BOSTON CHILDREN’S · NOTARY FOR PARENTS
Notary at Boston Children’s Hospital
Spending long days at Boston Children’s with your child? Parents and guardians often need documents notarized without leaving the hospital: travel consent letters, powers of attorney for a child’s care, affidavits for school or benefits, and guardianship paperwork. We come to you, often the same day.
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Bedside notary visits
Same-day and 24-hour appointments
- Powers of attorney and health care proxies
- Wills and estate documents
- Witnesses arranged if needed
- Signature by mark when needed
Visiting Boston Children’s for a notary
Address
300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, in the Longwood Medical Area.
Parking
Patient and Family Garage across from the main entrance, entrance on Blackfan Street, open 24 hours. Validation at the Main Lobby Reception Desk.
Valet
24-hour valet at the main entrance.
Extended stays
A Family Extended Stay parking pass is available by the week.
From Boston Children’s’s official website, November 2026. Policies change, so check with the unit before the visit. We’re an independent notary service, not affiliated with Boston Children’s.
How a bedside visit at Boston Children’s works
- 1
Call or request a visit
Tell us the patient’s name, unit and room if you know them, and what’s being signed. We confirm what’s needed, including witnesses.
- 2
Get the document ready
Complete and unsigned, with no blank spaces, plus the patient’s current photo ID.
- 3
We meet you on the unit
We meet you in the main lobby or on your child’s unit, following the hospital’s visitor process.
- 4
Notarized at the bedside
The notary confirms identity and willingness, watches the signing and completes the notarization.
Documents parents sign at the hospital
At a children’s hospital, the signer is usually the parent or guardian, not the patient. Common documents include a power of attorney so another family member can care for siblings or make decisions, a minor travel consent letter when a child is going abroad for treatment or with one parent, affidavits for school, insurance or benefits, and guardianship documents.
Each parent signing needs a current government-issued photo ID. If both parents need to sign but one isn’t at the hospital, we can arrange a separate visit or meet them elsewhere.
Check the hospital’s current visitor and caregiver policy with your child’s unit before the visit.
Before the visit at Boston Children’s
- Each signing parent needs a current government-issued photo ID
- Check the unit’s visitor policy before we come
- Bring the complete, unsigned document
- Ask the nurse when the patient is usually most alert, and avoid times right after pain medication if possible
- If the document needs witnesses, tell us. We can bring them, since hospital staff often can’t serve
Which documents need a notary?
| Document | Signing requirements in Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Durable power of attorney | Usually notarized, and it must be acknowledged before a notary to be used for real estate. Banks often insist on notarization too. |
| Health care proxy | Signed in front of two adult witnesses; the agent can’t be a witness. A notary isn’t required, but some families add one. |
| Will | Signed with at least two witnesses. A self-proving affidavit, signed before a notary, makes probate easier. |
| MOLST form | A medical order completed with the patient’s clinician. It doesn’t need a notary. |
| Affidavits and real estate documents | Signed before a notary with a jurat or acknowledgment. |
We’re notaries, not lawyers. Ask the attorney who prepared the document if you’re unsure what it needs.
When the patient can’t sign normally
After a stroke, with paralysis, a serious injury or memory loss, many patients can’t write their full name. Under the Massachusetts notary law, M.G.L. c. 222, § 15(f), a notary may certify a signature by mark, such as an X, when the patient makes the mark in front of the notary and two witnesses who are unaffected by the document, and both witnesses sign their own names beside the mark.
If the patient can’t make any mark, § 15(g) lets the notary sign the patient’s name at their direction, in front of the patient and two unaffected witnesses, and write beneath it that the signature was affixed by the notary in their presence.
Identification follows § 1 (a current government-issued photo ID with a signature, a credible witness, or the notary’s personal knowledge), and § 16 requires the notary to refuse if there’s compelling doubt the signer understands the document or is signing willingly. It also bars refusing someone solely because of a disability or age.
Read our full guide to signature by mark, and download the signature-by-mark instructions and notarial certificate (PDF).
Frequently asked questions
Can my child sign a document?
Generally the parent or legal guardian signs documents for a minor. If a document truly needs a minor’s signature, ask the attorney or agency that requires it first.
Can you notarize a travel consent letter at the hospital?
Yes. Many families need one when a child travels with only one parent or with another relative. Each signing parent needs ID.
Does Boston Children’s have a notary for patients?
Boston Children’s’s website doesn’t describe a notary service for patients’ personal documents, and hospital staff usually can’t notarize them. A mobile notary comes to the bedside at a time that works for the patient, the family and the unit.
Does the notary count as a visitor?
Usually yes. Plan who will be in the room, and if witnesses are needed, tell the nurse ahead of time.
What ID does the patient need?
A current government-issued photo ID with a signature. A hospital wristband or medical record isn’t acceptable ID in Massachusetts. If the ID is at home, ask a family member to bring it.
What if the patient can’t sign their name?
Massachusetts allows a signature by mark, such as an X, with two unaffected witnesses. If the patient can’t make any mark, the notary can sign at their direction, also with two witnesses. We can bring witnesses.
Can the notary decide whether the patient is competent?
No. A notary confirms identity and that the signer understands and is signing willingly. If there’s compelling doubt, the notary can’t proceed. If capacity is in question, talk with the medical team and the attorney first.
How quickly can you come?
Often the same day, and we’re available 24 hours a day by appointment. Call 617-203-8755 for urgent requests.
Need a notary at Boston Children’s?
Tell us the unit and what’s being signed. We’ll confirm everything before we arrive.