Glossary Terms
A glossary of terms common to notaries and notarial acts:
Acknowledgment: The most common form of notarization. The purpose of an acknowledgment is to authenticate signatures and positively identify the signer. An acknowledgment appears at the end of a document text or may be attached as a loose certificate. The wording in the acknowledgment indicates that the signer personally appeared before the notary, identified themselves through satisfactory evidence or personal knowledge, and acknowledged. When using an acknowledgment, the document signer does not have to sign in front of the notary.
Affiant: A document signer who signs an affidavit.
Affidavit: A written statement in which the affiant swears to the truthfulness of the content.
Affirmation: An affirmation has the same purpose as an oath: to compel truthfulness. An affiant may refuse to swear to a supreme being and may therefore choose the affirmation rather than the oath. The affirmation has the same legal effect as an oath.
Apostille: A certificate that is attached to foreign-bound documents to certify that the notary's signature and seal were valid at the time of notarization. It is obtained from the Office of the Secretary of State.
Authenticate (signatures): To authenticate (prove valid) a signature that has already been signed, a notary compares the document signer's signature on the document to the signature the signer leaves in the notary journal and the signature on the signer's identification.
Certified Copy: A document certified by a notary to be a true and correct copy of the original.
Credible Witness: A type of satisfactory evidence of identification. The primary role of a credible witness is to establish the identify of the document signer to the notary through an oath/affirmation.
Errors and Omission Insurance: An insurance policy designed for the protection of the notary when held liable for honest mistakes. The insurance policy absorbs the notary's costs and financial liabilities up to an agreed limit.
Identification: Satifactory evidence as to the identity of the person whose signature is being notarized.
Jurat: The second most common form of notarization. The purpose of the jurat is to compel truthfulness. With a jurat, the notary certifies the signer's personal appearance, witnesses the document signer signing the document, administers an oath or affirmation, and positively identifies the signer.
Loose Certificate: A document with notarial wording that is separate from, and attached to, the document being notarized. It is used when no wording is provided on the document, when that provided wording does not comply with the state's requirements, when there is no room for the notary seal on the document, or when a preprinted certificate has already been used by another notary in the case of multiple signers.
Notarization: The process of authenticating a signature, the genuineness of a document, or verifying a statement made under oath or affirmation.
Notary Fee: A set schedule of fees mandated by the state.
Notary Journal: An official record book of notarizations performed by a notary. Required by law in the State of California. All entries must be in chronological order and have all required fields completed at the time of notarization. If must be kept under the direct and exclusive control of the notary.
Notary Public: A person commissioned by a state government to serve the public as an impartial witness with duties specified by law. The notary has the power to witness the signing of documents and to administer oaths.
Notary Seal: An official stamp or embosser used by a notary to seal notarizations. It must be kept under the direct and exlusive control of the notary.
Oath and Affirmation: The purpose of an oath is to compel truthfulness. An oath should be taken seriously as an affiant could be found guilty of perjury for lying under oath or affirmation. Oaths used during notarization include: a jurat; a credible witness; and a subscribing witness.
Personal Appearance: A situation in which the signer appears with the notary from start to finish of the notarization.
Personal Knowledge: A notary may use personal knowledge as a form of identification when they can identify the signer with reasonable certainty. No other form of identification is required.
Satisfactory Evidence: Forms of identification that are established by the state to be used by a notary to confirm identity.
Signature by Mark: An "X" made in the place of a signature by a person unable to sign their name for whatever reason, and witnessed by the notary and two other persons.
Subscribe: To sign.
Subscribing Witness: A person who appears before the notary on behalf of the principal. The subscribing witness must have ben requested and/or authorized by the principal to get the document notarized, msut swear under oath or affirmation that they either saw the principal sign the document or heard the principal acknowledge that they signed the document, must sign the document before appearing in from of the notary or in the notary's presence, must establish identity through personal knowlege of the notary or through the oath or affirmation of a credible witness known to the subscribing witness and the notary, and must sign the notary's journal.
Venue: Wording in a notarial certificate that indicates the state and county where the notarization takes place.
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