Notary vs. Attorney: What's the Difference in Florida?

A notary public in Florida performs one function: verifying that you are who you say you are, and that you signed a document willingly and knowingly. That's the whole job. The notary stamp doesn't make a document legally correct, doesn't mean the contents are accurate, and doesn't mean the notary has reviewed or approved anything.

An attorney does the opposite kind of work. An attorney can tell you what a document means, advise you whether to sign it, explain the legal consequences, draft documents from scratch, and represent your interests if something goes wrong afterward.

These are different jobs. The confusion between them is common, and it has real consequences.

What a notary cannot do in Florida

A Florida notary cannot give legal advice. Full stop. This means I cannot:

- Tell you whether you should sign something - Explain what a clause means or what your rights are under it - Draft a power of attorney, a deed, or a contract for you - Advise you on whether a document is in your best interest - Tell you whether a document will accomplish what you're trying to do

Doing any of these things would be unauthorized practice of law in Florida, which is a third-degree felony. I take this seriously. If you ask me whether you should sign something, I will tell you that's a question for your attorney — not because I'm being unhelpful, but because it's the law and because I genuinely cannot give you a reliable answer to that question.

What this means in practice

If you show up to a signing appointment with documents your attorney drafted, I'll notarize them. If you show up with documents you drafted yourself from a template you found online and you're not sure if they're correct, I'll notarize the signatures — but I won't tell you whether the documents work legally.

The one exception: I will tell you if something about the signing itself is wrong — if a signature line is blank that shouldn't be, if the document is asking for a type of notarization that doesn't exist in Florida, or if I can see on the face of the document that something is obviously incomplete. That's different from legal advice. That's just the mechanics of the signing.

When you need an attorney, not a notary

Hire an attorney when: - You're creating a document from scratch (will, trust, contract, deed) - You're buying or selling real property and there's no title company or attorney already involved - You're signing something and you don't fully understand what it commits you to - Someone is pressuring you to sign quickly and you want an independent review - You're dealing with a divorce, estate dispute, or any adversarial situation

Hire a notary when: - You have a document that's already been prepared and needs signatures witnessed and verified - You need to swear to the truth of a statement in writing - You need a certified copy of an original document - You're completing a loan closing and the title company is coordinating the process

If you're not sure which one you need for your situation, the safest move is to call an attorney first. I can help with the notarization once the document is ready.