Oaths and affirmations
An oath and an affirmation are equivalent in the eyes of law. Both attest to the truthfulness of a statement/ document and both can allow the person to be prosecuted for perjury. Both require the notary to read a statement to an individual and have them respond to it.
An oath makes reference to a Supreme Being, while an affirmation removes that element from the statement.
All of these are require an oath or affirmation to be performed:
Jurat
When you execute an oath or affirmation, you will have to complete a jurat certificate to accompany it.
For a more in-depth look into a jurat, please see our Notary Blog.
Affidavits
A written statement stating the truth of a document. It is not written by the notary, but by the affiant. An oath or affirmation accompanies the affidavit.
Depositions
A deposition is a statement made out-of-court, which is usually transferred to writing, and is used in court. A notary may complete an oath for a deposition as well.
It is similar to one used for the affidavit, but the wording is slightly different.
Acknowledgments and Proofs
The acknowledgment is the most common form of notarial acts. It allows proof for the execution of the document or for it to become record.
For an acknowledgement, the normal notary rules must be followed, but the main purpose of one is to prove the document was freely signed with a knowledge of its content. Unlike an oath, an acknowledgment is not attesting to the truthfulness of the document—only that it was feely and willingly signed.
Though, a verbal oath (or affirmation) must take place, an acknowledgement does not require the individual to sign the document in front of the notary. If you, as the notary, are uncomfortable with that, you can ask them to re-sign in your presence.
For a more in-depth look into acknowledgements, please see our Notary Blog (Jurat vs Acknowledgment blog).
Certify a Copy
A certify copy proves the copy is a true copy of the original document. It is usually used in business transactions, or when someone has to submit certain information and does not want to part with their sole copy.
There are certain documents which a notary is prohibited from copying, such as recordable documents, and there is a list of required for their documents which are allowed to be copied.
Be sure you are familiar with these before proceeding.
A certified copy cannot be made from another copy, only from an original. The notary has to watch the copy being made, and you must obtain a copy for your records. The copy the notary keeps should be treated in the same way you treat your record book—keep them secure and safe.
Each category has their own rules and regulations, and some kinds of documents may not be notarized. For a full list of those items that are prohibited, see our Texas Notary Handbook.