Welcome to the first post in my new series, “Mastering Your Notary Knowledge.” Today we are going to dive into Acknowledgments. 

What is an Acknowledgment? An Acknowledgment is an act for a signer to declare to a Notary that he or she has willingly signed a document. 

The signer's identity must be verified, and the acknowledgment form must be filled out, signed, and stamped.

An Acknowledgment requires a few steps:

1. The signer must appear in person in front of the Notary.

2. The Notary must positively identify the signer based on their state rules.

3. The signer doesn’t have to sign their document in the presence of the notary. They can, or they can sign it prior. 

4. The signer must acknowledge signing the document for its intended purpose.

**NNA Note**

In most states, the signer must be able to directly communicate with you that he or she willingly signed the document. However, Arizona and Mississippi permit a signer to communicate with a Notary through a translator who is also present at the notarization. In Colorado, a hearing-impaired signer may use a qualified interpreter to communicate with a Notary during the notarization, provided the interpreter has no beneficial interest in the notarization.

How to fill out an Acknowledgment? The NNA has some great info and graphics to help. 

Acknowledgment Forms:

As a Notary for any length of time, you are bound to come across some interesting versions of an acknowledgment form. What must you know to ensure you work within your state's outlined laws and regulations? Well, a couple of things.

• The disclaimer wording is in the enclosed box. What does your state require in that disclaimer box, or does it? In California, our disclaimer box should include the following: 

• A notary public or other officer completing this certificate verifies only the identity of the individual who signed the document to which this certificate is attached and not the truthfulness, accuracy, or validity of that document. 

• In California, if the document is used or filed in California, the acknowledgment must contain this wording. You can handwrite this wording or use a California Acknowledgement Stamp if necessary. 

• If the document will not be used in California but in another state, the California SOS allows California notaries to use that state's Acknowledgment form.

Review:

To complete an Acknowledgment Notarization

1. Require personal appearance. ( There are options if the signer can’t appear. Check out this blog post about witnesses. Check out the part about Subscribing Witnesses)

2. Review the document. Make sure it's completely filled out. It doesn’t matter what the document is. You want to make sure it meets the requirements for notarization.

3. Screen the signer and verify the facts. If the signer signed the document prior to your arrival, make sure to confirm that they do acknowledge that they signed the document and that it is, in fact, their signature. 

4. Record your notarization in your journal. Complete a detailed record in your journal about the facts of the notarization: the date and time, a description of the document, the type of notarization, the signer’s name and address, how the signer was identified, the fee collected, and the signer’s signature. Some states require specific information to be recorded; you must know and follow these requirements. -NNA

5. Complete the Notarization. 

For more information about Acknowledgement, check out these articles from the National Notary Association- NNA.

Notary essentials: How to complete an acknowledgment

Notary Essentials: The difference between acknowledgments and jurats

How do you handle out-of-state Notary certificates?

I hope you found this information helpful and that it gives you the confidence to learn even more to become a master of your commission.

Until next time- 

Jennifer K. Cooper- JKC Mobile Notary