What can a notary actually do?

A notary public is a state-commissioned official whose function is narrow: verifying the identity of signers, confirming they are signing willingly and appear competent, administering oaths where required, and affixing a seal and journal entry recording the act. That is the whole job. Notarization deters fraud by creating a record that a specific identified person signed a specific document on a specific date. It says nothing about whether the document's contents are lawful, enforceable, accurate, or wise.

The limits are strict and enforced. Notaries in the United States are prohibited from providing legal advice, selecting documents for people, explaining legal effects, or drafting instruments, and doing so constitutes the unauthorized practice of law. This causes recurring harm in immigrant communities because notario publico in many Latin American and European civil law countries designates a trained legal professional with substantially greater authority, and unscrupulous operators have exploited the false equivalence to sell immigration services with serious consequences for clients. Several states require notaries to post disclaimers addressing exactly this confusion.

Practical notes. Many documents do not require notarization at all, and requiring it is usually a matter of statute, institutional policy, or recording requirements rather than general law, with deeds, powers of attorney, and certain affidavits being common examples that do. Remote online notarization, conducted by audiovisual link with identity verification technology, has been authorized in a large majority of states, which changed the logistics considerably. Banks, credit unions, shipping stores, and public libraries commonly provide notary services, frequently free for account holders or members. And a notary generally cannot notarize a document in which they have a personal interest or are a party.