Notarial Acts and Certificate Forms
The certificate is the evidence
A notarial certificate is the written record of what the notary did. Alabama expects the certificate to contain the venue (state and county), the date, identification of the principal, the notary's signature, the notary's name as commissioned, the commission expiration date, and the seal. A certificate missing required elements is defective even if the underlying act occurred.
Common forms
- Acknowledgment: recites that the person appeared, was known or satisfactorily identified, and acknowledged executing the instrument voluntarily for its stated purpose.
- Jurat: recites that the person appeared, was known or identified, and swore or affirmed the truth of the contents, with the signature subscribed in the notary's presence.
- Oath/affirmation: administered without a document, e.g., for testimony or a sworn statement.
- Copy certification and signature witnessing: permitted only where Alabama law authorizes them; do not assume general authority.
Traps to watch
- Wrong certificate for the act: a jurat attached to an acknowledgment, or vice versa. The notary should not "fix" a certificate chosen by the requesting party without legal guidance; the notary may decline.
- Missing seal or expiration date: these are frequent error options.
- Venue errors: the county stated should reflect where the act occurred.
- Blank certificates: never sign a certificate with blanks to be filled in later.
Worked example
A signer brings a deed with an acknowledgment block already printed. The signer appears, is identified by a current driver's license, and says, "That's my signature and I signed it freely." The notary completes the acknowledgment, dates it, signs, stamps the seal, and records the identification method. If instead the signer needed to swear to the truth of an affidavit, the notary would use a jurat and require the signature in the notary's presence.