Notary Services

City notaries may perform the following notarial acts for any person, firm, corporation or other entity, whether a resident of the city or not:

  • Acknowledgements
  • Oaths and affirmations
  • Jurats
  • Signature witnessing
  • Copy certifications
  • Any other act authorized by the laws of Missouri

City notaries may only provide notarial services under the following conditions: 

  • A notary shall perform a notarial act only if the individual requesting the act
    • Is in the presence of the notary at the time of notarization;
    • Is personally known to the notary or identified by the notary through satisfactory evidence;
    • appears to understand the nature of the transaction requiring a notarial act;
    • appears to be acting of his or her own free will;
    • signs using letters or characters of a language that is understood by the notary;
    • communicates directly with the notary in a language both understand.

A City notary shall perform any notarial act described above for any person requesting such a notarial act unless: 

  • The notary knows or has a reasonable belief that the notarial act or the associated transaction is unlawful;
  • The notarial act is prohibited in Section 486.645 RSMo or Section 486.650(1) RSMo;
  • The number or timing of the requested notarial act or acts practicably precludes completion at the time of the request, in which case the notary shall arrange for later completion of the requested act or acts without unreasonable delay; or
  • In the case of a request to perform an electronic notarial act, the notary is not registered to notarize electronically in accordance with sections 486.900 RSMo to 486.1010 RSMo.

In accordance with Section 486.695 RSMo, all fees for notarial services have been waived. 

If a document requires witnesses, the individual must provide their own witnesses. City employees will not serve as witnesses for any reason.

The following is information for government agencies to obtain certified copies of certain types of documents:

  • Copies of Missouri birth/death certificates – please contact the Missouri Department of Vital Records: (573) 751-6387 - Email: VitalRecordsInfo@health.mo.gov
  • Department of Homeland Security – (202) 282-8000
  • Passport – (844) USA-GOV1 or (844) 872-468

To schedule an appointment to have your documents notarized, please contact the Office of City Clerk at 636-227-1385 x106 or email cityhall@manchestermo.gov.