Notarization Means More Than Affixing a Notary Stamp

Most people think a notary is simply someone who verifies identities and applies their notary stamp to documents. Even some notaries may think so when they first enter the profession. However, being a notary public involves much more than that.

A notary public is a person of proven integrity appointed or commissioned by their state’s government authority to serve the public as an impartial witness when taking acknowledgments, administering oaths and affirmations, and performing other notarial acts allowed by law. To serve as a notary, an individual must take an oath of office, swearing or affirming to faithfully perform their duties in accordance with applicable law.

This definition may sound simple, but the responsibilities of a notary public are significant. A notary must understand their role, know the limits of their authority, remain impartial, follow the law, and perform every notarization correctly.

For example, when taking an acknowledgment, a notary must require the signer to personally appear before them, verify their identity, confirm they are aware of what they are signing, and ask them to acknowledge that they signed the document freely and willingly. The notary must also review the notarial certificate to make sure it contains the proper wording, complete it, record the notarization in a journal, and follow any additional procedures required under their state’s notary laws before applying their official signature and stamp.

Similarly, when performing a jurat, the notary follows many of the same steps required for an acknowledgment. However, a jurat is different because the signer is not acknowledging that they signed the document. Instead, the signer must sign the document in the notary’s presence and swear or affirm that the statements in the document are true.

When a party receives a notarized document, the party relies on the notarization as evidence that the notary properly performed the acts described in the notarial certificate. An incomplete or improperly performed notarization may delay a transaction, prevent a document from being accepted or recorded, or cause financial harm.