Notary Errors That Delay Closings

Published 2026-08-01 · Updated 2026-08-01 · For Title Companies

The errors that force a re-signing

1. Blank or incomplete notarial certificate. The single most common defect. A missing venue, an unfilled date, an omitted signer name — Fla. Stat. §117.05(4) requires the venue, the act type, whether the signer appeared physically or by audio-video, the exact date, the signer's name, the identification method, and the notary's signature, printed name, and seal. Any one missing is a defective notarization.
2. Wrong certificate type. An acknowledgment completed where the document called for a jurat, or the reverse. The jurat requires an oath actually administered and the signature made in the notary's presence.
3. Date mismatch. The notarial date must be the date the signer appeared. Backdating to a lender's requested date is a serious violation, not a courtesy.
4. Seal illegible or overlapping text. §117.05(3)(a) requires photographically reproducible black ink. A seal stamped over printed text can render a recorded instrument unacceptable.
5. Name variance. The signature, the printed name, the ID, and the vesting on the deed all have to reconcile. “Robert J. Smith” signing a deed vested in “Robert James Smith” needs to be addressed at the table, not in post-closing.

The rest of the list

6. Missing witnesses on a deed. Fla. Stat. §689.01 requires two subscribing witnesses for a conveyance of an interest in Florida real property. The notary may serve as one only if the notary actually observed the signing — and even then, a second witness is still required. Mortgages are treated differently; see §697.02 and §695.26(1)(f).
7. Notarizing outside the signer's presence. A spouse who “will sign later,” a document dropped off already signed for a jurat, a signer in the next room. §117.107(9) prohibits certifying to an act that did not occur in the notary's presence.
8. Unacceptable identification. Expired ID, no ID with reliance on a document the statute does not authorize, or accepting a photocopy. Identification must satisfy §117.05(5).
9. Missed signature or initial pages. Not a notarial defect, but the most common practical cause of a package coming back. It is why closers check page counts before releasing funds.
10. Explaining the loan. A notary who answers “what does this mean” creates unauthorized-practice exposure for everyone in the chain — and it is prohibited under §117.05 for a non-attorney notary.

The prevention routine

Almost all of the above disappear with a fixed sequence at the table:

• Before you leave the house: confirm the signer's legal name against the documents, and confirm the number of witnesses the package requires. Bring a second witness if a deed is in the stack and none is arranged.
• Before anything is signed: inspect the ID, confirm it is unexpired, and confirm the name reconciles. Raise variances now, not at page 60.
• At each notarial certificate: fill it completely before you stamp. A stamped page with a blank line will be caught in review; a completed one will not.
• Before you leave the table: page through the entire package once for signatures, initials, and dates. Two minutes here saves a re-signing.
• Same night: scan back. Funding frequently waits on it.

If something is wrong and cannot be cured at the table — an expired ID, an absent spouse, a signer who does not appear to understand what they are signing — call the closer from the driveway. A rescheduled signing is a minor annoyance. A defective one is a title problem.

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