Performing Notarial Acts: Acknowledgments, Jurats, Oaths, Affirmations, and Copy Certifications
Three acts, three scripts
Acknowledgment: the signer appears, is identified, and states that they executed the document voluntarily for its stated purpose. The document may already be signed, but the signer must appear before you and acknowledge.
Jurat: the signer signs in your presence and swears or affirms the truth of the contents. You administer the oath aloud and record that it was sworn.
Oath/affirmation: an oral ceremony. Swearing invokes a deity; affirming does not. Offer both and never insist on one.
Copy certification: where the statute authorizes it, you compare the copy with the original and certify the copy is a true copy. Confirm the document type is eligible before agreeing.
Requirements that trip candidates
- No blanks. Refuse to notarize an incomplete document; do not fill in blanks for the signer.
- No predating or backdating. The certificate date is the date of the act.
- Presence is non-negotiable. No appearance, no act.
- Substitute signatures are permitted only as the statute allows, and the certificate must say so.
- The words must match reality. If the signer swore, use a jurat; if they only acknowledged, use an acknowledgment.
Rule of thumb
Ask one question: "Did the signer swear?" If yes, jurat. If they merely confirmed they signed voluntarily, acknowledgment. Never use a form's boilerplate to describe something that did not happen.