Notarize Personal Documents Online — Letters, Consent & Authorization

Can you notarize a personal letter or authorization letter online?

A personal letter can be notarized online whenever it carries a signature that a receiving party needs verified — an authorization letter, a consent or permission letter, or a written declaration. The notary does not read or approve the letter's message; the notary confirms who signed it and that they signed willingly, then attaches a notarial certificate. Because online notarization is legally recognized in states that have adopted remote online notarization (RON) laws, the same act can now happen over live video instead of at a desk.

This page covers the personal-document corner of general notary work: letters, consents, permissions, and declarations. What the notary attaches — an acknowledgment or a jurat — depends on what your letter is for, which the sections below break down.

How do you notarize a letter (and can it be handwritten)?

You notarize a letter by appearing before a commissioned notary, proving your identity, and signing — in an acknowledgment you confirm you signed willingly, and in a jurat you take a spoken oath that the contents are true. A handwritten letter is fine: the notary notarizes your signature and identity, not the typography, so any legible, complete letter can be notarized as long as it includes notarial certificate wording.

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   Write or upload the finished letter. Leave the notarial certificate block (acknowledgment or jurat wording) on it, or add one — the notary cannot notarize an incomplete document.

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   Verify your identity with a valid government-issued photo ID over the live session.

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   Sign on camera. For a jurat you must sign in the notary's presence and answer a spoken oath or affirmation out loud; for an acknowledgment you can have signed beforehand and simply acknowledge it.

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   The notary completes and signs the certificate, applies the electronic seal, and you download the finished letter.

The jurat rule that the signer must sign in the notary's presence, and the acknowledgment rule that a document may be signed beforehand, both follow National Notary Association guidance on the two acts.

Authorization letters & letters of authorization

A notarized authorization letter is a signed letter in which you give another person permission to act for you — pick up a document, collect a package, manage an account, or represent you in a specific errand — with a notary's certificate attached to prove the signature is genuinely yours. Receiving parties often ask for notarization so they can trust that the person granting authority actually signed the letter.

Most authorization letters take an acknowledgment: you are confirming you signed the letter willingly, not swearing that a set of facts is true. But the receiving agency decides what it will accept, and some ask for a jurat. A notary cannot pick the act for you (see acknowledgment vs jurat below), so confirm with whoever is asking for the letter. A clear authorization letter usually names:

• Who you are (the person granting authority) and your signature
• Who is authorized to act (the person receiving authority)
• Exactly what they may do, and any limits or dates
• The notarial certificate block — acknowledgment or jurat wording

A one-off authorization letter is different from a power of attorney, which grants broader, ongoing legal authority. If your situation is closer to a sworn statement of who you are, an affidavit of identity or other sworn statement may be the right document instead.

Consent & permission letters

A consent or permission letter is a signed statement in which you allow something to happen — commonly a parent permitting a minor to travel, receive medical care, or take part in an activity. Like authorization letters, they are notarized so the receiving party can trust the signature is genuinely yours, and most take an acknowledgment unless the receiving agency asks you to swear to the contents with a jurat.

Declarations: do you need a notary, or can you sign under penalty of perjury?

A declaration is a written statement of facts you affirm to be true. In federal matters you may not always need a notary at all: under 28 U.S.C. §1746, an unsworn declaration signed "under penalty of perjury" can be used with "like force and effect" in place of a sworn, notarized affidavit — with limited exceptions such as depositions and oaths of office. The statute prescribes the wording, and for a declaration executed within the United States it reads:

"I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on (date). (Signature)" — 28 U.S.C. §1746, unsworn declaration executed within the United States

When a declaration is executed outside the United States, §1746 adds the phrase "under the laws of the United States of America." Whether a given court or agency will accept an unsworn declaration instead of a notarized one is set by that body's own rules and by state law, so confirm before you skip notarization. When notarization is required, a declaration whose contents you are swearing to takes a jurat.

Which notarial act your letter needs (acknowledgment vs jurat)

Your letter needs one of two notarial acts, and the difference is about what you are certifying. In an acknowledgment you declare to the notary that you signed the document willingly; in a jurat you take a spoken oath or affirmation that the contents are truthful and you must sign in the notary's presence. The National Notary Association confirms these are separate acts with separate certificate wording that cannot be swapped.

Important: the notary is a ministerial officer and cannot choose the act for you. As the NNA explains, a notary may describe the difference between the two, but selecting the act on your behalf — or advising whether your document even needs notarizing — is the unauthorized practice of law. If you are unsure which your letter needs, ask the agency that issued or will receive it.

What notarizing does and doesn't do (identity, not truth)

Notarizing a letter proves who signed it and that they signed willingly — in a jurat, it also records that the signer swore the contents were true. It does not make the statements in your letter true, legal, or binding, and it does not guarantee any particular party will accept the letter. Those are the notary's limits, and they matter for personal documents where people often expect a stamp to do more than it does.

• Does: verify your identity against a government-issued ID.
• Does: record that you signed willingly (acknowledgment) or swore to the contents (jurat).
• Doesn't: confirm the letter's statements are true or make it legally enforceable.
• Doesn't: guarantee a bank, school, court, or agency will accept it — acceptance depends on your state's RON law and the receiving party's own policy.

Notarized letter vs certified copy vs affidavit

These three are easy to confuse, but they solve different problems. A notarized letter proves your signature on a letter you wrote; a certified copy attests that a copy matches an original document; and a sworn affidavit is a statement of fact you swear to under oath. Pick by what the receiving party actually needs.

Copy certification is a separate notarial act, and the rules vary by state — some states do not authorize notaries to certify copies at all, and a receiving agency may instead require a copy from the office that issued the original. Check your state's rules or the requesting party before you rely on a notarized copy. If you need a sworn statement rather than a letter, see an affidavit of identity or other sworn statement.

Cost & how it works

Notarizing a personal document online costs a flat $25 fee per document with USA Notary — covering identity verification, the electronic seal, a tamper-evident certificate, and instant digital delivery — available 24/7 to signers in all 50 states. You need a valid government-issued photo ID, a device with a camera and microphone, and your finished letter.

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   Upload your letter and start a session — no appointment or travel.

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   Verify your identity with a government-issued ID.

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   Meet a commissioned notary over live video and complete the acknowledgment or jurat.

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   Download your notarized letter right away.