UT Notary cheat sheet

A Utah notary may perform only acts authorized by statute: acknowledgments, jurats, oaths, affirmations, and other acts the law expressly permits.

Acknowledgment: the signer personally appears, is identified, and acknowledges voluntary execution of the document; the signer may have signed earlier and outside the notary's presence.

Jurat: the signer signs in the notary's presence and swears or affirms that the contents are true; the notary administers the oath and certifies that it was given.

Every notarial act requires the signer's personal appearance before the notary, either physically or by technology authorized for remote notarization; absence makes the act invalid.

Identity is established by the notary's personal knowledge of the signer or by a current government-issued photo ID showing the signer's photograph, signature, and identifying details.

If the notary and signer do not share a language, the notary must be able to communicate directly with a translator, and the translator's involvement is recorded in the certificate or journal.

An acknowledgment does not verify the truth of a document's contents; only a jurat or an administered oath addresses truthfulness, and even then the notary does not judge truth.

A notary's authority ends on the commission expiration date; acts performed afterward are invalid and expose the notary to liability.

Notaries may administer oaths and take affidavits and depositions, but may not give legal advice, explain legal effect, or choose documents for a customer.

Applicant must be at least 18 years old at the time of application.

Applicant must be a legal resident of Utah, or a resident of a bordering state who has a place of employment or a business address in Utah.

Applicant must obtain and file a $10,000 surety bond with the Utah lieutenant governor's office.

Before performing any notarial act, the notary must take and file an oath of office.

The lieutenant governor's office issues, renews, suspends, and revokes notary commissions; a commission term is four years.

The surety bond protects the public by paying claims against the notary up to the bond amount; it does not shield the notary from personal liability beyond that amount.

A commission is personal to the notary: it is not held by an employer, does not transfer with a change of job, and the stamp may not be used by anyone else.

A notary must report a legal name change or address change to the lieutenant governor's office; a new stamp may be required to match the commissioned name.

The certificate must identify the act performed, the date of the act, the venue (State of Utah, County of ______), and the notary's signature and title.

No field may be left blank: if information does not apply, the notary writes 'N/A' rather than leaving a space that could later be altered.

The date entered in the certificate is the date the notarial act was actually performed, not the document's date of preparation or signature.

The stamp or seal must legibly reproduce the notary's name, the words 'Notary Public,' 'State of Utah,' and the commission expiration date.

The stamp is affixed near the notary's signature without covering text or other signatures; a missing or illegible seal can invalidate the certificate.

When the signer acts as an agent, corporate officer, or attorney-in-fact, the certificate must state the capacity in which the signer executed the document.

Jurat wording uses 'Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me by ______ on ______'; acknowledgment wording uses 'acknowledged to me' and does not state that the signer swore.

The notary signs with the name exactly as commissioned and adds the title 'Notary Public, State of Utah'; a different name requires an amended commission and a new stamp.

A notary may not notarize the notary's own signature or a document in which the notary is a signer or party.

A notary may not notarize a document in which the notary holds a direct beneficial interest, such as a transaction that financially benefits the notary.

A notary may not give legal advice, explain a document's legal effect, or draft legal documents for a customer; those acts are reserved for licensed attorneys.

A notary may not charge more than the statutory maximum fee for a notarial act.

A notary may not permit another person to use the notary's stamp or sign a certificate for an act the notary did not personally perform.

A notary may not disclose information contained in notarial records except as required or permitted by law or by court order.

A notary must refuse the act when identity cannot be verified, the signer appears incompetent or under duress, or direct communication with the signer is impossible.

A notary is personally liable for damages caused by negligent or improper notarial acts; the surety bond pays claims only up to its stated limit.

The lieutenant governor may suspend or revoke a commission and impose administrative penalties for misconduct or violation of notary law.