How Do I Get a Letter or Document Notarized?

A notarized letter or document is certified by a notary public, a licensed public officer who serves as an impartial witness to the signing of documents and establishes the authenticity of the signatures.  A notary's signature and seal are required to authenticate the signature on your letter or legal document.

To verify your identity, the notary will ask you to present a current identifying document with a photograph, physical description and signature, such as a driver's license, military ID or passport.  Please do not sign the document in advance.  Signatures must be witnessed by the notary.

On campus, Marquette Central can notarize documents.  Contact Marquette Central to schedule an appointment to ensure that a notary is available to assist you.

In addition, banks, credit unions and the USPS (United States Postal Service) generally have a notary available to certify your signature.  Also, you can visit a clerk or deputy clerk of a court of record, court commissioner, register or deputy register of deeds, judge or county or deputy county clerk.

Apostille/Authentication

Authenticating a document may also be called verifying, certifying or attaching a state seal.  An Apostille is a specific format of an Authentication Certificate that is required by certain countries.  When requesting Authentication Certificates from the Secretary of State's office, it is important to specify which foreign country is involved, so that the state certification desk can determine if an Apostille or regular Authentication is necessary.  Use of the wrong certificate can cause a document to be rejected by the foreign country.  

The process works as follows:

Marquette University
Office of the Registrar
1250 W. Wisconsin Avenue
Zilber Hall, Suite 221
Milwaukee, WI  53233

Note:  replacement paper diplomas and transcripts can also be ordered via the Marquette storefront on the Parchment website.  You must attach the Transcript Order Special Handling Addendum to the transcript request via Parchment to indicate your transcript requires notarization.

  • A letter will be affixed to the official transcript and to a copy of your diploma.  The letter confirms that the transcript and diploma are true and exact.
  • Each letter is signed by the University Registrar before being notarized.
  • Your original diploma will be returned to you via USPS.
  • Remit separate payments for the transcript request and all documents that require authentication from Madison.  

Contact Marquette Central with any questions.