What is a Notary Public in Texas (and what they can't do for you)

Updated July 2026 · 4 min read

In much of Latin America, notarial authority belongs to an attorney with specialized training, authorized to certify documents and give legal advice on what's being signed. In the United States, a Notary Public is something else entirely: someone commissioned by the state solely to verify your identity and witness that you're signing a document of your own free will. That difference matters, and mixing it up can get expensive.

What a Notary Public can do

• Verify your identity with official ID
• Confirm you're signing the document willingly, without pressure
• Notarize signatures, acknowledgments, jurats, and affidavits
• Apply their seal and log the notarial act

What a Notary Public cannot do

• Explain what the document you're signing legally means
• Tell you whether an immigration form is the right one for your case
• Draft or correct a contract for you
• Represent you before a court or government agency
• Charge fees for legal advice, even while holding a notary commission

If someone who only holds a Notary Public commission charges you to explain your legal options or to put together your immigration petition, that person is operating outside what their commission allows. In Texas, this carries serious legal consequences, both for the person doing it and for the client who trusted they were getting real legal advice.

Why we keep these two services separate

That's exactly why, at 360 Global Services, notarization and immigration document preparation are handled by two different people on our team, billed independently from each other. It's not just internal organization. It's the correct way to keep each service inside what the law allows.