...personally known to me or proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the individual(s) whose name(s) is (are) subscribed to the within instrument.... The law does not further define "satisfactory evidence"; however, the common standard for many notaries is "government issued photo ID". As a http://newyorkmobilenotarypublic.com I have the responsibility of being reasonably certain about the identity of the person whose signature I will notarize.
A driver's license or non-driver ID, or passports are the most commonly presented ID documents. They are excellent for establishing ID to a notary. In New York City, the Metrocard as issued to senior citizens has a photo - another government issued photo ID. I doubt if any notary will accept a "photo ID" from "Freddie's Gym", or any other "pay the money get an ID" commercial operation. Some company ID's are acceptable. However, they often allow a "nickname" - few require the name on the company ID to be exactly the same as on the birth certificate. I have seen major corporate IDs, with picture, that state the name as the employee "likes" to be called. E.g.: "Tom" not "Thomas", etc.
The notary notarizes just the name, no title or marriage status. "Dr. Robert Klein" is notarized as "Robert Klein", "Mrs. Sharon Smith, PhD" is notarized as "Sharon Smith". Some suffixes are actually part of the name: "Fred Reed III" keeps the "III" as that is actually part of the legal name. In the case of very long names, the New York driver's license is often truncated to a single letter - if the name will not fit. This is a minor problem. Other supplementary identity documents - in conjunction with the photo on the driver's license, usually resolves both the identity and legal spelling issues. There is no requirement for the ID to be currently valid. An expired passport - that matches your signature and photo, is perfectly acceptable to http://kenneth-a-edelstein.com.
One of the more challenging environments is the hospital visit. Often the patient's relatives have removed all personal documents for safekeeping. As a notary, I cannot accept the word of the doctor or nurse as to the identity of the patient - not even the wrist band will suffice. Proper ID is always checked - no exceptions. The notary is stating "before me appeared ......", and must have "satisfactory evidence". You should consider obtaining a "non-driver ID" for anyone who currently does not have a "solid" photo ID. Aside from notarizations, many buildings will require a good ID just to enter the premises. This trend will continue as our security awareness increases. It's best to obtain and always carry government issued photo ID.
