank you all for your advice.
But I am confident that was the person present that matched the ID. I just didn’t put down the middle name in the notarial certificate.
Sound like you did great!!
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Thank you for the moral support. I really appreciate it. It’s nice to know we all have a great network of supporting people. I made a good choice in a career change. 
You know I feel the same way. I just started my business in January. Good luck!! kk peace!
Okay, the signer is signing without the middle name. The signer could sign with an X, but you still have to complete the certificate with the exact name printed on the document that you’re notarizing.
The main issue is can you as a notary claim that the signature on the document match’s that on the ID! For example my DL has 3 names on it, but my signature only uses my middle initial.
Yes. That was the person that signed from the ID. She only signed her first and last name.
And that’s what i put in the notarial certificate.
If it gets rejected then I will know what I did wrong, for the client has already submitted to where she needed to. I will just do it over again if need be.
Thank you for your feedback. Much appreciated for all the help.
I view comparing the signature on the ID to the signature on the document as only one part of using the ID to identify the signer. It’s no more or less important than the height, weight, gender, hair or eye color. The signature on the ID might have been made with an electronic stylus and then distorted by the DMV computer, like on my driver license. Or the signature on the document might have been drawn with a finger on a tablet, if it’s an electronic signing.
So if the two signatures were obviously made by different people it’s a no-go. But matching of signatures now-a-days is no more certain than matching a picture to a person.
Right. I hear you on that. Better to be super cautious.
Use the name printed how it is on the signature line where they sign.
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JMO and from Florida
The person who “personally appeared” before me is the one on the ID - I’ve seen far too many names that title can’t seem to get right. If name on docs is totally wrong, I require they redraw or it’s a no-go for me. I’m sorry but I refuse to second guess who someone is and end up trying to explain myself to a judge. When I go to a doctor, they don’t ask my name on my paperwork - they want my ID
There are times when we can do it. Example: name on docs is pre-marital name, name on ID is married name. Thankfully, FL addresses this - “personally appeared Jane Doe (on ID), who represented to me that she took title as Jane Smith (name on docs), and who presented (type of ID) as identification”.
Right. Yeah, I get what you are saying. That makes total sense.
Agree with Linda.
Several years ago, I had an assignment for a refi signing with a gentleman. As usual, I called to confirm date, time, location and that signer had a valid government-issued photo ID. All good. When I got to signing location, gentleman hands me his driver’s license. Name on license was completely different from name on docs. He was a from a foreign country so I asked him which was his correct and legal name (perhaps he had a passport with correct name). He explained that his only legal and correct name was what appeared on license but that he sometimes used the other name (as appeared on docs).
ID said John Doe, docs said Richard Smith. Informed him I could not proceed and contacted title and informed of situation. They agreed with me and paid full fee.
To anyone wondering – no, could not use credible witnesses in that situation as signer was in possession of valid government-issued photo ID.
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Wow I would say definitely not on that one. We have all have to be super cautious with all the different IDs that are out there. Thank you for sharing your story. Something to think about.
My view is that in the ideal case, I verify that the person is signing is the person who is described in the document. Ideal case, I’m notarizing a DS-3053 for my neighbor (who I know) who wants to let his wife apply without him for a passport so the young daughter can go to France (details changed for privacy). I’ve seen the daughter playing with the dad many times. The daughter knows she is going to France. And the dad has ID so I can be sure my slightly hazy recollection of his name is correct.
There is no such thing as a “legal name” (Baker, Green, 2021) [in general]. Occasionally there might be a law that says your name has to match how it is written in a certain document, such as a notary having to sign notarial certificates in the same way as written on the notary oath form. But there is no single definition of a legal name that is mandatory in all fields, such as birth certificates, driver licenses, real estate titles, copyrights, etc.
(Making up names.) If my old work buddy Chen Meng yao, who I remember clearly, wants me to notarize a document using her americanized name Sammy Chen (which she used all the time at work, including patents and published papers) that’s just fine with me. It’s up to her to decide which version of her name is appropriate for a certain document. Unlike Californa, Vermont lets me notarize based on personal knowledge, so I wouldn’t even look at ID for a well-known coworker.
Baker, Austin A., and J. Remy Green. “There is No Such Thing As a ‘Legal Name’: A Strange, Shared Delusion.” Columbia Human Rights Law Review 53, no. 1 (2021).
When dealing with names other than Anglo-Irish, It might help to use made-up names that resemble the appropriate culture. The notary’s understanding of what is a minor variation that can be ignored depends on the cultures the notary understands and the culture the signer is from.
That said, I don’t see what else yolicue could have done. Sure, it’s fine for an immigrant to use an americanized name as an alias, but the immigrant will have to present proof to the notary. The rule in California (and I think Florida too) about not being able to use credible witnesses if the signer has ID is just wrong. Notaries in those states should spend all their spare time picketing in front of the state capitol. Fortunately the law in my state says in 26 VSA § 5365. Identification of individual:
(2) by a verification on oath or affirmation of a credible witness personally appearing before the officer and known to the officer or whom the officer can identify on the basis of a passport, driver’s license, or government-issued nondriver identification card, which is current or expired not more than three years before performance of the notarial act.
No requirement about the signer not having ID.