What type of documents can be notarized? (Ohio)?

Just about anything can be notarized, if the notary is willing. Yes, you could have something like that notarized. How much good it would do is questionable, but it would be better than nothing until you got a patent. It would not replace a patent.

No, you do not have to notarize anything you are not comfortable notarizing. I work in a Bank, and there are certain documents we are not allowed to notarize...wills being one. We had a situation where a will was notarized and the person died soon after. The will was being contested. It was said the person who died was not competent to make the decision to change their will. Because it was called in to court, the Notary being a Bank employee needed representation, so the Bank had to provide the employee with an Attorney. This is very costly. Therefore, we are not allowed to notarize certain documents. Another document you NEVER notarize would be something you can not read. If you do not speak Spanish, do not notarize a document written in Spanish. While you are notarizing the signature and not what is included in the document, you just never want to be put in that situation. So, if you are not comfortable with the document, do not put your seal and signature to it. You can also go to the Clerk of Courts where you would obtain your notary and ask for the booklet they give to every new notary. This will outline what can and can not be done as a notary. Also, as to someone else stating you are not to read the document. While you do not sit there and read the entire document, it is your business to know what you are notarizing. Always keep the mindset of if you are going to be called in to court over the document being put in front of you for your seal and signature, you want to make sure you know something. Yes, it is definitely your duty and responsibility to identify the person in front of you (I will even write down the ID on the form), but it is also your responsibility to ensure you are understanding what it is your are notarizing. Hope this helps! Me

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RE:

What type of documents can be notarized? (Ohio)?

Just wondering what kind of documents are permitted to be notarized. In Ohio.

For example, if an inventor were to come up with an idea and is in the process of Patent application, would he/she be allowed to get the original pages notarized to document a date of conception?

Any help would...

A notary public is an officer who can administer oaths and statutory declarations, witness and authenticate documents and perform certain other acts varying from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Generally speaking, a notary public in the United States of America has powers that are far more limited than the role of a civil law notary in the rest of the world, with the exception of Louisiana. For the purposes of authentication, most countries require commercial or personal documents which originate from or are signed in another country to be notarized before they can be used or officially recorded or before they can have any legal effect.

In some countries and states, notaries are required to undergo specific training in the performance of their duties. Many must also first serve as an apprentice before being commissioned or licensed to practice their profession. Even licensed lawyers (such as barristers or solicitors) must go through additional specialized notarial training and apprenticeship, in many countries, before being allowed to practice the profession of a notary. A notary public commissioned in the United States of America is not an attorney-at-law unless also admitted to the bar. (Although some countries consider the profession of a civil law notary, itself, to be the practice of law. Many even have institutes of higher education issuing degrees in the field. In the United Kingdom, for example, a notary public can perform any task a solicitor or other lawyer can perform, as part of their notary public duties,[citation needed] with the sole exception of representing others before the courts, unless they are also licensed as a barrister.)

What Can Be Notarized

It sounds like you're not exactly clear on what a notarization does. It simply attests to the fact that the person claiming to have signed a legal document is actually the person they're representing themselves to be. It just says, I checked ID and this person is who they say they are, to the best of my knowledge.

that's it.

General documents include papers for adoption, authorization to conduct business in foreign countries, copies of passports, diplomas, employment letters, police clearances, powers of attorney, transcripts, etc. For authentication purposes:

Any of these privately issued documents must have the signature and seal of a currently commissioned Ohio notary public.

The county clerk of court of common pleas in the Ohio county in which the notary was commissioned must then certify the notary`s signature. The certification MUST have the county clerk of court’s signature and seal. Please check your documents before leaving the clerk`s office – we cannot accept any other signature.

Note: If an Ohio attorney notary, whose commission does not expire, notarizes a document, the document may then be submitted to the Secretary of State without a county clerk of court`s certification.

The Secretary of State's office does not certify the signatures of Ohio Notaries Public. You may search for notaries using the Secretary of State's database, but this office cannot verify a notary for apostille and certification documents going out of the country. Notary commissions are filed with the Ohio county Clerks of Courts. Contact your county Clerk of Courts for more information.

Other types of documents

Birth certificates and Death certificates should be certified copies from the Ohio Department of Health or Vital Statistics. They should have an embossed (raised) seal and a signature of a registrar from the correct state agency. If you need to obtain a certified copy of a birth or death certificate from the state of Ohio, you may contact the Ohio Department of Health for statewide birth certificates at (614) 466-2531, or contact the Department of Health or Vital Statistics in the county the birth or death took place.

Certified copies of marriage licenses or certificates MUST have the seal of the probate court and the signature of the judge. Marriage records are on file at the county probate courts. To obtain a certified copy of these, contact the probate court in the county where the marriage took place. A Certificate of Single Status can also be obtained at the county probate court.

Certified copies of divorce decrees, probated wills and judgments should have the seal of the county clerk of court and are on file with the county clerk of court of common pleas. Certified copies of divorce decrees can be obtained at the Clerk of Court’s office in the county in which the divorce took place.

NOTE: Photocopies of any of the above documents are acceptable by the Secretary of State if notarized by a notary public, and then certified by the county Clerk of Courts or notarized by an attorney notary, whose commission does not expire, and is commissioned in the State of Ohio.

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I've heard of people mailing an idea for an invention to themselves, so that the postmark shows date of conception. Although, generally, the application date for patent is what is looked at.