How to Notarize Divorce Papers: What Notaries Need to Know

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Divorce papers show up at notary offices regularly. Marital settlement agreements, financial affidavits, waiver of service forms, and parenting plans all commonly require notarization. The notarial acts themselves are straightforward. What makes divorce notarizations different are the circumstances around them.

Which Divorce Documents Need Notarization

Not every document in a divorce case requires a notary. The ones that do typically fall into three categories:

• The marital settlement agreement (MSA) is the contract that spells out how property, debts, custody, and support will be handled. Most states require it to be notarized, sometimes with separate acknowledgments for each spouse.
• Many states require each spouse to submit a sworn financial disclosure listing income, assets, debts, and expenses. When the form requires a sworn statement rather than just a signature, it needs a jurat.
• If the respondent spouse agrees to accept the divorce petition without formal service, they sign a waiver or voluntary appearance form that must be notarized.

Other documents in a divorce case, such as the petition itself, the summons, and the final decree, are usually filed without notarization. The court issues the decree and the judge signs it.

Acknowledgment vs. Jurat for Divorce Documents

Pay attention to the certificate language on divorce forms. It determines which notarial act you perform.

• Acknowledgment — The signer acknowledges they signed the document voluntarily. Used for settlement agreements and waivers. The signer can sign before coming to you (though many notaries prefer to watch them sign anyway).
• Jurat — The signer swears or affirms the contents of the document are true. Used for financial affidavits and sworn declarations. The signer must sign in your presence after you administer the oath.

If the form says “Subscribed and sworn to before me” or “Under penalty of perjury,” you are performing a jurat. If it says “Acknowledged before me” or has standard acknowledgment language, perform an acknowledgment.

Handling Spouses Separately

In contentious divorces, spouses often appear before the notary at different times. This is fine. You can notarize one spouse’s signature today and the other spouse’s signature next week. Each signature gets its own notarial certificate and journal entry.

If both spouses appear together, notarize each signature separately. Do not combine them into a single journal entry unless your state allows it. Each spouse is an individual signer with individual ID requirements.

What to Watch For

• Settlement agreements sometimes arrive with dollar amounts, dates, or property descriptions left blank because the parties are still negotiating. Do not notarize a document with material blanks. Fill them in or strike through and initial before proceeding.
• If a spouse appears to be signing under duress (someone is telling them what to do, they seem frightened, they state they do not want to sign), decline. This comes up more often with divorce documents than most other types.
• Divorce documents may reference the signer by married name, maiden name, or hyphenated. The name on the document should match the signer’s ID.
• The couple may have married in one state, live in another, and file in a third. Follow your own state’s notarization laws regardless of where the documents will be filed. Out-of-state certificate language is fine as long as it does not require something your state prohibits.
• If the settlement agreement includes a property transfer and your state requires thumbprints for real property notarizations (California does), make sure to capture it.

Can a Notary Notarize Their Own Divorce Papers?

No. A notary cannot notarize their own signature under any circumstances. If you are going through a divorce, you need another notary to notarize your documents. Additionally, in most states, a notary should not notarize for a spouse or close family member, so having your spouse-notarize your settlement agreement is also prohibited.

Remote Online Notarization for Divorce

Some divorce documents can be notarized via RON (remote online notarization) in states that authorize it. This is useful when spouses live in different cities or when one party cannot easily travel to a notary office.

Check with the court where the divorce is being filed before using RON. Some courts require wet-ink signatures on settlement agreements, particularly if the agreement involves real property transfers. RON is typically acceptable for financial affidavits and waivers of service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do all divorce papers need to be notarized?

No. The petition, summons, and final decree typically do not require notarization. The documents that commonly need notarization are the marital settlement agreement, financial affidavits, and waiver of service forms.

Can both spouses sign in front of the same notary?

Yes. Both spouses can appear before the same notary, and many do for convenience. Each spouse’s signature is notarized separately with its own certificate and journal entry.

What if the settlement agreement has blank spaces?

Do not notarize it. Material blanks (dollar amounts, property descriptions, dates that matter) must be completed before notarization. Minor blanks (like a case number that has not been assigned yet) can be noted as “to be filed” or similar, but check your state’s rules on this.

Can I notarize a divorce document from another state?

Yes. You perform the notarization under your state’s laws regardless of where the document will be filed. The document’s notarial certificate may use another state’s language, and that is fine as long as it does not require you to do something your state prohibits.

Can a notary refuse to notarize divorce papers?

Yes. If the signer appears to be acting under duress, the document has material blanks, the signer lacks proper ID, or the notary has a conflict of interest (such as being related to one of the parties), the notary should decline.

NotaryTrainingSchool.com covers proper notarization procedures for legal documents including divorce papers, settlement agreements, and court filings.