Notarial Acts and Procedures
Matching the act to the certificate
Nevada notarial acts include acknowledgments, jurats, oaths and affirmations, and certified copies where authorized. The certificate must match the act. An acknowledgment certifies that the signer appeared and acknowledged signing the document; the signer need not sign in the notary's presence. A jurat certifies that the signer signed in the notary's presence and swore or affirmed the truth of the contents; the notary must administer the oath.
Procedure
- Require personal appearance.
- Verify identity by personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence.
- Confirm the signer is willing and aware.
- For a jurat, administer the oath and witness the signature; for an acknowledgment, take the acknowledgment after signing.
- Complete the certificate with venue, date, notary signature, seal, and commission expiration.
- Record the act in the journal.
Worked example
A signer brings a completed affidavit, saying she signed it at home. She asks for a jurat. The notary must not attach a jurat. A jurat requires signing in the notary's presence and an oath. The notary could administer an oath and have her sign again in the notary's presence, or explain that the document may need a different form. The notary cannot "convert" the prior signature into a jurat by backdating or by saying the oath was given.
Traps that cost marks
- Using an acknowledgment certificate for an affidavit that requires a jurat.
- Forgetting to administer the oath for a jurat.
- Notarizing a signature the notary did not witness when the certificate says "signed in my presence."
- Omitting the venue or using the wrong county.
- Certifying a copy of a public record or a document Nevada law does not allow.