Penn Graduate Student Center
Notary Services
Notary Services at the Graduate Student Center
Anita Mastroieni, Director of the Graduate Student Center, is also a Notary Public. Notary drop-in hour is every Tuesday from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM. Please note: Anita will be out of the office November 30-December 4 and will not be available for notaries during that week.
You can try to make an appointment at other times; send an email to notary@gsc.upenn.edu. Be aware that Anita's schedule can be pretty hectic and she's often not available at other times.
The Graduate Student Center is located at 3615 Locust Walk. Check in at the Main Desk in the Common Room when you arrive for a notarization.
Please read the following information before coming in for a notarization.
What You Need to Bring
You must show government-issued photo identification for notary services. Generally acceptable forms of identification are U.S. state driver's and nondriver's IDs, driver's licenses issued by Canada or Mexico, U.S. passports and visas, federal IDs issued to U.S. government employees including military personnel, and alien registration "green cards." Your PennCard is not a valid form of identification for notarizations.
If you are bringing a form to be notarized, do not sign the form in advance—for most notarizations you need to sign in front of the Notary. However, the rest of the form should be completely filled out. If you arrive with an incomplete form, the Notary will not wait while you fill it out; you'll have to make another appointment.
Copy Certifications
If you need a multi-page copy certified, it will be faster and easier to have the copy made by the Notary. Otherwise, if you bring the copy to the Notary, she must compare each page line-by-line to the original to ensure that the copy is true, and that can take much time. The Notary can make copies for 10 cents per page.
Birth Certificates, Death Certificates, Marriage Licenses
A notary public cannot make certified copies of public documents, such as birth and death certificates or marriage licenses. If you need a copy of a marriage license or a birth or death certificate, you must go to the appropriate public office in the state where the certificate was originally issued. Usually it is the Bureau, Office, or Division of Vital Records/Statistics. Refer to the state's web site for more information.
Notary Fees
- Affidavits: $5
- Acknowledgments: $5
- Certified copies: $5
- Making copies: additional 10 cents per page
- Administering oaths: $5
Fees are payable by cash or check only. Make checks payable to "Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania."
Penn Diplomas: Translations, Certifications, Replacements
The Office of the University Secretary can provide letters of certification from the University to verify Penn degrees awarded, translations of diplomas, and replacement diplomas.
Other Local Notary Publics
If you need notary services and cannot be accommodated by the Notary Public at the Graduate Student Center, there are other Notaries on campus:
- Aviva Hirschfeld at Penn Student Agencies, 117 Williams Hall—entrance directly on the west side of Houston Hall. Her notary walk-in hours are 10 AM - 11 AM on Tuesdays and Thursdays
- Student Financial Services on the first floor of the Franklin Building at 3451 Walnut Street
- Joanne Murray in the Annenberg School, 215-573-6349
- TD Bank at 3735 Walnut Street
You can also use the following link to search for other notaries in the Philadelphia area.
Common Room Hours
Monday - Thursday:
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Friday: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sat & Sun: 12 Noon - 6:00 PM
Graduate Student Center
3615 Locust Walk
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia PA 19104-6221
215-746-6868
center@gsc.upenn.edu
