Notaries Public

Starting July 1, 2014
Notary Public Fee
$1.00 each signature

The purpose of notarization is to prevent fraud and forgery. A notary acts as an official and unbiased witness to the identity of persons who comes before the notary for a specific purpose.

• Please do not sign your documents before you come to the library. We are required to see you sign your documents.
• Each person signing the document must be present for us to notarize that signature.
• An ID with your signature is required so that we can verify your identity. PLEASE NOTE: Under recent changes in state law, the ID must be issued by a state or federal government agency and must bear the photographic image of the individual’s face and signature.
  
  • Examples of acceptable IDs issued by a state or federal government agency with both a photographic image and signature are a valid state driver’s license or ID card, a United States military ID, or valid passport.
  • Examples of IDs we cannot accept are Social Security cards, a United States passport card, or University of Illinois IDs that do not bear a photographic image or signature.
• If your document requires witnesses as well as your own signature and notarization, please bring with you a sufficient number of people willing to serve as your witnesses.
• The library cannot notarize government I-9 forms or Cook County deeds, nor can we provide an Apostille. 

A notary public is almost always available whenever the library is open. Notary service is offered at the Info Desk on the first floor. Please call Adult Services at 217-367-4405 if you have any questions.