A Presentation of the

Notary & Certifications Division of the

Montana Secretary of State’s Office

NOTARIAL ACTS

§51-105 Idaho Code Take ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Execute JURATS

Witness SIGNATURES

Make and CERTIFY COPIES Note Protests of Instrument

ACKNOWLEDGMENT“Acknowledged before

me…”

VERIFICATION / JURAT“Signed and sworn to

before me…”

SIGNATURE WITNESS

“Signed before me…”

Signer must personally appear, be properly identified, be competent and willing

Signer must personally appear, be properly identified, be competent and willing

Signer must personally appear, be properly identified, be competent and willing

Requires a signature – not necessarily made in the notary’s presence

Requires a signature – must be made in the notary’s presence

Requires a signature – must be made in the notary’s presence

Signer verbally declares –ACKNOWLEDGES - that the signature is his/hers and was made knowingly & willingly

Notary administers an oath or affirmation (signer swears or affirms contents of document are true under penalty of perjury)Signature made in notary’s presence

Signature must be made in the notary’s presence

Requires a complete notarial certificate substantially in the form in §51-116(1), I.C.

Requires a complete notarial certificate substantially in the form in §51-116(3), I.C.

Requires a complete notarial certificate substantially in the form in §51-116(4), I.C.

SIX STEPS TO PROPER NOTARIZATION(FOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, SIGNATURE WITNESSING, AND JURATS)

Require personal appearance – RULE #1

Review the document

Identify the signer(s)

Determine competency and willingness

Create the journal record

Complete the notarial certificate

Let Your Journal Be Your Guide

“If you can’t complete the journal entry correctly, odds are you won’t complete

the notarization correctly either!”

VIP

THREE THINGS TO

DETERMINE

Identity – that the person in your presence is who he/she says they are and is the person who is supposed to sign the document …

Understanding – that the signer understands what the document is and what the implications of the transaction are…

Intent – that the signer is competent and voluntarily signing the document (i.e., not under duress or coercion)

…When Performing Acknowledgments, Jurats and

Witnessing Signatures

Keys to Establishing Identity1.Personal Knowledge

2.Satisfactory Evidencea.Documentary Proof

1. Signed, pictured, government-issued2. Current or expired less than three years

b.Credible Witness1. Disinterested third party2. Physically present3. Swears to the identity of signer

Determining Capacity and IntentUsing a standard of “Reasonable Care”

Ask open ended questions

Visit with the signer before beginning the notarization

Remove others if they seem to be exerting pressure

The certificate must accurately reflect the details of the notarization:

You are responsible for completing a full notarial certificate with a venue, a statement of particulars – which includes the type of notarial act, the date and the name of the signer – your official signature and, your notary stamp.

You must correct any inaccurate information contained in a preprinted notarial certificate or add any missing information

You must indicate the option corresponding to the transaction if the notarial certificate offers options

Your signature must be an original, wet signature and ink or embossed stamp on tangible documents - or your registered electronic signature and stamp for eNotarizations

State of _____________County of ___________

This record was [signed/acknowledged/signed and sworn to]before me on __________ by _________________________________.

Print name of signer(s)

_________________________Notary Signature

Notarial Certificate

Venue

S. o. P.

Notary’sSignature

Seal/Stamp

VIP

“If the certificate isn’t complete, the notarization hasn’t been done!”

Dealing with Representative Signers

“Compound Acknowledgments”

Determine the capacity signer is using

Have signer state the official title and authority to sign for entity

Be sure to reference capacity in notarial certificate [§51-116A(4), I.C.]

State of _____________

County of ___________

This record was signed or acknowledged before me on __________(Date)

by _________________________, acting as the _____________________ (Print name of signer) (Title)

of _________________________.(Name of Entity)

_________________________Notary Signature

Compound Acknowledgment

Venue

S. o. P.

Notary’sSignature

Seal/Stamp

CERTIFYING COPIESThe attestation by the notarial officer

that the copy of a particular document

is a true, correct, and unaltered image or

reproduction of the original

made by the notarial officer

SPECIAL NOTES ABOUT CERTIFYING COPIES

Make sure you start with an original document – you cannot make a copy of a copy and certify it to be a copy of the original

A notary may not certify an original document

Montana notaries cannot certify copies of any public document unless they work in the office where the official records are kept

Personal appearance not relevant

There will NEVER be a pre-printed notarial certificate on a copied document (You ALWAYS have to DIY)

Notarial Certificate for Certified Copy

State of _____________________County of ___________________

I certify that this is a true and exact copy of the _________________________(Type of document)

______________________________________________________(Additional details of document)

made by me on ____________________________________.(Date the copy was made and certified)

(Notary’s Signature)

(Stamp)

If all you do is sign your name and affix your stamp to a

document without making sure a full notarial certificate is

completed, you are committing notarial malpractice.

And if you fill in the blanks of a preprinted notarial certificate without carefully reading and understanding what it says, you are dancing on a tightrope over shark-infested water.

WARNING

How do you know what notarial act to perform when

somebody asks you to:

FIRST - LOOK ON THE DOCUMENT!

Does the document call for, or have, the signature of the person appearing before you on it?

Are there instructions included with the document that indicate what you are supposed to do?

Is there a notarial certificate pre-printedon the document?

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

SIGNATURES

JURATS

Second - Ask the customer

If your customer can tell you what type of notarial act is needed, you can affix or attach an appropriate notarial block to the document and complete it.

If your customer can’t tell you what he/she needs, and you can’t determine from the document what type of notarial act is called for, you MUST refuse the request.

Finally –

The person who is signing the document

must personally appear to you

at the time you are doing the notarization!

EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

If the document doesn’t have a full notarial certificate with a

venue, a statement of particulars –which includes the date, the type of notarial act and

the name of the person for whom it was performed -the notary’s official signature and

stamp –

It hasn’t been notarized!

If you don’t know what you’re doing…

DON’T DO IT!!!

Notaries leave a

lastiNg impressioN!

Always Remember

Thank You!Lori HammNotary Program SpecialistMontana Secretary of State’s OfficeLori.Hamm@mt.gov4060444-5379