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Types of Documents
Handwritten DocumentsPublished June 18, 2026
Usually, persons who need their signature notarized will present a neatly printed document that may be a form, letter or other document type that was clearly formatted and produced electronically.
Some documents, however, are still typed on fully manual or electronic typewriters. Occasionally, documents presented to a notary are written entirely by hand. While most handwritten documents are at least written in ink, notaries can be--and have been--presented with documents written with a pencil.
Handwritten documents tend to cause the most questions for a notary. They are uncommon and, compared to an electronically produced document, handwritten documents have a raw (and perhaps, unsettling) quality about them.
When a document containing a signature to be notarized is entirely handwritten, how should the notary proceed?
Rule 1- Don't allow the mere fact that the document is entirely handwritten to be your sole reason for declining to notarize. Today, document contents can be created in numerous ways using any number of different tools or processes... handwriting is just one example.
Rule 2- Evaluate the handwritten document, just as you would any other:
> for barriers to lawful notarization (such as the notarial act indicated in the notarial certificate not being authorized in your state);
> for notarial certifcate language that completely or substantialy complies with your state's required wording;
> to satisfy yourself that you have the complete (all pages of) the document;
> to observe which signature notarial act you shall perform;
> to ascertain the named document signer (the person whose signature you will notarize).
Rule 3- Carelly observe enough about the document to accurately describe it in your recordbook (journal) of notarial acts. The fact that the document is handwritten should be noted in the recordbook's "comments" portion of the entry, but that is only to remind you of a distinguishing detail that can help you recall the entire encounter and notarization.
Rule 4- Don't expect or require the present signer's handwriting to exactly match that of the handwritten document. Anyone, including the present signer, could have been the person who wrote the document by hand.
Rule 5- Always consult and follow your state's notarial laws, administrative rules and recommendations of your state's notary commissioning officer. Look to these invaluable notary resources for clear directives or at least guidelines for dealing with handwritten documents.
Finally, if the handwritten document lacks notarial certificate wording, don't hesitate to attach a preprinted ("loose") notarial certificate reflecting the signature notarial act that the present signer chooses (an oath/affirmation, acknowledgment or--where allowed--a signature witnessing). While it's possible to handwrite missing notarial language on a document, we recommend preprinted notarial certificates for their clean, clear formatting and compliance with the legal requirements for notarial certificate wording.
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