Notarial Acts and Certificate Execution
Personal appearance and identification
Every traditional notarial act requires the signer to appear personally before the notary. The notary must identify the signer by personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence, such as a current government-issued photo ID. The notary must also determine that the signer has capacity and is signing voluntarily.
Acknowledgment versus jurat
An acknowledgment certifies that the signer appeared and acknowledged executing the document. The signer need not sign in the notary's presence if the signer personally appears and acknowledges the prior signature. A jurat certifies that the signer signed the document in the notary's presence and swore or affirmed that the contents are true. Using acknowledgment language for a jurat, or vice versa, is a substantive error.
Certificate content
The certificate must identify the county and state, the date, the signer, the notary, and the act performed. The notary signs, dates, and applies the official seal. The seal should show the notary's name, "Notary Public," "State of Mississippi," and the commission expiration.
Worked example
A signer brings an affidavit already signed and asks the notary to "notarize" it. The document requires a jurat. Reasoning: because the signer did not sign in the notary's presence, the notary cannot complete a jurat truthfully. The signer must sign again before the notary, or the document must be changed to an acknowledgment if that is what the form actually requires.
Traps
- Notarizing a signature not made in the notary's presence when a jurat is required.
- Omitting venue or date.
- Using an expired seal or missing expiration date.
- Serving as both notary and a witness or beneficiary without checking conflicts.