ChesCo Notary

Free tool

Is the bedside signing ready?

A short check for hospital and rehabilitation staff arranging a notarization at a patient bedside. It flags the three things that most often stop one: ID nobody can locate, building access, and a discharge clock nobody mentioned.

Built for

  • Hospital social workers
  • Case managers and discharge planners
  • Patient advocates
  • Rehabilitation and long-term acute care staff
  • Palliative and hospice teams

Use it when

  • When a family asks for a notary for a patient who cannot leave the room.
  • Before a discharge, transfer or procedure that closes the window.
  • When a power of attorney or advance directive has to be executed this week.

Bedside signings are the appointments most likely to be wasted, and almost never because of the document. The patient is off the floor for imaging. The ID is at home in a drawer. Visiting hours ended at eight. The family arranged two witnesses and the hospital does not permit staff to serve.

This check surfaces those before anyone drives anywhere. It takes about two minutes, gives you a report you can paste into a note or hand to a family member, and asks nothing about the patient's condition beyond whether they are expected to be awake and able to communicate at the appointment time.

0 of 10 answered

  1. Facility and room

    Unit and room number matter more than the street address once I am inside the building.

  2. Staff expect the signer to be awake and able to communicate at the appointment timeDeal breaker

    I have to be able to see that the signer knows what they are signing and wants to sign it. This question is about scheduling around medication and rest, not about capacity, which is not a notary's determination to make.

  3. The signer's photo ID is physically in the room or is being broughtDeal breaker

    Current, government-issued, photo, and the original. Not expired, not a photocopy, not a picture on a phone. A hospital wristband, a chart, or a copy in the file is not ID.

  4. The documents are on site, prepared and unsignedDeal breaker

  5. On-site contact and mobile number

    One person I can reach from the lobby if access goes wrong.

  6. Access is settled: visiting hours, check-in desk, and any badge or escort

    Include after-hours entrances if the appointment falls outside normal visiting.

  7. If the document provider asked for witnesses, they are arranged and are not hospital staff

    Many facilities do not permit employees to witness patient documents, and I cannot serve as a witness myself. Whether your document needs witnesses is a question for the attorney or preparer.

  8. You know the hard deadline: discharge, transfer, procedure or filing

  9. You know whether anything needs printing on arrival

  10. Parking and entrance are known

This runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent to me, and no contact details are needed, unless you choose to send the result at the end.

Next step

Request a bedside visit

Send the result with the request and I will already have the unit, the access instructions and the deadline. If the deadline is today, call or text (484) 389-2420 instead, it is far faster than any form.

Call or text(484) 389-2420
HoursBy appointment
Mon · Wed · Thu 6 AM – 9 PM
Tue · Fri 9 AM – 6 PM
Sat · Sun on request
Same-day & after-hours on request
Service areaChester County & surrounding areas

Your checklist answers are attached automatically. Every signer needs valid government-issued photo ID. Submitting this form is a request, not a confirmed booking.

Thanks, your request is in.

Questions

About HospitalReady

Can a notary come to a hospital room in Chester County?

Yes. Bedside notarization at hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and hospice is a core part of a mobile notary practice, and I cover Chester County along with the nearby Delaware County corridor and the Lancaster County line. The signer needs current government-issued photo ID and has to be awake, aware of what they are signing, willing to sign, and able to communicate that to me.

What happens if the patient is sedated or cannot communicate?

I have to stop. A notary can only notarize a signature made by someone who understands what they are signing and is signing willingly, and I have to be able to see that for myself. It is not a judgment about the patient's capacity in a legal sense, it is a limit on what I am permitted to certify. This is why the alertness question is worth asking the nurse before booking rather than discovering it at the bedside.

Can hospital staff act as witnesses?

That depends entirely on your facility's policy, and many hospitals do not permit it. I cannot serve as a witness either, because a Pennsylvania notary cannot count toward the witnesses a document calls for. Where witnesses are needed, the practical answer is usually family members who are adults and are not named in the document. Whether the document requires witnesses at all is a question for the attorney or preparer.

How fast can you get to a bedside?

Same-day is often possible, and I hold early hours from 6 AM on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday specifically for signings that cannot wait for a discharge or a procedure. Calling or texting (484) 389-2420 is much faster than a form when a clock is running.

Who pays, the hospital or the family?

Either. The statutory notarial fee is $5.00 per act under 4 Pa. Code § 167.3, plus a travel and convenience fee starting at $45, and I quote the total before I travel and itemize both lines on the receipt. Facilities that arrange signings regularly usually prefer to be invoiced rather than settle at the bedside, which I am glad to set up.

I cover Chester County, Pennsylvania along with the nearby Delaware County corridor and the Lancaster County line, travelling to homes, offices, hospitals and care communities. The statutory notarial fee is $5.00 per act, the maximum set by 4 Pa. Code § 167.3, with a travel and convenience fee from $45 quoted before I set out. See the full fee schedule orbrowse the towns I serve.

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