1
What I Can and Cannot Certify
Based on Colorado notary law (RULONA) and Colorado Secretary of State guidance.
Based on Colorado notary law (RULONA) and Colorado Secretary of State guidance.
✔ I can certify copies of:
- Diplomas, degrees and school records (transcripts, certificates of completion).
- Passports, driver's licenses and ID cards — the photo and data page.
- Birth, death, marriage or divorce certificates from other states (not Colorado).
- Records issued outside Colorado, including documents from other countries.
- Private records you hold in original: contracts, leases, bank statements, letters, medical or business records.
✘ I cannot certify:
- Colorado birth, death, marriage or divorce certificates. Order a certified copy from Colorado Vital Records or your county.
- Anything you can get from a Colorado county Clerk and Recorder (deeds, recorded documents), the Colorado Secretary of State, or the Colorado State Archives. Ask that office for the certified copy.
- Documents that say on their face it is illegal to copy them, such as U.S. naturalization and citizenship certificates.
- That a person is alive ("proof of life", "life certificate", "fe de vida"). A Colorado notary does not certify facts. If the agency accepts it, the person can sign a sworn statement in front of me and I notarize their signature.
- A copy of a copy, a fax, or a scan. I need to see the original document.
Important: the institution receiving your document decides whether it accepts a notary-certified copy. Ask them before your appointment. I do not give legal or immigration advice.
2
How It Works & What It Costs
- Bring the original. I must see the original record; I cannot certify from another copy.
- I make or supervise the copy and compare it page by page with the original.
- I attach the notarial certificate: "I certify that this is a true and correct copy of a record in the possession of [your name]", with my signature and seal.
- It is recorded in my notary journal, as Colorado law requires.
Copia certificada
Certified copy
Colorado's maximum per notarial act, plus the mobile fee if I come to you.
En un centro comunitario
At a community hub
No travel fee at Tienda Salvadoreña, MSU Denver, or any Denver Public Library branch. Locations.
Document in Spanish? Pair it with a certified translation. Going abroad? See apostilles.
3
Certified Copy FAQ
Only if it was issued by another state. A Colorado notary cannot certify copies of Colorado birth, death, marriage or divorce certificates; order a certified copy from Colorado Vital Records or your county instead.
No. A Colorado notary cannot certify that someone is alive or certify other facts. If the requesting agency accepts it, the person can sign a sworn statement in front of me and I notarize the signature (a jurat). Ask the agency first which format it accepts.
$15 per certified copy, the Colorado maximum for a notarial act, plus the mobile fee if I come to you. At my community hubs (Tienda Salvadoreña, MSU Denver, and any Denver Public Library branch) it is $10 per certified copy with no travel fee.
Yes. I must see the original and make or supervise the copy myself. I cannot certify a copy of a copy, a fax, or a scan.
Yes. Passports, driver’s licenses and ID cards can be certified as long as the document does not prohibit copying. The receiving agency decides whether it accepts a notarized copy, so check with them first.
For birth, marriage and death records, no: the Colorado Secretary of State requires a certified copy from the issuing office. For other documents, ask the receiving country or agency first. See my apostille requirements checklist. Requirements checklist.
¿Necesita una copia certificada?
Need a Certified Copy?
Text me the document type and what it's for, and I'll confirm whether I can certify it.