Per Illinois law, we can accept the following forms of identification in order to notarize a document:

• Any state-issued driver’s license
• Any state-issued ID card
• U.S. Passport issued by the U.S. Department of State
• U.S. Military ID
• Green cards issued by USCIS
• Any national ID card issued to a foreign national living in the U.S., such as a Matricula Consular

Unfortunately, we cannot accept any TVDL card issued by the Illinois Secretary of State as a form of ID.

We can notarize a wide variety of documents at the Northlake Public Library District, including (but not limited to):

• Pension authorizations
• Proof of residency
• Small claims
• Car title transfers
• Simple affidavits
• Any legal form that only requires a signature verification

There are documents that we are forbidden by law from notarizing. Typically, these are forms or documents that require specific legal knowledge, and they include:

• Copies of documents or signatures; all documents must be original
• Documents pertaining to real estate transactions, including but not limited to: mortgages, real estate loans, deeds, titles, property transfers, interests in land trusts, etc.
• Complex financial transactions
• Immigration documents
• Wills, living wills, or trusts
• Power of attorney documents, or any documents being signed by someone who has power of attorney and wants to sign on behalf of another person
• I-9 forms
• We cannot provide apostilles
• We cannot attest to true copies of passports, driver’s licenses, birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates, other vital records, etc. Illinois law does not authorize a notary public to certify copies of any document. Persons requesting certified copies will be referred to the official who has custody of the original document or to the office where the document has been officially filed.
• We cannot notarize handwritten letters

When you bring in your documents for notarization, make sure you have completed filling out the document, except for your signature.

You will sign your document in the presence of the notary; do not sign your document before arriving.

Notary services at the Northlake Public Library District are free for all patrons; a library card is not required.

The Northlake Public Library District will not provide any witnesses, and under no circumstances may a person solicit any other patron in the library to be a witness.

If witnesses are needed, it’s the responsibility of the person needing the witness to provide their own.  Any accompanying witnesses must also provide a valid form of identification at the time of signing.

Per Illinois law, if there’s any question of authenticity or doubt about a customer’s identity, or if there’s any question of the truthfulness or any ambiguity suspected regarding a document, a notary public may, at their sole discretion, decline to provide notary service.

While we can answer general informational questions, notaries at the Northlake Public Library District are not attorneys licensed to practice law in Illinois, and we cannot give any legal advice regarding any matter.

Notaries cannot provide any assistance drafting any documents, nor can we provide any help with documents that may pose a conflict of interest.