FAQs
What is a Notary Public?
A Notary Public is an official of integrity, appointed by the California Secretary of State, to serve the public as an impartial witness (duty-bound not to act in situations where they have a personal interest) in performing a variety of official fraud-deterrent acts related to the signing of important documents. These official acts are called notarizations, or notarial acts.
What is an Acknowledgement?
It is a notarial act in which a Notary certifies having positively identified a document signer who personally appeared before the Notary and admitted having signed the document freely.
In addition, the Certificate of Acknowledgement:
- Shows that the acknowledging party appeared personally before the officer (Notary Public) taking the acknowledgement.
- Identifies the acknowledging party by name corresponding to the acknowledged document.
- Signed by the officer who is taking the acknowledgment.
- Sealed with the officer’s official seal (if applicable).
- Proves the signature’s authenticity on the document.
- Entitles the document to be accepted for filing and recording by the court.
What is a Jurat?
It is a notarial act in which a Notary certifies having watched the signing of a document and administered an oath or affirmation. Compelling a document signer to be truthful is the main purpose of the notarial act called a jurat. The Notary’s function in executing a jurat is to appeal to the signer’s conscience and to initiate a process that could result in a criminal conviction for perjury if the signer is found to be lying under oath.
In executing a jurat, the Notary must watch the person sign the document, then have the signer make either a solemn, oral promise of truthfulness to a Supreme Being (called an oath) or a promise on one’s own personal honor (called an affirmation).
The oath and affirmation have the same legal effect.
Jurats are common with documents that may be used as evidence in court proceedings, such as depositions and affidavits.
Why do I have to show my ID to have a document notarized?
Effective January 1, 2008 per the State of California, any acknowledgement or jurat may only be executed with proper identification.
What Form of Identification Can I Use?
All IDs listed below must be current or issued within the last 5 years:
- CA Driver’s license or ID Card
- United States Passport
- Driver’s License or ID card issued by a state in the U.S.
- A valid consular ID issued by a consulate from applicant’s country of citizenship
- ID card issued by a federally recognized tribal government
What if I don't have a Photo ID?
If a signer does not have a state or government issued photo ID that is not expired, then he or she will need two people present who will swear to his or her identity in order to be certified. The oath of a certifying witness is satisfactory evidence for certification. Those two witnesses will have to have proper ID. Medicaid cards, social security cards, credit cards, work IDs are not valid forms of identification.
Can you Notarize a Fax or Copy of a Photocopy of a Document?
A photocopy or fax may be notarized, but only if it bears an original signature. That is, the copy must have been signed with pen and ink.
A photocopied or faxed signature may never be notarized.
Care should be taken to copy faxes from thermal paper to regular paper before proceeding in having a document notarized in order to avoid rejection by public recorders.
Can you give Legal Advice?
No. A Notary Public is not an attorney, is not licensed to practice law and cannot give legal advice. For legal inquiries, please contact an attorney or your local Bar Association.