1. We cannot give legal advice. At all.
A Virginia notary who is not an attorney cannot draft your document, fill in its blanks, pick which document you need, or explain what it means for your situation. That is Virginia law (section 47.1-15 of the Code of Virginia), and it exists to protect you: the person guiding your legal decisions should be someone trained and licensed to do it.
What that sounds like at the table: if you ask us "should I use a power of attorney or a trust?" we will say, "I can't advise on that, you'd want an attorney." Then we will notarize whichever document you and your attorney chose, correctly.
2. We cannot certify copies of birth, death, or marriage certificates.
Only the Virginia Office of Vital Records can issue certified copies of those, and only a court can certify court documents. Any notary offering to "certify" your birth certificate is handing you a piece of paper the receiving office will reject. If you need one for an apostille, we will point you to the right office and handle the rest of the process once you have it.
3. We cannot notarize without the signer in front of us.
The signer must personally appear before the notary. "My husband signed it last night, can you just stamp it?" is the single most common way notaries lose their commissions, and it can make the document worthless. Plan for every signer to be present at the visit.
4. We cannot notarize for a signer who is out of it.
The signer has to understand what they are signing and sign willingly. At a hospital bedside we confirm that gently before anything is signed. If a loved one is sedated or confused, the kind answer and the legal answer are the same one: not right now. It protects the document from being challenged later, and it protects your family.
5. We cannot notarize our own paperwork, or profit from yours.
A notary cannot notarize a document they or their spouse is named in or benefits from. If a signing would ever put us on both sides of the table, we will tell you and help you find another notary that day.
6. We cannot stamp an incomplete document.
Blank lines and missing pages mean no seal. It is not fussiness, it is section 47.1-15, and it is why we check your document page by page before the stamp comes out.
7. We cannot marry you.
Virginia notaries are not authorized to perform marriage ceremonies. That requires a separate authorization from a circuit court. We would love to notarize your prenup, though.
8. We cannot advertise as a "notario publico."
In much of Latin America a "notario" is a powerful legal official, close to a lawyer. In Virginia a notary is not that, and state law bans notaries from using the term or offering immigration advice, with civil penalties up to $2,500 for a first violation. If someone advertises immigration help as a "notario," walk away. For immigration matters you want an accredited representative or an immigration attorney.
9. We cannot charge whatever we want for the stamp.
Virginia caps the fee for the notarial act itself by law. What a mobile notary separately charges for is the travel and the time, and Virginia requires that to be agreed in advance, which is why our booking form puts the travel agreement in writing before anyone drives. On your invoice, the notary fee and the travel always appear as separate lines. If a notary quotes you 1 blended number for "the stamp," they are doing it wrong.