Identification and Subscribing Witness Notarizations — California Notary Public Practice Test

This California Notary Public Identification and Subscribing Witness Notarizations practice set has 20 practice questions based on the official exam materials, each with an instant explanation.

Sample questions

Three questions from the Identification and Subscribing Witness Notarizations bank with the correct answer and an explanation. The practice quiz above draws 20 questions at random from the same bank.

1. A notary public is asked to take an acknowledgment from a neighbor the notary public has known well for twenty years. The neighbor brought no identification. Under Civil Code section 1185(b), what may the notary public rely on to establish the signer's identity?

   • Only one of the forms of satisfactory evidence the statute lists: an approved identification document, the oath of a single credible witness personally known to the notary public, or the oaths of two credible witnesses. — Correct answer
   • The notary public's own personal knowledge of the signer, because twenty years of acquaintance leaves no doubt about who the signer is.
   • A declaration signed by the signer under penalty of perjury stating their own full name and address.
   • A recent utility bill together with a credit card bearing the signer's name.

   Explanation: Civil Code section 1185(b) defines satisfactory evidence as a closed list — 'any one of the following': an identification document meeting subdivision (b)(3) or (4), the oath of a single credible witness personally known to the notary public, or the oaths of two credible witnesses. The notary public's own personal knowledge of the signer is not on that list, so no amount of acquaintance can take the place of satisfactory evidence (handbook p. 9).

   Handbook: Identification — Satisfactory Evidence

2. A signer presents a California DMV driver's license that expired two months ago. The license shows an issue date four years ago. May the notary public rely on it as satisfactory evidence of the signer's identity?

   • Yes — a California DMV driver's license qualifies if it is current or was issued within five years, and this one was issued four years ago. — Correct answer
   • No — an identification document must be unexpired on the day of the notarial act.
   • No — the document must be both currently valid and issued within the last five years.
   • Yes — any government-issued photo identification is acceptable no matter how old it is.

   Explanation: Civil Code section 1185(b)(3) permits reasonable reliance on a listed document 'if the document or other form of identification is current or has been issued within five years.' That is an either/or test, not a both/and test, so a California DMV license issued four years ago still works even though it has expired. The same five-year rule is printed in the handbook's list of identification documents on p. 9.

   Handbook: Identification — Identification Documents

3. A signer has none of the identification documents authorized by law. A friend of the signer offers to act as a single credible witness. What does Civil Code section 1185(b)(1) require?

   • The notary public must personally know the credible witness and must prove that witness's identity with a document meeting section 1185(b)(3) or (4); under oath the witness must state, among other things, that the signer possesses none of the authorized identification documents and that the witness has no financial interest in and is not named in the document. — Correct answer
   • It is enough that the credible witness personally knows the signer; the notary public establishes the witness's identity from the witness's own sworn statement.
   • The credible witness must state under oath that the statements contained in the document are true and correct.
   • The credible witness must state under oath that they watched the signer sign the document.

   Explanation: Under Civil Code section 1185(b)(1) the single-credible-witness route is open only when the notary public personally knows that witness, and the witness's own identity must still be proven with a document meeting subdivision (b)(3) or (4). The witness then swears to the points listed on handbook p. 10, including that the signer has no authorized identification document and that the witness has no financial interest in and is not named in the document. Swearing that the document's contents are true, or that the witness watched the signing, belongs to other roles entirely.

   Handbook: Identification — Oath of a Single Credible Witness