Free Notary Services
At United Way Galveston County Mainland, we offer free notary services to the community. No appointment is necessary! Before you get your documents notarized, please read the following information below.
What is a Notary Public?
A Notary Public is an official of integrity appointed by the state government.
To sign and seal your document, a notary needs to:
- Verify identity (ID is required).
- Determine that the notary has the authority and legal capacity to notarize documents.
- Understand the document that he/she is signing.
- Make sure the document is in its original form.
- Make sure the document was not signed prior to the notary appointment.
*When a document is notarized, it is authentic and legally binding.
Types of Documents That May Require Notarization
- Wills
- Trusts
- Deeds
- Affidavits
- Power of Attorney (POA)
- Promissory Note Agreements
How To Be Prepared
The primary duty of a notary public is to verify your identity. Please make sure your identification matches your documents. It must be a valid photo ID that meets the state requirements. Any other individuals who are signing the documents must also have a valid photo ID with them.
All signers must meet face-to-face at our office in order for documents to be notarized. All parties that are listed on the document that require a signature, must be present. Please visit our Contact Us page to visit our location.
A Notary Public can't notarize a document over the phone, or on a video chat. Please make sure everyone is present for the Notary to witness all signatures.
You must bring all documents that need to be notarized. If the documents are missing pages, United Way is not obligated to notarize them. Please DO NOT sign the document without a Notary present. United Way will not notarize a document that is already signed.
