CDI Notary Services

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5 tips when notarizing for medical patients
By Laura Biewer on April 1, 2015

Updated 12-19-23. Notaries asked to perform signings in health care facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes need to be prepared for unique circumstances, from family members and medical staff to the facility's own policies.

Because patients in health care facilities can be very ill, heavily medicated or otherwise impaired, notarizing for them requires extra time, compassion and skill.

Often, patients who need to sign documents have issues with alertness, positive identification, signing ability and other challenges you won't find covered in your Notary handbook.

In this setting, clients are at their most vulnerable. They’re often stuck in a room with equipment connected to them that beeps or buzzes; arm bands or leg stockings that squeeze their limbs; and IV bags hanging on poles, etc. They may be lying down, draped in a gown and thin blanket, and not physically or mentally at their finest.

In this situation, they may need significant documents notarized, such as powers of attorney, which gives another person temporary or long-term power to make their medical or financial decisions. Here are tips for notarizing documents for clients in hospitals, hospices and other health care facilities:

Schedule extra time for hospital notarizations
Only notarize for an alert signer
Know guidelines for alternatives to full signatures
Understand the alternatives to ID documents
Know the requirements of the facility