Notary services
Mentor Public Library offers free notary services. We suggest you contact us before you come to confirm that a notary is available.
Notary services are available at Mentor’s Main Branch, the Mentor-on-the-Lake branch, the Hub (located at Mentor High School), and the Mentor Headlands branch.
- All persons signing the document must appear in person.
- Please bring a valid, government-issued photo ID and unsigned documents to be notarized. Documents must be signed in the presence of the notary in order to be valid (ORC Section 147).
- The Library’s free notary service is intended for simple documents that do not require specialized expertise.
Documents we will not notarize:
- Real estate transactions including mortgage and housing refinance documents, including Quit Claim Deeds
- Employment eligibility verification, Homeland Security I-9 Forms
- Auto titles without buyer address and name (state law requires this section be completed, regardless of circumstance). Seller must be present.
- Electronic notarizations
- Items where the notarization oath is not written in English (and no written English translation is provided).
- Last Will and Testaments
Last Will and Testaments are not notarized in Ohio. They do require two people to witness the testator’s (the person who is leaving the will) signature.
We reserve the right to refuse notarizing documents for any reason. We reserve the right to decline service in cases that raise any issue of authenticity, ambiguity, or doubt.
Note: In the State of Ohio, notaries cannot certify documents. We cannot certify copies of passports, driver’s licenses, birth certificates, marriages, death certificates, divorce, or naturalization certificates. Notary republics can notarize a statement by the individual that the photocopy is indeed a copy of the original document. This is not the same thing as a certified copy.
No legal advice or assistance filling out forms is provided. Please contact an attorney for legal advice.