Our San Francisco hospital notary public team members are regarded for their patience and compassion serving medical patients and the elderly.

The process and requirements for notarizing important documents for a patient in a hospital, rehab center, nursing home, skilled nursing facility, or hospice care facility are no different than if we were meeting outside of the facility. However, there are several factors to consider when planning and organizing a hospital traveling notary public appointment.

Here’s a checklist we created to make the process as smooth as possible:

Step 1: Determine Document Requirements

In California, a notary public cannot provide or recommend documents to clients, as that may be considered an unlicensed practice of law. In conversations with clients, most people tell us they obtained their documents from an attorney or a hospital social worker. Others say they downloaded their documents from a government website or a private website like LawDepot, LegalZoom, or Rocket Lawyer. Whichever way you obtain your document, we recommend consulting legal counsel to ensure you have the right document for your situation.

For reference only, the following are the most common types of documents we see people sign while in the hospital.

Advance Health Care Directive / Health Care Power of Attorney

According to the California Attorney General (AG), an advance health care directive “lets your physician, family and friends know your health care preferences, including the types of special treatment you want or don’t want at the end of life, your desire for diagnostic testing, surgical procedures, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and organ donation.”

The AG offers a fillable template, which you can access by clicking on the following text: California Advance Health Care Directive. Please consult with an attorney to determine if this document might be right for your situation.

Durable Power of Attorney

According to the National Cancer Institute, a durable power of attorney (DPA) is a legal document that “gives one person (such as a spouse, relative, friend, or lawyer) the authority to make medical, legal, or financial decisions for another person.”

The signer can choose to make some durable power of attorney documents take effect immediately or at a future point when they can no longer able to make decisions for themselves. Usually the DPA lasts until the signer dies or chooses to revoke it.

The San Mateo County Law Library offers a fillable template you can access by clicking on the following text: Uniform Statutory Form Power of Attorney. Please consult with an attorney to determine if this document might be right for your situation.

If a power of attorney is needed to access a bank or investment account, we recommend discussing requirements with the financial institution, as their processes might require the execution and notarization of a specific version of a power of attorney or additional documents.

Will

According to the CA Attorney General, “One way you can control the distribution of your property after death is through a will.” The State Bar of California offers a fillable template that you can access by clicking on the following text: California will. Please consult with an attorney to determine if this document might be right for your situation.

In California, wills are usually not notarized and instead need to be signed by two impartial witnesses. An impartial witness cannot be a direct or indirect beneficiary of the will. One of our hospital notaries can serve as one witness, and you can provide the other or we can bring a second witness with us for an additional fee.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Many hospitals have policies that forbid nurses and other staff from acting as witnesses. Consult with the facility staff prior to setting your notary appointment.

Step 2: Ensure that the Patient Has an Acceptable Form of ID

At the notary appointment, the patient will need to present satisfactory evidence of their identification. The most common forms of acceptable IDs are listed below. The ID must be unexpired and/or issued within the last 5 years. A photocopy or picture of an ID card is not acceptable.

• Passport issued in the USA or any foreign country
• Driver’s license issued in the USA, Mexico, or Canada
• DMV-issued ID (including Senior ID) card issued in the USA
• US military ID
• California state, county, or city employee ID

NOTE: A green card is not an acceptable ID

If the patient does not possess an acceptable form of ID, then the patient or their family will need to arrange to have two people act as credible witnesses at the time of the notary appointment. Each credible witness must present an acceptable form of ID, identify the signing party under oath, and sign the notary’s journal.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Many hospitals have policies that forbid nurses and other staff from acting as credible witnesses. Consult with the facility staff prior to setting your notary appointment.

Step 3: Determine Patient Eligibility to Sign

To ensure a successful notary appointment, the patient must be awake and aware of what they are signing. The hospital notary will make attempts to determine if the patient understands what they are signing. A notary cannot notarize a document if the patient is unconscious or seems confused due to a medical condition or the effects of medications.

Please notify the nursing staff of the signing appointment so that they can alert you if the patient will be unavailable due to testing or other procedures.

Step 4: Determine Physical Ability to Sign

Jittery signatures due to the effects of a patient’s medical condition or medications can usually be notarized. But if the patient is struggling with the pen, perhaps due to a stroke or weakness, they can sign their name with an X or just a mark.

The signature by mark method requires two disinterested witnesses to sign and write their names on the document. One of these witnesses will also write the signer’s name next to the patient’s mark. They do not have to know the patient, but they cannot benefit from the patient signing the document. The notary cannot act as one of these witnesses.

Signature by mark witnesses do not present their ID to the hospital notary or sign the notary’s journal.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Many hospitals have policies that forbid nurses and other staff from acting as signature by mark witnesses. Consult with the facility staff prior to setting an appointment.

Step 5: Determine if an Ombudsman Is Needed

If the patient is in a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) and needs to sign an Advance Health Care Directive, it may be necessary to have an ombudsman present at the signing. We recommend contacting the facility’s staff, most likely the patient’s social worker, for help securing and scheduling an ombudsman. Once you know the ombudsman’s availability, we will try to make it work with our schedule.

Information on the role of an ombudsman can be found by clicking on the following link: California Department of Aging—Long-Term Care Ombudsman

Signings that occur in a medical facility other than a Skilled Nursing Facility do not require the presence of an ombudsman.

Step 6: Schedule Your Notary Appointment

Once you have reviewed the steps above and determined that the patient is ready to sign, schedule a mobile notary appointment by calling +1 (415) 655-9455 or emailing [email protected]. Rush, evening, and weekend appointments are often available. We accept cash, check, PayPal, or credit card payments.