Notary Public Underwriters Blog
Back to the Basics: Types of Notarial Acts
- Details
- Published: January 13, 2020
Revised 08/21/24
The most common notarial acts you will encounter as a notary are the acknowledgment and the jurat, also called the oath/affirmation. Let's discuss the difference between these two acts so that you will be prepared to administer them when needed.
An acknowledgment is a declaration by an individual made before a notary that they understand the contents of the document, signed the document willingly for the purpose stated, and that it is their free act and deed. When performing an acknowledgment, the document signer must appear before the notary; however, the document may be signed either before the notarization or in the notary’s presence.
A jurat, or oath/affirmation, is a sworn statement made by a document signer, under penalty of perjury, that the signer understands the contents of the document and swears to the truthfulness of the contents. The document signer must appear before the notary, make a verbal sworn statement, and sign the document in the presence of the notary.
The notarial certificate, if present on the document, will indicate which notarial act is to be performed. An acknowledgment certificate will generally state something like, “On the ___ day of ______, 20___, personally appeared _____________ and acknowledged to me to be the person….” A jurat certificate will generally say, “Subscribed and sworn to before me on this ____ day of ______, 20___, personally appeared ___________.”
If you are unsure which act is to be performed or if there is no certificate wording on the document, remember you may not advise the signer about the document or which notarial certificate should be used. You may ask the signer to contact the receiving party of the document for more information, or you may present the signer with the two certificate options, and they must choose which notarial certificate should be used.
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