Acknowledgment

PART 3 - Section 1

Acknowledgment

By taking an acknowledgment, the notary is:

Stating that the signer appeared in person before the notary on the date indicated and in the county indicated;
Verifying that the person who signed the document has satisfactorily proven their identity; and

The signer acknowledged signing the document (if it was pre-signed)

These three elements must occur at the same time and in the same place.

It doesn’t matter if the document was signed that day, the day before, or the year before, the signer just needs to verbally acknowledge that he or she signed it. If the document is signed in your presence, you do not need to take a verbal statement of acknowledgment.

Personal appearance by the signer is crucial and you must insist on it each and every time. If the signer did not appear before you and you complete the acknowledgment anyway, you could be held liable for the execution of a fraudulent notarial certificate, and you could face severe penalties.

The notarial certificate must always be dated on the day of the notarial act. Never “back-date” or “future-date” a notarial certificate, no matter how much someone may want you to do so.

A California Certificate of Acknowledgment must be in the form set forth by California law. No variations to this form are allowed. If you are asked to complete a Certificate of Acknowledgment that does not use this wording, you must attach a loose Certificate of Acknowledgment that complies with the law.

Civil Code § 1189(a)

CERTIFICATE OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT

State of California               )

                                              ) ss.

County of (where the           )

acknowledgment is

being signed)

On (date) before me, (your name, Notary Public), personally appeared __(name(s) of signer(s)_____, who

proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are subscribed to

the within instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their authorized

capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their signature(s) on the instrument the person(s), or the entity upon behalf

of which the person(s) acted, executed the instrument.

I certify under PENALTY OF PERJURY under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing paragraph

is true and correct.

WITNESS my hand and official seal.

Signature _____(your signature)_________                                (Seal)

Civil Code § 1189

Note that you are signing your acknowledgment under penalty of perjury. A notary public who willfully states as true any material fact known to be false can be subject to a civil penalty of up to $10,000.
Never let a loose acknowledgment go without it being attached to the document you have notarized.

Your signature on your notarial certificate must be written by hand in ink. Signature stamps are not acceptable.

Sometimes very little room is left for your notarial seal. If there is not enough room next to your signature, you may place your seal in a margin, getting as close as possible to your signature, or simply complete and attach a loose notarial certificate.

If you are completing an acknowledgment form for a state other than California, you may use any acknowledgment form that that state requires, so long as you do not need to make a determination as to the representative capacity of the signer (for example, the president of a corporation) or other determinations not allowed by California law. Civil Code § 1189(c)

If you are presented with an acknowledgment form that is unfamiliar to you and you are not sure if you should use it or not, simply complete and attach a loose Certificate of Acknowledgment in the above format.

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