General

In certain situations, incarcerated individuals may require notarial acts. For instance, this could involve notarizations for prison-based refinance. The scenario presented concerns a custody transfer, which typically necessitates the creation and signing of a power of attorney by the custodial parent to relinquish custody of the children to another competent adult, such as an ex-spouse. In numerous states and jurisdictions, this power of attorney would then need to be notarized. The two primary challenges in prison notarizations involve (a) accurately identifying the signer and (b) securing the signer's signature and, if necessary, a thumbprint for the Notary journal. *These are the most usual forms of identification that a notary is likely to see, but they are not all of the possible forms of identification. Acceptable identification has these fundamental elements: The card or document is issued by a federal, state or tribal government. -Is in a language the Notary can read and understand. -It has a number assigned by the issuing agency. -It has a photograph and description of the holder. -It has the signature of the holder. -It has the holder’s date of birth. -It has an issue and/or expiration date. GA Handbook, 13th edition, (pg. 58) printed 02/2023