Most drivers license bureaus have your picture on file and can verify your identity just from that as long as the drivers license is current. I personally would try going in and requesting a new one. As for the notary end of things, yes, most states do allow a notary to sign paperwork with 1 or 2 people who can validate their identity with sworn statements. You can find a notary on sites like 123notary and notaryrotary. Either of those sites should have a notary near you who can answer your specific state's requirements.

You cannot bring someone in to vouch for you to a notary. A notary however does not have to verify your ID if you personally know them. If you know a notary that is in your church, or a former high school classmate, it is possibly that they may be willing to notarize a document without you presenting any government issued identification.

There are a number of forms of identification that you may be able to get, such as a school issued ID, a ID from the state probation office, and others that may be considered valid forms of ID.

Another possibility for you to get your birth certificate is to have a relative obtain your birth certificate for you. Often state vital statistic offices will allow parents and sometimes even grandparents and siblings to obtain a birth certificate you your behalf. I would check with your state office of vital statistics to see if your parents can obtain your birth certificate for you. Once you get your birth certificate you will likely still need some form of state identification, so you should contact your local DMV once you get get the birth certificate.

In South Carolina you may notarize a document with a proper credible witness verifying the identity ( I am a SC notary). In Georgia, a document may be notarized with a social security card and verified by a witness. In Florida, again, a sworn statement by a credible witness. I could go on but in many states, yes, you can notarize with a sworn statement from one or two credible witnesses.

There may be a few states that do not allow this but the vast majority have some provision so that a notarization can happen without photo identification.

I will need to slightly amend my answer, however depending on what state you are in, it is still correct. Thank you Melaniem41, I was unaware of the differences in state law. In Arizona, and many other states, the credible witness must be personally known to the notary, and there are a handful of other states that will now allow credible witnesses at all. Depending on the state it may not be possible for one or even two credible witnesses to verify your identity. Many sates that allow the "credible witness" even contain strange language that requires that the person be of high integrity or charactor and I think that it might be difficult for some notaries to decide whether they will in fact accept the credible witnesses. Another problem is that most states prohibit the credible witness to be a family member, and a neighber or a "friend" may not know the person's full name or address. I think it would be much easier to check with your state vital statistics office because some allow a family member to request the birth certificate on your behalf.

I really do hate to contradict you but in Arizona a credible witness IS allowed. I quote the Arizona Notary Public Reference manual.

"6. CREDIBLE PERSON If a notary does not know the signer personally and the signer does not have valid ID the notary can use a credible person to identify the signer. A credible person must be someone who knows the signer personally. Some state’s refer to a credible person as a credible witness [A.R.S. § 41- 311(11)(A)(v) & (vi)]. There are two types of credible persons: 1. The first is someone whom the notary knows and who knows the signer. Satisfactory evidence of identity of the credible person in this case is personal knowledge. The credible person is then placed under oath to swear or affirm that the signer has the identity claimed. 2. The second is someone whom the notary does not know personally but who personally knows the signer. The credible person must present the notary with an ID card that meets the requirements on page 16.The notary must list in the journal the type of satisfactory evidence of identity used for the credible person, and obtain the credible person’s full name, signature and address, as well as all necessary journal elements for the signer (see page 20). Note that in both cases the credible person must always know the signer."
http://www.azsos.gov/business_services/notary/nota ry_public_reference_manual.pdf


The reason most states have allowances for this is for hospital and hospice type settings where identification is often not available. Yes, determining the credibility of a witness can be difficult which is why a good notary will usually require two and avoid family situations. As I said, most states do have allowances for credible witnesses. I did not say all states. But even the one you have suggested as being one that does not allow credible witnesses is incorrect. When you are quoting laws within this area of questions, you have to be careful because rarely is there anyone familiar with EVERY state's requirements and many states have differing laws. This is why I stated "most" have allowances for this.

You need to request a certified copy of your birth certificate from your state vital records department. If you pay for rush shipping you can usually have a new certified birth certificate in a couple of days. This will then allow you to get a new drivers license and get a document notarized. In most states if you lose your license they will send you another one for a fee. They will only send it to the address on record since you lost the first one. This once again takes 5-10 days. I can understand that you need something notarized but no notary is going to risk notarizing documents without you being able to prove who you are. Having someone vouch for you does not protect the notary. In today's environment of identity theft everyone is much more careful in verifying who you are before they hand over money or notarize something for you. Here is a company that works with most states and can get you a certified copy of your certificate in 1-3 days.

This site will NOT get you a birth certificate. This site enables you to find the FORMS to get your birth certificate for a fee which are all readily available on the web for free. They are not associated with any state or federal groups at all. Read their terms of use before wasting your money.

The term credible person and credible witness are defined differently depending on the state. Arizona may allow a credible person to give an affirmation with only an identification. Since education requirements are minimal to become a notary in the United States, many notories may notarize documents that they shouldn't even if it is prohibited. I am unaware of how the term credible person is defined in Arizona, and it is really not relevant to the point of my answer. The main point is that we really need to know the state in which the question is asked because the rules regarding notary stamps are different depending on the state.

In Nevada, the term credible witness is defined under NRS 240.0025 “Credible witness” defined. “Credible witness” means a person who: 1. Swears or affirms that the signer of a document is the person whom he or she claims to be; and 2. Is known personally to the signer of the document and the notarial officer. Added to NRS by 2003, 606). Under the Nevada Secretary of State website: http://nvsos.gov/index.aspx?page=207 which regulates notarial acts, they specifically state, "The standard for determining identity is the same. If no written ID is available, a credible witness can be used. Remember, the credible witness must be present and known to you."

If the question poster is from a state such as Nevada, and I am sure that is not the only U.S. state or territory that holds this rule, then they will not be able to just bring in a neighbor to get an affidavit notarized. Additionally, if we knew the state then we would know if there may be other options instead of getting a relative to act as a credilbe witness (which is prohibited in a number of states anyway).

Melaniem41, you actually said that a majority of states allow for a credible witenss, but I am not sure that is the case. but whether 24 or 40 states allow for that really doesn't address the fact that I suggested checking with the requirements for the vital statitics office first, because many states would still prohibit a relative or family member from becoming a credible witness in some of the states that allow for it.

If you look at the term credible witness, it is a common law term that really has no place in today's jurisprudence. Formerly, a credible person would be a person known to the community. Your average Joe Blow neighbor off the street would not be considered a "credible witness" in the past. Additionally, most neighbors don't really even know their neighbors like in the past as well. We may know their first names, and that really is it.

My suggestion was valid and my answer was valid despite the nitpicking.

A "credible witness" to a signing before a notary is permitted in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Misinformation abounds on the Internet, including those websites purporting to speak for notaries. For example, it is often stated with certainty that a credible witness is not allowed in Virginia. Under Va. Code § 47.1-2, a credible witness is clearly permitted.

Now, there are states that make it very difficult to obtain a copy of a birth certificate without a photo ID, South Carolina among them.

The main point is that the poster may not be able to just bring in a neighbor to verify his identity depending on the state that he lives in. Depending on the state, he may not even be able to bring in two neighbors off the street to verify his identity.

Although all may states allow some form of credible witness, some states require one credible witness if the credible witness is known personally to the notary, and some states require two credible wtinesses if they are unknown to notary, and at least Nevada seems define "credible witness" as someone who is known to the notary. To add further confusion, some states also require that the "credible" in credible witness have some meaning and that the person is not just someone off the street.

In South Carolina, as in most states, the parents can obtain a copy of someone's birth certificate from the vital record's office. If the person's parents are nearby and it is not much of an issue, he may (not saying for certain that he is) be better off avoiding the confusion of a "credible witness" and have his parents obtain his birth certificate.

Well, in South Carolina, a credible witness would do no good to obtain a birth certificate, as only some kind of photo ID would suffice. So, the parents, if still alive, would apparently be the only hope for getting one in the Palmetto State.