OVER A DECADE IN SERVING THE MIDDLESEX, ESSEX, AND WORCESTER COUNTIES IN MASSACHUSETTS
If you have received a new job offer out of state, then you are more likely to receive your new hire packet in the mail instructing you to complete your Employment Verification with the help of Notary Public to verify your identity and complete Form I-9 Your Employment Verification Form. As of 2018, there is no certificate wording included in the I-9 form, nor is a Notary asked to affix his or her seal to the form, so the answer is no. When an employer designates a Notary Public or other individual to complete a Form I-9, that person is designated as an “authorized representative.” The representative is simply asked to certify that the appropriate identity documents were presented (as explained in Section 2 of the form).
Notarize I-9
The authorized representative must review the employee’s identity documents while the employee is in their presence and then complete Section 2. The authorized representative does not perform a notarization or affix a Notary seal to the form since they are not acting as an official Notary Public. In the title field in Section 2, the Notary should write “authorized representative.” When perusing the I-9 form, the Massachusetts Notary Agent will notice that the form does not contain a notarial certificate and therefore does not require notarization. The wording on the form and the identification requirements confuse some individuals into thinking that the form must be notarized. Employees are asked to “attest under penalty of perjury” that their statements and documentation are true. Rather than requiring the use of a third party, such as a notary, the form itself indicates to the employee that Federal law provides for fines and imprisonment for false statements. Additionally, the employer must examine identification documents and work authorization documents from the employee to determine their eligibility to work in the United States. There are various documents in three separate lists from which the employee can choose to submit to verify identity and employment eligibility.
The employer is not permitted to determine or decide which documents the employee must produce as long as the documentation is provided from the lists in the I-9 form’s Lists of Acceptable Documents. Employers may feel inadequate or uncomfortable examining these documents and often will request the services of the notary, whom the employer feels is much more qualified to scrutinize identification documents such as passports, military ID cards, and alien green cards. Section 2 of Form I-9, which is the part to be completed by the employer, may also be filled out and completed by the employer’s authorized representative. In this case, a notary may be called upon to act in such a capacity.
How Much Notary Charge For I-9s?
According to the National Notary Organization website, If you are acting as an authorized representative, then handling the I-9 form would not be considered a notarial act, and therefore not within the scope of state-mandated fees for performing notarial services. As with any non-notarial services provided, the Notary is free to determine the fee for providing the service of signing the I-9 form. Neighborhood Parcel fees vary depending on the level of service. Currently, the fee to Notarize an I-9 Form and validate the IDs is around $79.95.
