The Fairview Heights Public Library offers notary services under the Illinois Notary Public Handbook, published by the Office of the Secretary of State, State of Illinois, and in compliance with Illinois Notary Public Law (5 ILCS 312). Library notaries will decline to provide notary services in situations that do not comply with the provisions of the Illinois Notary Public Handbook or the Library’s Notary Service Policy, as outlined below.
The Library’s notary services are in-person only and the service is not guaranteed. Notary service is not available within thirty (30) minutes of the library closing. Remote or electronic notary services are not available. Notaries cannot provide legal advice or counseling regarding the documents.
The notary will only attest to the signatures on documents that were signed in their presence. The only exception is for an Acknowledgement in an Individual Capacity. In this instance, the rules for that specific type of notary must be followed.
A patron requesting notary service must provide the following:
- A valid, unexpired state ID, federal ID, or other government ID with a signature and photo.
Examples- Driver’s License
- State ID Card
- US Military ID
- Passport
- All patrons signing the document(s) MUST be present.
- The completed (no blank spaces), unsigned document to be notarized.
- A witness or witnesses, if required by the document.
- Witnesses may not be solicited from staff or patrons using the Library.
- To serve as a witness, the witness must personally know the person whose document is being notarized and must have valid photo identification. See examples above.
Per Illinois law, all notarial service information will be entered in the acting notary’s Notary Public Record Book. Information recorded in the journal includes:
- Date
- Each signer’s name and address
- Each signer’s signature
- Type of ID provided, ID number from identification document (e.g. driver’s license number), and the expiration date of the ID
- Description of the document being notarized.
Limits of Use
- Library notaries will not provide a medallion signature guarantee (a special certification stamp that guarantees a signature that authorizes an authentic transfer of securities).
Library notary publics may, at their discretion, decline to provide notary public services if the requestor, document, or circumstances of the request for notary services raise an issue of authenticity, ambiguity, doubt, or uncertainty for the Library.
Verification of the validity of all documents is the responsibility of the signers.
The Library provides only basic notary services. The following are not available for notary service:
- Deeds or other documents of conveyance of ownership of real estate property
- Mortgages, or other refinancing documents
- Government I-9 forms/Employment Eligibility Verification
- Estate planning documents (wills, codicils or trusts)
- Documents with incomplete or blank spaces. Sections that do not apply should be marked “N/A.”
- Apostilles – a form that certifies a document issued in one country can be used and considered valid in another country – or certify documents, so that they can be recognized in foreign countries that are members of the 1961 Hague Convention Treaty.
- Illinois law requires that a notary and the person seeking notarization be able to communicate directly with each other. Therefore, the library is only able to notarize documents in English and for requestors that understand the English language at the present time. Translators are not permitted.
- Certification of Copies: Illinois law does not authorize a notary public to certify copies of any document, including but not limited to passports, driver’s licenses, birth certificates, death notices, and marriage certificates. Persons requesting certified copies will be
referred to the official who has custody of the original document or to the office where the document has been officially filed.
The library shall pay for any fees associated with staff training or the acquisition of a bond for staff providing notary services.
Adopted: 8/20/26
