Services

Notary service is offered as a service to the community. A public notary is almost always available during library hours. The service is free.

The purpose of notarization is to prevent fraud and forgery. A notary acts as an official and unbiased witness to the identity of persons who come before the notary for a specific purpose. Library notaries do not have the authority to provide legal advice.

Please review the following information in order to use our notary service:

• Please do not sign your documents before coming to the library. We are required to see you sign your documents.

• Each person signing the document must be present for us to notarize each individual signature.

• An ID with your signature is required so that we can verify your identity. PLEASE NOTE: Recent state law requires the ID must be issued by a state or federal government agency and must bear the photographic image of the individual’s face and signature. Examples of acceptable IDs issued by a state or federal government agency that contain both a photographic image and signature are a valid state driver’s license or ID card, a United States military ID, or valid passport.

• Examples of IDs we cannot accept are Social Security cards, a United States passport card, or student IDs that do not bear a photographic image or signature.

• The library cannot notarize government I-9 forms, nor can we provide an Apostille (which is a form that certifies the authenticity of a document that is issued in one country to be used and considered valid in another).

• Illinois law does not authorize a notary public to certify copies of any document. Persons requesting certified copies of documents will be referred to the official who has custody of the original document or to the office where the document has been officially filed.