Appearance
Witnesses
Some documents require one or more witnesses to sign alongside the principal client. Notarise It© fully supports witnesses within the live session.
Inviting a witness
- Open the appointment under Dashboard → Appointments → [Appointment].
- Scroll to the Witnesses section and click Invite Witness.
- Enter the witness's name, email address, and phone number.
- Click Send Invite.
The witness receives an email with a secure, personalised KYC portal link. They do not need a Notarise It© account.
Witness KYC — what the witness must do
Before they can be admitted to the live session, each witness must complete identity verification through their portal link. The portal walks them through a short, self-service flow:
Step 1 — Choose an ID method
The witness selects how they want to prove their identity. The portal recommends:
| Method | What the witness needs |
|---|---|
| NIN ⭐ Recommended | 11-digit National Identification Number |
| BVN ⭐ Recommended | 11-digit Bank Verification Number |
| Voter's Card ⭐ Recommended | INEC Voter Identification Number (VIN) |
| Passport | Passport number + surname |
| Driver's Licence | FRSC licence number |
| Upload document | Fallback — PDF or image scan of any government ID |
Verification via NIN, BVN, Voter's Card, Passport, and Driver's Licence is instant — Dojah checks the government database in real time and returns a confirmed result within seconds.
Document upload is a fallback for edge cases (e.g. a temporary Dojah outage). Uploaded documents are not verified automatically; you will need to review them manually on camera during the session.
Step 2 — Instant verification
The witness enters their ID number (and surname for passport). The result is returned immediately:
- Confirmed — the portal shows the name and details returned from the government database so the witness can confirm it matches their ID.
- Failed — the portal explains the mismatch and invites the witness to retry or choose a different method.
Step 3 — Optional liveness check
After ID verification the portal encourages the witness to complete a liveness check — a quick selfie taken on their phone or webcam. The check confirms they are physically present (not a photo or recording).
The portal copy reads: "Sessions go faster when you do this now — witnesses who complete liveness are admitted immediately."
The witness can skip this step, but you will see their liveness status as not_attempted in the KYC panel and may need to do additional on-camera checks during the session.
Monitoring witness KYC status (notary)
On the session detail page, the Witness KYC Status panel (right sidebar, notary only) shows each witness's real-time verification state:
| Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
NIN verified / BVN verified etc. | Passed an instant Dojah lookup |
Liveness ✓ | Passed the optional liveness selfie check |
Face match ✓ | Selfie matched the government ID photo |
Document uploaded | Uploaded a scan — no instant verification |
No KYC yet | Witness has not started verification |
Waived | You waived the requirement with a written justification |
The panel also shows the name returned from the government lookup so you can confirm it matches the person on your call.
Requesting a liveness check
If a witness's liveness status is not_attempted, click Request liveness check next to their name. This:
- Refreshes their portal link if it has expired.
- Sends the witness an email with the subject "Action needed: Complete liveness verification before your session".
- Marks their record with your user ID so the portal shows a more prominent prompt.
You can resend the request at any time.
Admitting witnesses to the live session
From the PreJoin Lobby (or the session room), click Admit next to a witness's name.
KYC gate
A witness cannot be admitted if their identity has not been verified (no completed NIN/BVN/VIN/Passport/DL lookup, no uploaded document, and no waiver in place). The Admit button will return an error explaining the reason.
If a witness genuinely cannot complete KYC in time (e.g. a provider outage), you can waive the requirement:
- In the session room, find the witness in the Verification Status panel.
- Click Waive verification (logged to audit trail).
- Enter a written justification of at least 20 characters.
- Click Confirm waiver — the waiver is recorded in the session's tamper-evident audit trail.
You can then admit the witness. The waiver, your ID, and your justification text are all written to the audit log and appear on the final notarial certificate.
Witness signing
During the session, witnesses complete their own signing step:
- Place a Signature field for each witness using the Signing Field Editor.
- The witness signs using the same typed-name or QR handwritten pad flow as the client.
- Their signature is embedded into the document alongside the client's and your notary seal.
Witness communications
| Trigger | Email sent to witness |
|---|---|
| Booking confirmed + payment | KYC portal invitation with personalised link |
| 24 hours before session | Reminder with link refresh (if KYC not done) |
| 1 hour before session | Final reminder |
| Session cancelled | Cancellation notification |
| Session rescheduled | New date/time with refreshed KYC link |
| Notary requests liveness | Biometric request email |
| Session completed | Copy of the notarial certificate (if opted in) |
Verification summary in the audit trail
When the session is completed, the full witness verification summary — method used, liveness status, face-match result, and any waivers — is written into the session's audit trail under the verification_summary event. It also appears in the notarial certificate under DIGITAL SIGNING EVENTS.
Re-issuing a portal link
If a witness's link has expired, you have two ways to refresh it — both automatically send a new email to the witness:
Via the liveness request button (recommended during a session): Click Request liveness check in the Witness KYC Status panel. The platform automatically refreshes the expired portal link and sends the witness a fresh invitation email in the same action — no separate step required.
Via the manual re-issue flow:
- Go to Sessions → [Session] → Witnesses.
- Click Re-issue Link next to the witness's name.
- A new email is sent to the witness automatically.
Both flows generate a fresh, time-limited portal URL and deliver it to the witness's registered email address.