Can you use Notary office for age verification?

2026-03-24 10:04 UTC

Disclaimer: I’m not from US, I know little about US laws and how this age verification will look. So if anyone needs from me the verification that I am who I am in my day-to-day life (in a bank, at bureau, …) it’s usually handled via the Notary office. It might sound old school but it’s really great actually - do you have a printed document and you need a proof that you actually signed it? Notary. Do you need a copy and you need a proof that it’s actually 1-to-1 copy of the original? Notary. etc. And it costs like 2-5 € where I live. So if someone would ask me to prove that I’m older than 18 years old and I’d like to keep my anonymity in the process … notary. I’d of course not send my ID to any corporation, I’d go to notary with a document: “User of platform XYZ identified by their ID 123 is more than 18 years old”. I’d just need to prove to notary that I actually am user 123 but I can do that in their office. Not to mention that we could find a way to anonymize platform completely in this process using some hash. Is this possible for these age verification laws? Or is there some flaw in my thinking?

Replies (3)

@ISOmorph@feddit.org 2026-03-24 10:19

Your thinking is too complicated. There are open source, trusted and vetted apps that can verify age without breaking privacy. No need for antiquated revivals. The question is, will those apps be used. The answer is no, since age verification is all about breaking privacy. Which means your idea wouldn't help either.

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@frongt@lemmy.zip 2026-03-24 11:36

Certainly possible, if the law allows it and the platform accepts it.

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@themaninblack@lemmy.world 2026-03-25 05:59

Speaking as a former notary, who could not and cannot offer legal advice… You generally take down the details of the ID presented at the time of attestation. Records can be found as they are public. Notaries can’t notarise a document other than an official one. Notarisation is basically “this person said that they are who they are and I looked at their documents and reasonably believed that was true”. You likely aren’t in this scenario. There isn’t really something that you can bring to a notary that says “I am over 18” but wish to remain otherwise anonymous.

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