Every electronically notarized document contains the notary's Digital Certificate, which serves as the digital equivalent of the notary's signature.
The certificate is issued by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA), which verifies the notary's identity before issuing the certificate.
In states that require it, the notary also submits this certificate to the Secretary of State as part of the approval process for performing remote online notarizations.
The Digital Certificate helps ensure the authenticity and integrity of the notarized document by allowing recipients to verify:
who signed the document,
whether the document has been modified after notarization,
and whether the certificate was valid at the time of signing.
Before you begin
Adobe Acrobat Reader uses trusted root certificates to validate digital signatures.
If Adobe displays a warning such as "At least one signature has problems" or shows a yellow warning icon, Adobe may not yet trust the certificate chain used to sign the document.
Download and install the following certificates:
For installation instructions, see
How to verify the Digital Certificate
The easiest way to verify a notary's Digital Certificate is by using Adobe Acrobat Reader.
1. Open the notarized document
Open the notarized PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader (download link)
2. Check the signature status
Adobe will display a signature status banner (typically a blue ribbon) indicating whether the document has been digitally signed and whether the signatures are currently trusted.
Refer to Adobe's signature validation quick key for an explanation of each status.
Note: A warning about an untrusted certificate does not necessarily indicate that the document has been altered or is invalid. It usually means Adobe has not yet been configured to trust the certificate chain on that computer.
3. Open the Signature Panel
Click Signature Panel on the signature status banner.
When the Signature Panel opens, you’ll see the name of the individual who digitally signed the document. This should match the commissioned notary who performed your notarization.
5. Review the certificate details
You can also click the Certificate Detail button to view additional information, including:
Certificate owner (the commissioned notary)
Certificate issuer
Intended Key Usage (including Digital Signature and Non-Repudiation)
Certificate validity dates
Additional information
If Adobe reports that the signing certificate is not trusted or displays a signature warning, you may simply need to install the required trust certificates.
See How to Establish Trust with Adobe and Get the Green Checkmark on Notarized Documents for instructions on installing the required certificates.