Has the stork visited you lately?

Has the stork visited you lately?

Congratulations! You just had a baby and now your wonderful new life has just begun.

From spending hours watching Elmo and the Teletubbies, your child’s first day of Kindergarten to the day they graduate High School and maybe some day college, your life is going to change, starting today.

Before getting too far along though, one of your first responsibilities in the care and feeding of your newborn is to apply for a California Birth Certificate.

As a new parent you’ll soon learn how hectic life can be with a little one running around your home, so now is a great time to apply before you forget! Besides, once you start applying for schools, the California Birth Certificate is one of the first documents every school will ask for.

Getting the California Birth Certificate is a fairly simple process. If the caregivers at the hospital where you had your baby didn’t give you the forms you can easily find them at the California Department of Public Health web site. You’ll need to download Form VS-111. Form VS-111 is very simple requiring only some basic facts about the birth mother, biological father and where and when the child was born.

Before submitting your Form VS-111, as the applicant  you’ll need to have  your signature notarized by a California Notary Public. The time to fill out the form should only be about 5-10 minutes and you can easily have the form notarized by a mobile notary such as Bay Area Mobile Notary or any walk-in notary location. The State of California Department of Public Health has already included the necessary notary public verbiage on the document so completing the form is very straightforward.

Bay Area Mobile Notary service is always available to meet you at your location within Silicon Valley to notarize your VS-111 Form or any other document requiring notarization. Remember before meeting any notary public that you should have your valid photo identification document with you – typically this would include either a non-expired drivers license, non-expired California ID card or a valid U.S. Passport. If you have questions about other forms of ID please drop us a line or give us a call.

We’re here to help!

FAQ: How do I verify that my Notary Public holds an active commission in California?

FAQ: How do I verify that my Notary Public holds an active commission in California?

Since the act of impersonating a Notary Public is considered an act of fraud and is a felony offense, it’s fairly unlikely that you’ll run into a Notary Public who is operating without a current and valid commission. However, you may still wish to know that the Notary Public you’re working with holds an active commission, which county his or her bond is filed in or maybe you just want to know when their commission expires.

FAQ: Can you notarize my pictures?

FAQ: Can you notarize my pictures?

From time to time I get requests to notarize one or more sets of pictures. Often times this relates to documents being sent overseas for immigration or adoption purposes. While in other countries notarizing pictures may be a common practice, in the State of California it is not allowed. As a California Notary Public I am only able to notarize signatures, not “things” (such as pictures).

However, there is an acceptable way of handling this problem that will not only solve the client’s needs, but will still stay within the guidelines set forth by the Secretary of State in California.

FAQ: The Notary Stamp On My Document Expired – What Do I Do Now?

FAQ: The Notary Stamp On My Document Expired – What Do I Do Now?

When a Notary Public is commissioned by the Secretary of State in California, they are given a commission to notarize documents for 4 years. One of the more common documents that Notary Public may come across in their day to day  duty is the POA or DPOA (power of attorney or durable power of attorney). This is a document that maybe used for years or even indefinitely. If your power of attorney document was notarized by a Notary Public near the end of their commission term, it’s likely that at some point you may have an active and valid power of attorney document that has been stamped by a Notary who’s commission has expired. The obvious question remains, is the document still valid?

Yes, the document is valid as long as the Notary Public who completed the signature notarization was actually a bonded and active Notary Public at the time the document was stamped. If they were not bonded or were not a commissioned and active Notary Public, then they have committed fraud, but that is another issue.

The document remains valid, even though the Notary Stamp shows that the commission has expired. I have found that when documents notarized in California are sent overseas (India is one example), often times the receiving agency will reject the California notarization if the Notary’s commission has expired. Because of this, if you are sending documents overseas, you may wish to ask your Notary Public how much time remains on their current commission before utilizing their services.

FAQ: Can you notarize my signature without my ID?

FAQ: Can you notarize my signature without my ID?

You just realized that you lost your drivers license and you’re not a worldly traveler so you have don’t have a valid passport either, but now you need a document notarized today – what to do?!!!

Because most of us get our signed documents notarized so infrequently, there are a number of misconceptions about what it takes to complete the process. Most people incorrectly assume that they’ll need to provide a valid state or federal ID card to have their signature notarized, but there’s actually an easy solution to this problem.