Notarial Acts and Certificate Wording
This domain tests your command of the words that appear on the certificate - the part of the document the notary actually signs. Examiners probe whether you can distinguish an acknowledgment from a jurat, complete a venue line, fill in the identification blank, and date the act correctly.
Acknowledgment versus jurat
- An acknowledgment certifies that the signer appeared, was identified, and acknowledged signing voluntarily for the stated purpose. No oath is administered, so a document signed earlier is still eligible.
- A jurat certifies that the signer subscribed and swore (or affirmed) to the truth of the document before you. The oath is the point; without it the jurat is false.
- Affidavits get jurats. Deeds, mortgages, powers of attorney, and most commercial instruments get acknowledgments.
Massachusetts wording
A standard acknowledgment reads, in substance: 'On this __ day of , 20, before me, the undersigned notary public, personally appeared __, proved to me through satisfactory evidence of identification, which were __, to be the person whose name is signed on the preceding or attached document, and acknowledged to me that he/she signed it voluntarily for its stated purpose.' A jurat reads 'Subscribed and sworn to before me this __ day of , 20, by __.' The venue line is 'Commonwealth of Massachusetts, County of __.' A seal is optional; if used it should show your name, 'Notary Public,' 'Commonwealth of Massachusetts,' and your commission expiration.
Worked example
A client signed her affidavit last night and brings it in today. A jurat would be false - she did not swear in your presence - but she can appear, be identified, and acknowledge the signature, so the acknowledgment certificate is proper.
Traps
- Leaving the identification-evidence blank empty.
- Pre-dating or post-dating the certificate.
- Adding 'sworn' language to an acknowledgment.
- Omitting the county in the venue line.