Acceptable Forms of ID for Online Notarization

Before completing the notarial act, the commissioned online notary must confirm the signer’s identity. In a remote session, that usually involves a government-issued photo credential, credential analysis, identity proofing, and live audio-video appearance.

Florida Statutes §117.265 is one state example of online-notarization procedures that require remote presentation of a government-issued identification credential, credential analysis, and identity proofing when the principal is not personally known to the online notary. That example applies when a Florida-commissioned online notary acts under Florida law—not as a nationwide identity checklist.

Commonly presented credentials include a U.S. driver’s license, state-issued ID card, U.S. passport, or another current government-issued photo ID. Some workflows may support certain foreign passports or other international credentials when the applicable notary law and the platform both support that credential type.

There is no single universal list of credentials that every RON platform accepts. Support can differ by issuing country, document security features, image quality, and the technology used for credential analysis.

Credential analysis is a technology-assisted review of the identification document for indicators of authenticity and integrity. Identity proofing is the broader process used to confirm the person presenting the credential is the named individual.

Platform support and technical readability matter as much as legal eligibility of the credential type. A credential may be lawful to present and still fail if the image is unclear, the document is damaged, the camera cannot capture required security features, or the provider’s technology does not support that credential.

Read how knowledge-based authentication, credential analysis, and biometrics differ.

Domestic and international sessions may use different identity-verification paths even when both involve a government-issued photo ID. Some domestic workflows may include knowledge-based authentication or other U.S.-oriented checks.

iRemoteNotary’s supported international workflow is biometrics-first: eligible international signers generally complete credential analysis and biometric facial verification rather than U.S.-style knowledge-based authentication as the primary path. That is an operational workflow choice—not a claim that every online notarization nationwide must use biometrics.

Learn when a foreign passport may be usable for a U.S. online notarization.

Read whether a U.S. Social Security number is required for an international session.

Check international signer ID options by issuing country.

A current, authentic government-issued ID is necessary in most remote online notarization sessions, but it is not a guarantee of approval. Verification can still fail because of glare, blur, damaged laminate, unsupported credential types, mismatched biographic data, device incompatibility, or other platform limitations.

Successful identity verification also does not decide whether the document is eligible for remote online notarization or whether a lender, title company, school, court, agency, or other recipient will accept the finished instrument.

Name differences can delay or prevent a notarization. Middle initials, married names, maiden names, suffixes, and spelling variations should be reviewed before the session. The notary must follow the platform’s rules and the law governing the notary’s commission.

Read what to do when the ID name and document name do not match.

The notary cannot bypass required identity verification. If credential analysis or identity proofing fails, the remote online notarization cannot proceed through that workflow.

Notarization does not guarantee recipient acceptance, recording eligibility, funding, apostille eligibility, or document validity under the receiving party’s rules.