Does a permission slip need to be notarized?
Almost never for an ordinary school trip. The teacher needs a parent's signature, not a notary's stamp. Notarizing comes up with travel consent letters for children going abroad without both parents, and with some church, camp and travel-team forms. Here's how to tell which kind you have, and how to get a notary quickly if you need one.
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Notary or not? Check before you sign
- Look for a notary block, with lines like "State of", "County of", "subscribed and sworn" or a space for a seal. If there is none and nobody asked for a notary, you almost certainly don't need one.
- If it does need a notary, leave the signature line blank: many notarizations need you to sign in front of the notary.
- A current photo ID for every person signing. If both parents must sign, both need to be there or book separately.
- Call ahead before visiting a notary in person.
- For a remote online notarization, make sure first that whoever receives the document accepts an electronically notarized copy.
- For a travel consent letter, a printed original may still be the safer choice.
Choose the field trip slip or other school form your child brought home as a PDF, type in the details, tick the boxes and sign as parent or guardian. It opens on your device and is never uploaded.
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Updated 27 October 2026 · Written by Joe Farwick, who runs this site
Ordinary school permission slips: no notary
A permission slip is the school's own form, returned to staff who already know the family. What they need is consent from a parent or guardian, a phone number that works on the day, and any health information. Even detailed district rules usually stop at a signature. The field trip and student travel policy of DC Public Schools, for example, runs to more than 40 pages, covers international trips, and asks for permission forms signed by a parent or guardian without once mentioning a notary.
So if your child's slip has no notary section and the school hasn't asked for one, sign it the usual way, on paper or electronically, and send it back.
Where notarizing does come up: travel consent letters
The common case is a child leaving the country without both parents. USA.gov advises that when a child travels with one parent, the letter of consent should come from the other parent, and when the child travels with a guardian or alone, both parents should sign it. It adds that the letter is preferably in English and notarized.
Canada's government gives similar advice: a consent letter isn't legally required, but border officials or airline staff may ask for one, any adult can witness it, a notary is strongly recommended, and an original signed letter is best because photocopies and digital versions may be questioned.
School groups work a little differently. When U.S. citizen children under 19 cross back from Canada or Mexico by land or sea with an organized group, CBP asks for a letter on the group's letterhead and a signed statement from the supervising adult certifying that parental consent was given for each child. The school collects your consent and vouches for it; you may still be asked for a separate letter if your child travels without the group.
Other forms that sometimes ask for a notary
Now and then a church group, camp or travel team asks for a notarized medical consent form; if yours does, follow the organizer's instructions. Documents that hand a parent's authority to another adult, such as a power of attorney for a child, often have signing formalities set by state law, and those can include a notary. If a form has a notary block, with lines like "State of", "County of", "subscribed and sworn" or a space for a seal, it needs to be notarized. If it doesn't, and nobody asked, it almost certainly doesn't.
What the notary actually checks
South Dakota's Secretary of State puts it plainly: a notarization verifies the signer's willingness and competence to sign and that the signer is the person identified, but it does not prove the contents are true or make the document legal. That's why travel letters use it: it shows a border officer that the parent who gave consent really signed. It's also why notarizing a waiver doesn't make the waiver any more enforceable.
Getting it notarized quickly
In person, notaries often work at banks, shipping and print shops, law offices and some town or county offices. Call ahead, bring a current photo ID for every signer, and bring the document unsigned.
Online, the National Association of Secretaries of State reports that 47 states and the District of Columbia have laws allowing remote electronic notarization, where you and the notary are in different places and connected by audio and video. New York's rules show how identity is checked: the notary knows you personally, verifies your ID remotely with credential analysis and identity proofing, or relies on a witness who knows you. Before booking, make sure whoever receives the document accepts an electronically notarized copy; for a travel letter, a printed original may still be the safer choice.
Can a PDF signed on this site be notarized?
No. SchoolSignPDF adds a simple electronic signature to a PDF; it doesn't notarize anything, and a notary can't vouch for a signature they didn't watch you make. For a paper notarization, print the form unsigned and sign it in front of the notary. For a remote notarization, you sign on the notary's platform during the video session. Use this site for the everyday slips and forms that only need your signature.
Sources
- USA.gov: International travel documents for children
- Government of Canada: Consent letter for children travelling abroad
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Know before you go, groups of children
- South Dakota Secretary of State: Notary public, important concepts
- National Association of Secretaries of State: Remote electronic notarization
- New York Department of State: Notary public FAQ
- District of Columbia Public Schools: Field Trips & Student Travel Policy (January 2025)
Notary questions
- Does notarizing make a permission slip or waiver binding?
- No. A notary confirms who signed, not whether the document's terms are valid. Enforceability is a question of the law that applies.
- Do both parents have to sign a travel consent letter?
- USA.gov's guidance: if the child travels with one parent, the other parent signs; if the child travels with someone else or alone, both parents sign.
- Can I get a travel consent letter notarized online?
- In most U.S. states, yes. Check first that the airline, the destination and anyone else who will see the letter accept an electronically notarized document.
- What does it cost to sign an ordinary slip here?
- For slips that only need your signature, trying the signer is free; downloading the signed PDF costs €2.99 a month or €24.99 a year, cancel anytime, access to the end of the paid period. For anything that must be notarized, don't pay us: you'll sign in front of the notary instead.