It is very common for someone who is currently in the hospital or living in a nursing facility to require the services of a notary public.  Some of the more common documents needing notarization for these clients are powers of attorney, affidavits for last wills & testaments, living wills or advance directives, quitclaims, and title transfers.  Because this is such a common need, many hospitals and nursing facilities either have a notary on staff or have a list of preferred notaries they can call.  Before asking for the services of another mobile notary such as myself, you should always check with the staff at your facility to see if they have someone available on-site.

When it comes to hospital signings, the procedure is very similar to any other notarial appointment.  However, because one of my primary obligations as a notary public is to ensure that the person signing is of sound mind and signing of their own free will, there are some special conditions that must be met for me to agree to perform a notarial act at a hospital or nursing facility.

First, the patient must be of sound mind.  Before beginning the notarization act, I will engage conversation with the signer to help determine their lucidity.  Some of this conversation will include asking their name, asking about their day or week, asking what they had to eat that day, asking them about their favorite songs or movies, and asking what year it is and who is the current President of the United States.  I will also ask the nursing staff, with signer’s permission when appropriate, for their opinion as to whether or not the patient is capable of comprehending the document they are about to sign.

Second, as another condition of a signer being of sound mind, they cannot be under the influence of any mind or mood altering medication.  It is up to the signer, and to some degree their family, to coordinate with the medical staff whether medication should be administered within an 8-hour period prior to the notarial appointment.  I cannot suggest nor direct you or the nursing staff to withhold medication, but I also can not ethically or legally notarize a document signed by someone who is currently under the influences of medications such as strong pain killers.

Third, I may ask family members to leave the room for a brief moment.  This is to ensure that the signer feels safe to disclose to me any pressure, coercion, or stress they feel is being placed upon them to sign a specific document.  If at any time I believe that the signer is not acting totally of their own free will, I will end the proceedings.

Fourth, a signer must be able to sign his/her own name.  The use of an ergonomic pen (provided by you) may help accomplish this action. Every attempt should be made to ensure a signer is able to sign his or her own name.  You may find having the signer practice this in advance of the document signing would prove beneficial.  Sometimes, this can even be incorporated into a patient’s rehabilitative physical therapy.  If a signer is absolutely unable to sign his or her own name, please inform me of this ahead of time as additional provisions need to be made.  If I am unaware of the person’s inability to sign his or her own name and they are then unable to, I will not be prepared and will have to terminate the notary proceedings.

Finally, it is important that you understand I cannot perform a notarial act without properly identifying a signer.  A hospital admission bracelet will not satisfy the identification protocol.  As often times a patient’s valuables, including identification, are not kept with them, the signer must make arrangements to have proper identification at the time of the signing.  You may need to request your valuables from hospital staff, or one’s wallet may be in the possession of family members.  Please be certain you are able to satisfactorily provide identification before scheduling an appointment.  For a listing of acceptable identification, click here.