Resources > Glossary > Appear Before

Glossary of Notary Public, Mortgage, Signing Agent, and Loan Signing Terms.

0-9  [A]  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  
Common Terms 1   Common Terms 2

Appear Before

Phonetics: ap·pear be·fore    \ə-'pir\    \bi-'fȯr\

Function: verb

Notary acts require the signer or affiant to appear before the notary public. There was a case where a person in jail was in a window of a room fifty feet away. The notary could not clearly see the signer, therefore, the signer was deemed to not have appeared before the notary and a Power of Attorney was recommended by the signer's attorney. Appear before means that the person who's signature was being notarized was within several feet of the notary with no obstructions to the notary's view of the signer. Its common in a jail notarization for the signer to appear before the notary, but behind thick glass, with a guard handing the journal and papers back and forth. That is acceptable to appear before a notary behind thick glass, providing you can converse directly with the signer face to face through a hole in the glass If a microphone is involved, that is okay too providing you can see the signer talking when you are hearing their voice, hence the term "appeared before".

One of the main functions that happens when the signer personally appears before the notary is that the notary public can have the signer sign the official journal of notarial acts. Most states require the notary to keep a journal, or at least recommened the use of a journal to keep a permanent records of all notary acts that a particular notary did in chronological order.

Infinitive: to appear before

Present Tense: appeared before

Past Tense: appears before

Present Continuous: appearing before