Notary Certificates
When performing notarization’s, the notary public is generally required to complete a notarial certificate of the act. The certificate is a record of what occurred at the time of the notarization, and the notary is responsible for ensuring that the certificate is complete and accurate. The following page contains samples of notarial certificates for use on documents being notarized in Florida. You will note that the notarial certificates for an oath (or affirmation) or an acknowledgment contain nine basic elements:
■ venue (the location of the notarization)
■ type of notarial act (oath/affirmation or acknowledgment)
■ that the signer personally appeared before the notary (“before me”)
■ actual date of notarization
■ name of person whose signature is being notarized
■ form of identification
■ signature of notary
■ name of notary printed/typed/stamped below signature
■ notary seal (with the 4 essential elements) Some notarial certificates may vary in format, but any certificate should contain all these elements.
If the document has no notarial certificate, the document signer needs to choose which notarial act is required for the execution of the document (an oath/affirmation or an acknowledgment). At the signer’s direction, the notary public may type or print the appropriate certificate on the document below the designated signature line for the document signer.
Click on clickable links below to see what is right for you.
Jurats
Acknowledgments