A witness is an individual who, being present, personally observes an event take place. A variety of witnesses may participate in a notarization or another type of secure transaction.
Proof can be used to complete many transactions that require witnesses.
| Witness must prove identity? | Witness vouches for signer? | Witness must be present for notary meeting? | Witness is a notary performing an official notarial act? | Is this type of witnessing available on Proof platform? | |
| Credible witness | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Document witness | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Remote witness | PKN | No | Yes | No | Yes* |
| Signature witness | N/A | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Subscribing witness | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
*Remote Witness is currently only available for Real Estate transactions when the property is located in Florida.
Credible Identifying Witness
A Credible Identifying Witness vouches for the identity of a signer. A credible witness must pass Proof's Identity Verification.
Document Witness
Sometimes, a notary or other individual will be asked to serve as a Document Witness when notarizing a document.
Acting as a document witness is not an official notarial act. When a notary serves as a document witness, they act as a private individual to witness someone signing the document in addition to officially notarizing it.
Remote Witness
A Remote Witness observes the execution of a document by a person who is in the electronic presence but not the physical presence of the witness.
Signature Witness
Signature witnessing is an official notarial act. A notary "witnesses" or observes a person signing a document. This is an official notarial act and is relatively uncommon. An affirmation or jurat is often performed instead of a signature witnessing.
Subscribing Witness
A subscribing witness watches the signing of a document and then appears before a notary in the principal signer's place. Some states do not allow subscribing witnesses due to the high potential for fraud.
Alternatively, Proof's Representative Signer feature may meet the needs of those who need to have someone sign a document on their behalf.
Additional Articles
Anyone can access most of the articles linked below. However, only notaries and business/real estate customers can access notary articles. Review Access Help Center Articles as a Notary for assistance.
- Consumers/Signers: What if My Document Needs a Witness?
- Notaries:
- Business:
- Real Estate:
© 2022-2023 Notarize, Inc. (dba Proof.com) All Rights Reserved.