Do Notaries Need to Be Licensed Attorneys?
It’s an easy assumption to make: someone with the authority to make a document “official” must have a law degree, right? Not even close — and understanding why clears up a lot of confusion about what a notary actually is.
Two Completely Separate Credentials
Becoming an attorney requires a bachelor’s degree, three years of law school, passing the bar exam, and ongoing licensing requirements — a demanding, multi-year process focused on legal knowledge and advocacy.
Becoming a Florida notary public requires an application, a modest bond, and typically a short educational course covering notary procedures — a process that can be completed in a matter of weeks, focused narrowly on the mechanics of identity verification and witnessing signatures.
These aren’t different levels of the same credential — they’re entirely separate things, authorizing entirely different activities.
Why This Distinction Matters
Because a notary’s role is narrow and specific — verifying identity and witnessing signatures — it doesn’t require legal training to perform correctly. What it does require is careful attention to procedure, honesty, and an understanding of the specific rules governing notarial acts. That’s a real and important skill set, but it’s a different skill set than practicing law.
Can Someone Be Both?
Yes, and it’s fairly common — many attorneys also hold a notary commission, which lets them notarize documents directly in their own office as a convenience for clients, without needing to send them elsewhere. But holding both credentials doesn’t mean the two roles blend together during a notarization; when acting as a notary, even an attorney-notary is performing the narrower notarial function, not providing legal advice through that act.
Why This Matters for What You Can Ask a Notary
Since a notary isn’t necessarily (and doesn’t need to be) an attorney, it makes sense that they can’t give legal advice, draft documents, or explain the legal implications of what you’re signing — regardless of how professional or knowledgeable they seem. Our post on what Florida notaries can and cannot do covers this boundary in more detail.
Why Notaries Still Matter
None of this diminishes what a notary actually does — verifying identity and witnessing signatures is a genuinely important function that helps prevent fraud on significant documents. It’s just a different, narrower function than what an attorney provides, and understanding that difference helps you know who to turn to for which need: a notary for witnessing your signature, an attorney for legal guidance about what you’re signing.
Getting the Right Help for Your Situation
If you need a document notarized, Easy Day Notary handles that directly. If you need legal advice about a document’s content, that’s a conversation for an attorney — and once your documents are ready, scheduling your notarization is the next step. Contact us with any questions about where that line falls for your specific situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a notary public a type of lawyer?
No. Being a notary public and being an attorney are completely separate credentials, obtained through entirely different processes, with different scopes of authority.
Can an attorney also be a notary?
Yes, and many are — some attorneys hold a notary commission in addition to their law license, which lets them notarize documents in their own office as a convenience.
Does becoming a notary require a law degree?
No. Florida notary requirements involve an application, a bond, and in many cases a short educational course — nothing close to the years of education required for a law degree.
Why do notaries feel official if they're not lawyers?
Because they genuinely are official — a notary holds a real state commission with legal authority to perform notarial acts. That authority is just narrower and different in kind from an attorney's.