Does the Teen Driving Log Need to Be Notarized or Witnessed?

Most states don’t require notarization. They require a signature from a licensed adult who supervised the driving sessions. Those are two different things, and confusing them causes a lot of unnecessary stress.

Here’s where the confusion comes from: the paper log the DMV hands you has a signature line. Parents see it, assume it’s some kind of legal certification, and start Googling “does this need to be notarized.” The answer is almost always no.

What That Signature Line Actually Means

When a parent or supervisor signs a driving log, they’re certifying that the hours happened. Not under oath in front of an official. Just a signature saying “yes, I supervised these sessions and the information is accurate.”

In most states, that signature has the same legal weight as signing any other government form. A few states use “affidavit” language in their forms, which sounds more formal but still doesn’t require a notary unless the form explicitly says so.

The person who signs is the person who supervised. That’s the whole requirement.

The States That Actually Require Notarization

A handful of states do require notarization, or provide it as one option among several. These are different from the majority:

State	What’s Required
Ohio	BMV 5791 must be signed and notarized. No exception.
Arizona	Parent signatures must be witnessed by an MVD agent or notary
Pennsylvania	DL-180C needs notarization only if the parent/guardian won’t be physically present at the skills test
Florida	The parental consent form (71142) requires notarization; the driving log itself does not
Washington	Parental Authorization Affidavit must be notarized if parent won’t accompany teen to the licensing office
Texas	No notarization required, but supervisor must sign each individual session entry
California	Supervisor signature on DL-290, no notary needed
New York	Parent or guardian signature on MV-262, no notary needed
Illinois	Parent/guardian signature, no notary needed
North Carolina	Supervisor signature on DL-4A, no notary needed
Indiana	Parent/guardian signature on Form 54706, no notary needed
Georgia	Parent/guardian signature, no notary needed
Virginia	Supervisor signature, no notary needed
Michigan	Parent/guardian signature, no notary needed
New Jersey	Supervisor signature, no notary needed

Notice the pattern. Ohio is the outlier: notarization is required, full stop. For Pennsylvania, Florida, and Washington, notarization only applies in specific circumstances, usually when the parent can’t show up in person.

For everyone else on this list: get a signature, not a notary stamp.

What Counts as a Valid Supervisor Signature

The licensed adult who actually supervised the driving session signs it. That person needs to:

• Hold a valid driver’s license
• Meet the state’s age requirement (usually 21 or older, though Indiana requires 25 for non-family supervisors)
• Have been actually present in the car during the session

No one at the DMV verifies the supervisor’s identity when you hand in the log. But if hours are falsified and the log is signed, the legal exposure falls on the parent who signed, not just the teen. California and Pennsylvania include explicit affidavit language in their forms for this reason.

What If Multiple Adults Supervised Different Sessions?

This comes up constantly for families where both parents share the responsibility, or where grandparents or older siblings logged hours too.

Different supervisors can supervise different sessions. The key is that each session should list the correct supervisor for that drive.

Most states have a single certification signature at the end of the form, one parent or guardian signing to confirm the whole log. The individual sessions can list whoever was in the car. The final signature doesn’t mean that one person did all the driving supervision; it means they’re certifying the log is accurate.

Texas is an exception. Each session entry must be signed by the supervisor who was present for that session. So if mom supervised 10 sessions and dad supervised 8, you need both of them signing their respective entries.

For the states with a single final signature, typically one parent signs at the bottom. If that parent wasn’t present for some sessions, they’re certifying based on what they know about the log’s accuracy. That’s legally normal.

What Happens if You Bring an Incomplete Log

The examiner will usually catch it on the spot. Common problems:

Unsigned log. They’ll send you home to get the signature. This delays everything, and in some states you forfeit your appointment.

Missing supervisor name on sessions. Some examiners will flag this; others won’t. Don’t leave it blank.

Hours don’t add up. If the total at the top says 50 hours but the sessions clearly don’t reach it, that’s a problem.

Wrong form in a required-form state. In Ohio, showing up with anything other than BMV 5791, even a beautifully complete log in another format, will get you turned away.

A properly filled log takes five minutes for the examiner to review. An incomplete one takes an extra trip.

The Practical Checklist

Before going to the DMV:

1. Check your state’s specific form requirement. Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Nevada, New York, and New Jersey all have required forms.
2. If your state requires notarization (Ohio, plus conditional situations in AZ, PA, FL, WA), find a notary before your appointment. Banks, UPS stores, and libraries often have them.
3. Print the log. Most states need a physical document.
4. Get the supervisor signature in ink after printing.
5. If multiple adults supervised sessions, make sure the right names are listed for the right sessions.
6. Keep a copy. If something gets lost at the counter, you want a backup.

Moda generates the correct form for your state and fills it in with your session data. Print it, sign it, bring it. If your state needs notarization, Moda will flag it and you’ll have the right form to take to the notary.

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