Witness Requirements Guide

Who Can Serve as a Witness

Witnesses must be legally qualified. The following disqualifications apply and vary by document type:

• Age: Must be at least 18 years old.
• Neutrality for estate planning documents: For Wills and Medical Powers of Attorney, Texas law dictates that a witness cannot be a party to the document, a beneficiary, or a relative by blood or marriage.
• No conflict of interest: Witnesses must be neutral, unrelated third parties to avoid invalidating the document.

How to Bring Your Own Witness

During booking, add each witness as a guest signer in your session intake form. Your witnesses will join the same secure virtual signing room as you and the notary.

• Cost: There is no fee for bringing your own witness. Guests join at zero extra cost.
• Identity & KBA Verification: Because this is a secure virtual session, all witnesses are legally required to pass both the 5-question Knowledge-Based Authentication (KBA) quiz and Credential Analysis (automated scanning of their government-issued photo ID) before they can enter the session. There are no exceptions under Texas Administrative Code 1 TAC § 87.41.
• Acceptable IDs: A valid, unexpired U.S. Driver's License, State ID card, or U.S. Passport. Foreign-issued IDs and passports may not pass automated credential analysis and should not be relied upon.

Important — U.S. Social Security Number & Credit History Required: Every witness must have a valid U.S. Social Security Number and an established U.S. credit footprint (typically at least 6 months of credit history) so the mandatory identity quiz can generate. Witnesses without a U.S. credit record — including most international guests and most individuals under 18 — will be blocked by the identity verification system and cannot legally participate in the session. Please confirm your witnesses meet these requirements before your appointment.

Self-Proving Affidavits & Additional Fees

Some documents include a special section called a Self-Proving Affidavit at the end. This affidavit requires the notary to administer a formal oath to the witnesses and notarize their signatures. The purpose is to make the document self‑proving — meaning it can be accepted in court without requiring the witnesses to testify later.

Fee for this service: If your document contains a self‑proving affidavit, an additional $1 per witness signature applies (on top of the standard notarial certificate fee). This covers the notary's statutory fee to administer the oath and affix the digital seal to each witness's signature. For a typical scenario with two witnesses, the total additional notary fee would be $2.00.