“Each and every Notary Public plays a crucial role in combating identity theft. They serve as our front line of defense and the public is safer because of the job they do.” – Ken Salazar, former Secretary of the Interior

Updated 11/5/2025

 “Each and every Notary Public plays a crucial role in combating identity theft. They serve as our front line of defense and the public is safer because of the job they do.” – Ken Salazar, former Secretary of the Interior 

Technological advancements are occurring at an ever-faster pace, as are the threats from rampant identity theft and identity fraud. While sources cite differing numbers for identity theft and fraud in 2024 and 2025, all agree that fraud is soaring, impacting as many as 13.5 million Americans annually. 

Thankfully, notaries public are indispensable soldiers in the fight against fraud.  Consider these benefits that a notary brings to any document transaction requiring a notarized signature:

• A commissioned notary public helps protect against identity theft by verifying the identity of every individual whose notarized signature is required to complete a document transaction. A notary cannot and will not perform any notarial act if the identity of the present individual cannot be verified by the means specified in the notary’s state law and administrative rules.
  
  
• A notary public helps ensure the integrity of a document transaction, by observing whether the named document signer appears to be acting of their own free will, and with an apparent understanding of the consequences of signing. Notaries stop notarizations when it is apparent that the signer is confused, or under pressure from another party.
  
  
• Notaries never look at only the signature page of a document requiring a notarial act, and they never notarize when all they have been given is the signature page of a (multi-page) document. For every signature notarial act performed, the notary must be presented with the entire document.  This enables the notary to make an accurate description of it in the notary journal entry, to assess whether it appears the notary has been presented with the entire document, and to review the notarial certificate language for compliance with the requirements of the notary’s state laws and administrative rules.

"Thank you" to all the notaries out there whose work is fundamental to relying parties' need to have confidence in the documents they sign. Join in the fight to protect the public's trust in signed documents, by applying to be a notary public today. Visit the Notary Public Underwriters website and see how easy it is to become a commissioned notary in your state! To learn more about protecting yourself against identity theft please visit the Federal Trade Commission’s site on identity theft.