Notary Services

 Notary hours: Monday - Thursday 1pm-3pm. Subject to availability.

Middletown Public Library will provide notary services free of charge, available by appointment or walk-in during hours above. Please call ahead to make an appointment with notary for all other times at 401-846-1573 ext. 2. We can assist with acknowledgements, jurats, and signature witnessing. Please note that we do not offer copy certifications.

What to bring:

• A VALID government-issued photo ID
• The document to be notarized, completed but unsigned
• All signers of the document and their valid government-issued photo IDs
• Any necessary witnesses must be present

Please be aware that the notaries at Middletown Public Library are not licensed attorneys and cannot provide legal advice. If any issues arise with the authenticity or clarity of a document, or if the circumstances are unclear, the notary may, at their discretion, decline to provide the service.

-Our notaries are NOT attorneys licensed to practice law in this state. They are not licensed to draft legal records, give advice on legal matters, including immigration, or charge a fee for those activities.-

An acknowledgment is a notarial act in which an individual, at a single time and place: • Appears in person before the notary public and presents a document; • Is personally known to the notary public or is identified by the notary through satisfactory evidence of identity; and • Indicates to the notary public that the signature on the document was voluntarily affixed by the individual for the purposes stated within the document and, if applicable, that the individual had authority to sign in a particular representative capacity. The emphasis, when a notary performs an acknowledgment, is on the free act and deed of the signer and the verification of their identity.

A jurat is a notarial act in which an individual, at a single time and place: • Appears in person before the notary public and presents a document; • Is personally known to the notary public or is identified by the notary through satisfactory evidence of identity; • Signs the document in the presence of the notary public; and • Takes an oath or affirmation before the notary public vouching for the truthfulness or accuracy of the signed document. The emphasis, when a notary performs a jurat is on the accuracy of the statements in the document and the signer's identity. 

Signature witnessing is a notarial act in which an individual, at a single time and place: • Appears in person before the notary public and presents a document; • Is personally known to the notary public or is identified by the notary through satisfactory evidence of identity; and • Signs the document in the presence of the notary public. The emphasis, when a notary performs a signature witnessing, is to establish the document was signed on a specific date.