7 fAM 860
CERTIFICATION OF TRUE COPIES OF DOCUMENTS
(CT:CON-804; 04-30-2018)
(Office of Origin: CA/OCS)
7 fam 861 state laws limiting practice
of certification of true copies
(CT:CON-449; 03-25-2013)
a. Some states in the United States provide that
notaries public may execute certifications of true copies of documents. Many
U.S. states, however, have eliminated this as a function of notaries due to
concern about security and fraud.
(1) See the Martindale-Hubbell Law Digest volume for
the U.S. state in question. This is available to U.S. Department of State
personnel via Lexis/Nexis, which you can access by contacting the U.S.
Department of State Library Lexis/Nexis Page.
(2) Consult the web page for the National Association
of Notary Public Administrators (NPA);
(3) You may also contact CA/OCS/L at
Ask-OCS-L@state.gov; or
(4) See 7 FAM Exhibit 861
for a chart with state requirements.
b. Avoid Certifying True Copies of Public Documents:
Refer Inquirer to Custodian of Records: If the document is a public document,
such as a birth, death, marriages or divorce record, a notarizing officer
should direct the inquirer to the custodian of records in that state or other
jurisdiction. See HHS/NCHS Where to Write for Birth, Death, Marriage and
Divorce Records.
Note: CA/OCS is aware that in international adoption, for
example, a notarized certified true copy of a birth, death, marriage, divorce
decree is not acceptable in most foreign jurisdictions. Applicants must obtain
copies certified by the official custodian of the public records. See country
specific adoption information material on the Consular Affairs Internet home
page (travel.state.gov). For consular reports of birth or death, see How to
Apply for a Certified Copy of One of These Reports.
7 fam 862 sworn or affirmed statement
by the bearer
(CT:CON-110; 09-13-2005)
a. Sworn or Affirmed Statement by the Bearer: An
alternative is to permit the requester to make a sworn statement that the
document presented is a true copy (see 7 FAM 850).
This is a process whereby an individual makes a sworn statement declaring that
a copy is an exact reproduction of an original document he or she possesses.
This is also known as a Copy Certification by a Document Custodian.
b. Notarizing officers should ask the following
questions before performing this function.
7 fam 863 threshold questions
(CT:CON-407; 06-29-2012)
a. Foreign Public Documents:
(1) Is it possible for the applicant to obtain a
duplicate original or certified true copy of the document in the host country
from the custodian of records?
(2) If the answer to (a) is no, has the applicant
presented adequate evidence that the document is required for use in the United
States?
b. U.S. Public Documents:
(1) Is a notary public authorized to execute certified
true copies of documents, including vital records (birth, death, marriage
records, etc.) located in the jurisdiction where the document will be used?
(2) If the answer to (a) is yes, has the applicant
presented adequate evidence that the document is required for use in the United
States? The state Notary Public Administrator can provide this information.
CA/OCS/L is conducting a survey of states to confirm current state law on this
subject.
7 FAM 864 through 869 UNASSIGNED
7 FAM Exhibit 861
STATE REQUIREMENTS ABOUT CERTIFICATION OF TRUE COPIES
(CT:CON-118; 10-26-2005)
The best source of information about the requirements of
the individual U.S. states and other U.S. jurisdictions regarding certification
of true copies of documents by notaries public is the state notary public
administrator. The chart below summarizes this information.
|
U.S. State
|
Certification of True Copies Permitted (YES/NO)
|
Notes
|
|
Alabama
|
Yes
|
Only register pages.
|
|
Alaska
|
No
|
Alaska's notaries do not have the authority to certify
documents or photocopies of documents. When it is necessary to authenticate a
photocopy of a document or a document has not been notarized at the time of
issue it may be possible to use a process called Copy Certification By
Document Custodian.
It is against the law to make copies of Alaska Vital
Statistics documents (AS 18.50.320 (5)). The Lieutenant Governor will not be
able to authenticate photocopies of Vital Statistic documents even if they
have been properly notarized via the Copy Certification by Document Custodian
process.
|
|
American Samoa
|
|
|
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Arizona
|
Yes
|
|
|
Arkansas
|
Yes
|
|
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California
|
Yes
|
Only powers of attorney and notary journal pages.
|
|
Colorado
|
Yes
|
Only with signed written request stating certified copy
not available from the office of any recorder of public documents or other
custodian of documents in the state.
|
|
Connecticut
|
No
|
Under Connecticut law, notaries have no authority to
prepare "certified" or "true" copies of any documents.
Bearer may execute sworn statement regarding a copy,
except for birth, death, marriage or divorce records which Connecticut law
prohibits certification except by issuing authority.
See Connecticut Notary Manual.
|
|
Delaware
|
Yes
|
|
|
District of Columbia
|
Yes
|
|
|
Florida
|
Yes
|
Only with supervised photocopying. A notary may
supervise the making of a photocopy of an original document and attest to the
trueness of the copy. F.S.A. 117.05(15).
A notary cannot attest to the trueness of a photocopy;
only photocopies of original documents may be attested as to trueness. F.S.A.
117.05(15)(a).
A notary cannot attest to the trueness of a photocopy of
a public record if a copy can be made by another public official. F.S.A.
117.05(15)(a).
|
|
Georgia
|
Yes
|
Only with supervised photocopying.
|
|
Guam
|
|
|
|
Hawaii
|
Yes
|
Only protests and notary journal pages.
|
|
Idaho
|
Yes
|
|
|
Illinois
|
No
|
|
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Indiana
|
No
|
|
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Iowa
|
Yes
|
|
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Kansas
|
Yes
|
|
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Kentucky
|
Yes
|
Only protests.
|
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Louisiana
|
No
|
|
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Maine
|
No
|
|
|
Maryland
|
Yes
|
Only register pages.
|
|
Massachusetts
|
No
|
|
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Michigan
|
No
|
Michigan notaries are prohibited from issuing certified
copies of public records or any other documents. Requests for certified
copies should be directed to the agency that holds or issued the original.
|
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Minnesota
|
Yes
|
|
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Mississippi
|
No
|
|
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Missouri
|
Yes
|
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Montana
|
Yes
|
Only records issued or filed on the job.
|
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Nebraska
|
No
|
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Nevada
|
Yes
|
|
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New Hampshire
|
No
|
|
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New Jersey
|
No
|
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New Mexico
|
Yes
|
|
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New York
|
No
|
|
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North Carolina
|
No
|
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North Dakota
|
No
|
|
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Northern Mariana Islands
|
|
|
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Ohio
|
No
|
|
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Oklahoma
|
Yes
|
|
|
Oregon
|
Yes
|
Notaries are not permitted to certify copies of public
documents, especially vital statistics. There is a regulation of the Health
Records Division that specifically prohibits copying their records. The
prohibition is not in the notary law, but in the law of the custodian of
records. Oregon would allow an affidavit attesting to a true copy by the
bearer, but the notary should encourage the bearer to get the real certified
copy from the custodian of record.
|
|
Pennsylvania
|
Yes
|
|
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Puerto Rico
|
|
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Rhode Island
|
No
|
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South Carolina
|
No
|
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South Dakota
|
No
|
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Tennessee
|
No
|
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Texas
|
|
A notary may not notarize a certified true copy of a
recordable document. Birth certificates and marriage licenses are recordable
documents.
A recordable document is one that is recorded with some
type of entity whether it be the Secretary of State's Office, a court of law,
a county clerk, or the Bureau of Vital Statistics. Certified copies may be
obtained by contacting such entities.
A non-recordable document is one that has not been nor will
ever be recorded with any type of entity. For instance, a letter is not
recorded with anyone but there are times the sender of the letter would like
to obtain a certified copy of that letter for his or her file.
|
|
Utah
|
Yes
|
Only if custodian of original appears.
|
|
Vermont
|
Yes
|
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Virgin Islands
|
|
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Virginia
|
Yes
|
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Washington
|
Yes
|
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West Virginia
|
Yes
|
Only with signed written request stating certified copy
not available from the office of any recorder of public documents or other
custodian of documents in state.
|
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Wisconsin
|
Yes
|
|
|
Wyoming
|
No
|
|