Notarial Acts and Authorized Duties
Notarial Acts and Authorized Duties
This domain tests whether you can match a request to a lawful notarial act and recognize requests outside the notary's authority. The notary's role is ministerial: verify the required elements, perform the act, and complete the certificate. The notary does not validate the truth or legal effect of the document.
Authorized acts
- Acknowledgment: the signer personally appears, is identified, and acknowledges executing the document voluntarily.
- Jurat: the signer personally appears, signs in the notary's presence, and swears or affirms the content is true.
- Oath or affirmation: a solemn promise administered to a person, often for affidavits, depositions, or official statements.
- Signature witnessing: where authorized, the notary observes the signature and completes the certificate.
- Copy certification: only where state law permits; many states bar notaries from certifying copies of public records, vital records, or recorded documents.
- Other state-specific acts, such as protests or marriage ceremonies, only if the commission expressly authorizes them.
The document's notarial certificate usually dictates the act. 'Acknowledged before me' calls for an acknowledgment. 'Sworn and subscribed before me' calls for a jurat. The notary should not substitute one for the other.
Worked example
A signer hands over a contract and says, 'Just notarize it.' The paper has no notarial certificate. Do not invent one. Ask what the document requires and, if necessary, have the signer or attorney supply the correct certificate. If the certificate says 'acknowledged,' perform an acknowledgment; if it says 'sworn,' administer an oath and use a jurat. If you cannot determine the required act, decline until it is clarified.
Traps
- Treating 'notarize' as one universal act.
- Certifying a copy of a birth certificate where state law prohibits it.
- Performing a jurat without administering an oath.
- Adding a certificate to a document that already has one, creating conflicting certificates.