A. A notarial officer has personal knowledge of the identity of an individual appearing before the officer if the individual is personally known to the notarial officer through dealings sufficient to provide reasonable certainty that the individual has the identity claimed.

Terms Used In Arizona Laws 41-255

  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Notarial officer: means a notary public or other individual who is authorized to perform a notarial act. See Arizona Laws 41-251
  • Signature: means a tangible symbol or an electronic signature that evidences the signing of a record. See Arizona Laws 41-251
  • State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Arizona Laws 41-251
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Arizona Laws 1-215

B. A notarial officer has satisfactory evidence of the identity of an individual appearing before the notarial officer if the officer can identify the individual:

1. By means of:

(a) An unexpired United States passport or a state-issued driver license or nonoperating identification license.

(b) An unexpired identification card issued by any branch of the United States armed forces.

(c) Another form of unexpired government identification issued by the United States, a state or a tribal government to an individual that contains the signature or a photograph and physical description of the individual and that is satisfactory to the notarial officer.

(d) An inmate identification card issued by the state department of corrections or federal bureau of prisons, if the inmate is in state or federal custody.

(e) An inmate identification card issued by a county sheriff, if the inmate is in the custody of the county sheriff.

2. By verification on oath or affirmation of a credible witness personally appearing before the notarial officer and known to the notarial officer or whom the notarial officer can identify on the basis of satisfactory evidence of identity pursuant to paragraph 1 of this subsection.

C. In addition to subsection B of this section, for the purposes of a real estate conveyance or financing, a notarial officer has satisfactory evidence of the identity of an individual appearing before the notarial officer if the notarial officer can identify the individual by means of either of the following:

1. An unexpired passport issued by a national government other than the United States government that is accompanied by an unexpired visa or other documentation issued by the United States government and that is necessary to establish the individual’s legal presence in the United States.

2. An unexpired identification card that is deemed acceptable by the United States department of homeland security to establish the individual’s legal presence in the United States and that is accompanied by supporting documents as required by the United States department of homeland security.

D. A notarial officer may require an individual to provide additional information or identification credentials necessary to assure the notarial officer of the individual’s identity.