Pennsylvania forms that need a notary

Most states let you order a certified birth, death or marriage record by mail, but the application has to prove who you are. Depending on the state, that means a notarized signature, a sworn statement signed in front of a notary, or a copy of your ID instead. A notarized application is also the usual route when you order a record for a parent, child or spouse, or ask the office to correct one.

Signed form plus a photocopy of a valid government photo ID with a matching address. No notary.

Have ready before your session:

• The completed application, left unsigned until the notary session
• A current government photo ID
• Proof of your relationship if the record is someone else's
• The agency's fee, paid the way the application asks

Documents that transfer or record an interest in property, such as deeds, easements and lease memoranda, must be acknowledged before a notary before the county recorder will accept them. The notary confirms that the person signing is the owner named on the document. Some states also require witnesses on a deed, and recorders reject pages with the wrong margins or a missing legal description.

5 form types across Pennsylvania; the most common is Affidavit for Conditional Property Transfer Permit (1 place).

Have ready before your session:

• The legal description and parcel number of the property
• Every owner who must sign, each with a photo ID
• Witnesses where your state requires them on deeds
• The recorder's formatting rules and recording fee

Cities and counties ask for notarized signatures on construction paperwork so they know the property owner really approved the work. Typical examples are owner-builder affidavits, owner authorizations that let a contractor pull a permit, Notices of Commencement, zoning and variance applications, and lien waivers. A permit counter will usually reject an owner signature that is not notarized.

97 form types across Pennsylvania; the most common is Workers’ Compensation Exemption Affidavit (11 places).

Have ready before your session:

• The permit or application number, if you already have one
• The property address and parcel number
• The owner's signature, or an agent's with a notarized authorization
• A current government photo ID

Local business licenses often include a sworn statement: that the owner may legally work in the United States, that the business meets zoning rules, or that the details on an alcohol, vendor or occupational tax application are true. Those statements are signed in front of a notary. Employer E-Verify affidavits and immigration status affidavits for public benefits are common examples.

9 form types across Pennsylvania; the most common is Home-Based Business Application (1 place).

Have ready before your session:

• The business's legal name, address and tax ID
• The owner or officer authorized to sign
• Any license or certificate the application asks you to attach
• A current government photo ID

An affidavit is a written statement you swear or affirm is true, signed in front of a notary who gives you the oath. The oath is what makes it a sworn statement rather than a plain signature: a false statement can be prosecuted as perjury. Residency, identity, ownership and one-and-the-same-person affidavits are the most common, and many local forms end with a sworn statement block.

26 form types across Pennsylvania; the most common is Affidavit of Death (3 places).

Have ready before your session:

• The statement, filled in but not yet signed
• Any exhibits the affidavit refers to
• A current government photo ID
• Be ready to swear or affirm on camera

Some states require a notary on a vehicle title transfer, a bill of sale, an odometer statement or a duplicate title application, and others do not. Where it is required, the motor vehicle office will refuse the transfer until the seller's signature is notarized. Boats, trailers and manufactured homes usually follow the same rules as cars.

5 form types across Pennsylvania, including MV-217A Application for Certificate of Title After Default.

Have ready before your session:

• The title, or the VIN, year, make and model
• The sale price and date for a bill of sale
• The odometer reading if the form asks for it
• An ID for every person who must sign

Court and estate paperwork often needs a notarized signature before a clerk will file it: small estate affidavits, probate petitions, guardianship and name change forms, and travel consents for a minor. The notary does not review the legal content. They confirm who signed and, for sworn forms, give the oath.

13 form types across Pennsylvania; the most common is Petition for Grant of Letters (3 places).

Have ready before your session:

• The case number, if a case is already open
• The names of the decedent, minor or other parties
• Every signer the form lists, each with a photo ID
• Any supporting record, such as a copy of a death certificate

Before a Commercial Mail Receiving Agency, meaning a mailbox store or virtual mailbox service, can accept mail for you, the Postal Service requires PS Form 1583, Application for Delivery of Mail Through Agent. You sign it in front of the agency or before a notary public commissioned in any U.S. state, and you show two IDs: one with your photo and one that proves your address.

PS Form 1583 is a federal Postal Service form, so Pennsylvania residents use the same version as everyone else. A Pennsylvania driver's license or ID card works as the photo ID, and a lease, deed, voter card or vehicle registration as the address ID.

Have ready before your session:

• PS Form 1583, completed but not yet signed
• A current photo ID, such as a driver's license or passport
• A second ID that proves your address, such as a lease, deed or vehicle registration
• The names of any minors whose mail you will collect (block 11)