Certified Copies

What to know about “Certified Copies” and how that differs from a “Copy Certification by Document Custodian.”

In Virginia, notaries public may certify copies of original documents with the exception of vital records belonging to the Commonwealth.

The types of documents prohibited from being certified by a notary include: birth certificates, death certificates, and marriage certificates. Some notaries place their own additional restrictions on the types of documents that they are willing to certify.

It is my policy that I will also not certify copies of the following: social security cards; most instances of passports and federal, state, or military issued IDs; most school records and medical records; name change orders, adoption decrees, divorce decrees, and any other documents that can be obtained from the clerk of courts.

In some cases, you can request notarization of a “Copy Certification by Document Custodian“. This is a loose certificate form and is essentially where:

  1. YOU photocopy the document;
  2. YOU write and sign a statement attesting that you created a photocopy reproduction of an original document;
  3. a notary will notarize YOUR statement.

It’s important to remember that with this notarial act, a notary is only notarizing the statement you are making about the document, not the document or photocopy itself. You are responsible for drafting and completing that statement, however, I do have pre-printed loose certificates available for you to complete free of charge. As always, I cannot provide legal advice nor guarantee the legality or acceptability of any loose certificates I may provide.

The primary difference between a “Certified Copy” and a “Copy by Document Custodian” is that a “Certified Copy” is when a notary attests that the copy was made by them or in their presence and is an exact duplication or photocopy of the original document. The “Copy Certification by Document Custodian” is when a notary attests that you appeared before them and acknowledged signing the statement you made regarding the copy. In this instance, it is the statement you’re making about the photocopy that is notarized, not the photocopy itself.

In other words, it’s “a notarized copy of a document” versus “a notarized statement by the signer about a copy of a document.”

At no time can a notary guarantee that either a notarized certified copy or a certified statement attesting to a copy of a document will satisfy the requirements by the party to whom you are sending the notarized document. It is your responsibility to contact that party and verify their requirements.