How to Notarize a Document
When You Can’t Tell What It Is
Pennsylvania Association of Notaries
One Gateway Center, Suite 401
420 Fort Duquesne Boulevard • Pittsburgh, PA 15222-1498
800-944-8790 • www.notary.org • PAN@notary.org
How to Notarize a Document When You Can’t Tell What It Is
Notaries encounter every imaginable type of document; some are perceived
as more difficult than others in determining the appropriate notarial act to
complete.
The Pennsylvania Association of Notaries (PAN) offers this information to
help you complete notarizations no matter how problematic the document.
Review the document
It is not your responsibility to read every word of a customer’s document.
You should, however, review the document to determine if it contains any
blank spaces that could be filled in fraudulently at another time.
If you find blank spaces, have your customer draw a line through and initial
them to prevent fraud.
Notarizing blank documents is never allowed.
Additionally, a customer is not allowed to cover
up part of a document he or she does not want
you to see.
Don’t be fooled by the document title
Sometimes preprinted documents have titles that can be confusing to a notary. Don’t be fooled by a document’s title. It is the notary wording that determines what notarial power should be used to complete the notarization.
Look for the notary wording
A notary cannot notarize unless there is proper notary wording on the document. Notary wording includes the venue and the notary statement.
The venue is the location (county and state) where the notarization is taking
place. It is required for all notarial acts. You as the notary are responsible for
correcting the venue if it is incorrect. If the venue is missing, you must add it
to the document.
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
County of ___________________
Jefferson
I certify that on October 10, 20XX, Tina K. Bridge, personally came before me and th
under oath to my satisfaction that:
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Zip 44444
_________
Contact Person for Owner
_
How to Notarize a Document When You Can’t Tell What It Is
Date of Incorporation ____________ Telephone ___________
V
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For example, if the venue says “State of New York, County of Columbia” and
the notarization is taking place in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
County of Jefferson, draw a line through State of New York, and write Commonwealth of Pennsylvania beside it. Then draw a line through Columbia
and write Jefferson beside it.
State of New York
Warehousing
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
County of Columbia 1Jefferson
Total Aggregate
Amount 10, 20XX, $Tina
___________
(total
$ amount of
itemsbefore
worth less
I certify
that on October
K. Bridge,
personally
came
me than
and $1
th
i
under oath, to my satisfaction, that:
5
TOTAL
$ _________
(
The notary statement determines which notarial power you are completing.
The two most common notarial powers are affidavit and acknowledgment.
Affidavit
An affidavit is a voluntary, written, sworn statement signed by your customer
in your presence. Your customer, called an affiant, is responsible for the truth
and accuracy of the statement he or she makes on the affidavit.
The notary statement of an affidavit contains the words sworn to and subscribed, or sworn by, or sworn by and subscribed before me this day and is
usually located somewhere near the end of the document or near where you
will place your signature and notarial seal. This statement is referred to as a
jurat.
Title __________________________________
Owner
Subscribed and sworn to before me this _________
day of ____________,
5th
January 20____.
XX
May 1, 20XX
Notary Public ____________________________ My Commission Expires _______________
Dorothy Doe
When you see this wording on a document, you know you need to complete
an affidavit.
Acknowledgment
An acknowledgment is a method of authenticating a signature on a document. It is a declaration made in your presence by an individual who signed,
or is signing, a document. The individual appears before you to declare that
he or she did sign the document and knew what he or she was doing at the
time.
The notary statement of an acknowledgment contains these words or substantially similar words:
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How to Notarize a Document When You Can’t Tell What It Is
On this, the ______
5th day of ____________
August , 20_____
XX , before
Dorthy Doe, a notary public , the undersigned officer,
me______________________________
personally appeared ___________________________________
Sylvia Tracker --------------------------- ,
known to me (or satisfactorily proven) to be the person__
-- whose
name_____
is subscribed to the within instrument, and acknowledged
s ____executed
---that ____he
the same for the purposes therein contained.
In witness whereof, I hereunto set my hand and official seal.
When you see this wording on a document, you need to complete an
acknowledgment.
What if there is no notary wording
If your customer knows specifically what notarial act he or she wants,
you may either add the notary wording to the actual document or attach a
separate sheet of paper with the notary wording on it. The notary wording
includes the venue, date, the proper wording for the notarial act and space
for your signature and seal.
You may add or attach the notary wording to the
document only with the customer’s permission.
The procedure
PAN recommends stapling the notary wording (on the separate sheet) to
lessen the chance that the notary wording will become separated from the
document.
Some county recorders will not accept documents that have staples in them.
Cross-reference the attached notary wording to the customer’s document
by writing specific information about the customer’s document on the attachment, such as “affidavit attached,” “acknowledgment attached,” or similar
wording.
Please note: you may ask the customer which notarial act he or she wants,
but you can’t advise or make the decision for them. If the customer is unable
to give any indication of the notarial act he or she wants, you must refuse
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service.
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How to Notarize a Document When You Can’t Tell What It Is
When someone wants a certificate/certified copy
Step 1 – Inspect the original document. Make sure the original document has
not been tampered with or altered.
Step 2 – Make the photocopy and compare it to the original. When the customer provides the copy, you must compare the copy to the original page by
page to make sure it is an exact reproduction of the original document. When
you make the copy, the comparison is more straightforward because you
know the document has not been altered.
Step 3 – Add the notary wording. You may hand write or type the wording
on the copy. If there is no room on the copy, attach the wording. Don’t forget
to add the venue.
Certificate Wording
I, ___________________________, a notary public, certify that this or
the attached copy of the __________________, dated ________________,
is an accurate, correct and complete copy of the original document
presented to me by __________________________ on ________________.
In witness whereof, I hereunto set my hand and official seal.
Step 4 – Add your signature and seal.
z
Do not make certified copies of birth certificates,
death certificates and naturalization certificates.
Your customer can obtain certified copies of these
documents from their originating office.
Your notarial register
A notarial register is required by the Pennsylvania Notary Public Law. Your
register must contain a separate and chronological entry for each notarial act
you perform.
Only you can enter information in it. However, it is considered a public
record and anyone may inspect it under your supervision or ask for copies
of pages from it.
It is your exclusive property, no matter who paid for it.
Each entry in your register must contain the following information:
Date of Notarial Act – always the date on which your customer stands
before you, in person.
n Character of Act – the type of notarial act performed.
n Parties to the Instrument – the full name of your customer(s).
n
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How to Notarize a Document When You Can’t Tell What It Is
Date of Instrument – the date on the document your customer presents
to you. It may be the current day or any date prior to the current date,
depending on the notarial act.
n Notary Fee Paid – record the notarial fee you charged for each act.
n
Although Remarks are not required, they could help you remember a particular customer if you are called into court. However, do not list any personal
information about your customer, such as a driver’s license or Social Security
number.
If you fail to keep a complete and accurate record
of every notarial act you perform, in chronological
order and you fail to keep your register in a secure
location to be used only by you, the Secretary of
the Commonwealth may take disciplinary actions,
including fines and suspending or revoking your
commission.
Who We Are
The Pennsylvania Association of Notaries (PAN) is a membership-based
notary organization that helps our members avoid making these mistakes by
answering their questions via phone, fax, E-mail and online Live Chat. Our
customer service representatives are well-versed in Pennsylvania notary and
motor vehicle laws and answer over 200 questions a day from Pennsylvania
notaries.
For more information, call 800-944-8790 Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or
send us an E-mail at PAN@notary.org.
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