The Seal Files #2: Don't Sign It Before We Get There

The #1 mistake people make: signing the document before we arrive, thinking they're saving time. If the document needs a jurat, we can't notarize it — a jurat has to be signed in front of the notary, and we have to watch the signature happen. (Acknowledgments are the exception: those may be signed ahead of time and acknowledged in person.)

So the simple rule that covers almost everything: bring the document unsigned, and bring a current photo ID. That's the entire prep list.