What Tampa sends me
The requests that come most often from this part of Florida:
- Powers of attorney for property in Spain, Cuba and Latin America.
- Corporate resolutions and certifications for a bank.
- Affidavits for court and agency filings.
- Real estate documents for owners who have moved away.
- Travel consent letters and family paperwork.
Worth knowing in Tampa
Tampa's Spanish-speaking community goes back generations, from Ybor City onwards, and a good share of the documents I see here are bilingual or destined for Spain and Cuba.
Documents recorded in Hillsborough County go to its own Clerk of the Circuit Court, not Polk's, which matters for deeds even when the signing happens online.
Deeds usually need two witnesses as well as a notary, and in an online session the platform can provide them, which is often the deciding advantage over a paper signing.
How an online session works
You book a time, and I send a secure link, usually for the same day or the next, and the platform then checks your identification and asks a few questions drawn from public records, before we meet on video, where I confirm you understand what you are signing and that nobody is pressuring you.
You sign electronically, I complete the notarial certificate, and you download the finished document with its seal and audit trail, all of which normally takes about fifteen minutes.
What you need
- A phone, tablet or computer with a camera and microphone.
- A current, government-issued photo ID.
- The document, complete and unsigned.
- Confirmation from the office receiving it that they accept an electronic notarization.
In person, honestly
I am based in Lakeland and travel inside Polk County, so I do not drive to Tampa for a signing, so if your document has to be signed on paper in front of a notary, look for a mobile notary there, and if it can be done online, we can start today.
Frequently asked questions
- Do you travel to Tampa?
- No, I travel inside Polk County only, and everything else is done in an online session, which is valid across Florida and carries the same legal weight as signing in person.
- Is an online notarization valid here?
- Yes, Florida authorized remote online notarization in 2020, and a document notarized this way has the same effect as one notarized across a desk, though the office receiving it can still ask for paper.
- Can a deed for a Hillsborough property be signed online?
- Often yes, including remote witnesses, though the county recorder and the title company have the final say on what they accept, so check before booking.
- You are an hour away — will you not just come over?
- I travel inside Polk County only, which keeps my schedule predictable for the people who need a bedside or a closing here, so Tampa is handled online.