Signature Identification by Notary in Vadodara

Notary

What is being certified

This is section 8(1)(a) work — verifying, authenticating, certifying or attesting the execution of an instrument. The certificate speaks to three things and no more: that a person appeared, that the Notary satisfied himself of that person's identity, and that the signature on the document was made or acknowledged in front of him.

It does not certify that the signature matches a specimen held elsewhere. A Notary is not a handwriting expert and does not compare your signature against a bank's record card. Where the question is whether two signatures were written by the same hand, that is a forensic examination, not a notarial act.

Signature identification vs signature difference affidavit.

These get confused constantly. Identification is the Notary certifying a signature made in front of him. A signature difference affidavit is you swearing on oath that two different-looking signatures on your own records are both yours — a statement by you, not a certificate by the Notary. Banks asking about a mismatch in an old account usually want the second one. It attracts stamp duty; identification, as a rule, does not.

Where it is asked for

Share transfer forms and dematerialisation requests, where a registrar or transfer agent wants the signature witnessed by someone with an official seal.
Bank forms — account operation changes, mandate changes, locker forms, closure of an old account where the signature has drifted over twenty years.
Life certificates and pension forms, where the pensioner cannot attend the disbursing branch. Here identity in person is the entire point of the exercise.
Insurance claim and surrender forms.
Government and departmental forms that carry a “signature attested by” box.
Vakalatnama and court forms, where the person signing must be identified — see notary for court.

How we satisfy ourselves about identity

An original photo identity document, produced by the person in front of us. Not a photocopy, not a photograph on a phone, not a family member's word. Where the name on the document differs from the name on the form — a married name, a spelling variant, an initial expanded — that gap has to be closed before the seal goes on, and often the right instrument is a one-and-the-same-person affidavit rather than an identification. We will say so if that is what the situation calls for.

Where identity is genuinely doubtful, the seal does not go on. That is not obstruction; a certificate of identity from someone who was not sure is a certificate worth nothing to the person relying on it.

Sign here, not at home

The strongest version of this act is a signature made in the Notary's presence. The next best is a signature acknowledged in his presence — you confirm, face to face, that the signature already on the paper is yours. Both are within section 8(1)(a). What cannot be done is certifying a signature for a person who does not appear at all, whoever brings the paper and however genuine the signature may be. If the signatory is in another city, the act must be done where they are.

The blanks problem.

Bring the form filled in. Once a Notary has sealed a page, anything blank on it has been sealed too, and a figure or a name written in afterwards travels under the authority of that seal. We strike through empty fields before attesting, which occasionally annoys people who wanted to fill them in later. It is the reason the seal is worth something.

Seal, register and fee

Section 8(2) of the Notaries Act, 1952 makes signature and official seal both essential — neither alone is a notarial act. The act is entered in the Notarial Register in Form XV under Rule 11(2), which means there is a permanent record with a serial number that can be checked later if anybody questions the attestation. Rule 11(9) requires a receipt for the fee. Rule 10(1) caps the fee for attesting execution at ₹35. What a properly issued certificate should look like is set out at notarial certificate.

What to bring

The form or instrument, completely filled in, unsigned
Original photo identity — Aadhaar, passport, PAN or driving licence
A photocopy of the identity document for our file
Any covering letter from the bank, registrar or department setting out what they need
Old records showing the earlier signature, if a mismatch is the reason you are here
The signatory in person; nobody can be identified in their absence

Document Attestation by a Notary in Vadodara

Notary Work for Banks in Vadodara

The Notarial Certificate: What a Valid One Looks Like

Affidavit Notarisation in Vadodaraસોગંદનામું

Common questions

Can a Notary confirm that a signature on an old document is mine?

Not by comparison. A Notary certifies a signature made or acknowledged in his presence; he does not compare handwriting against a specimen card, and he is not a handwriting expert. If your problem is that a bank says an old signature does not match your current one, the usual answer is a signature difference affidavit sworn by you, identifying both versions as yours. We will tell you which of the two your situation needs.

The person who has to sign is in another city. Can I bring the form?

No. Identification requires the person to appear. The whole value of the certificate is that the Notary saw and identified the signatory; done in their absence it would certify nothing. The workable answer is to have the act done by a Notary where that person is, or to have them attend here. We can draft and courier the papers in advance so the appearance itself takes only a few minutes.

Is signature identification the same as attesting a document?

They overlap. Both sit under section 8(1)(a) of the Notaries Act, 1952, which covers verifying, authenticating, certifying or attesting the execution of an instrument. In practice, identification is asked for on forms — bank mandates, share transfers, life certificates — while attestation is the word used for agreements and deeds. The act is the same and Rule 10(1) caps the fee for attesting execution at thirty-five rupees.

Signature Identification and Attestation in Vadodara