how to notarize a document when you can’t tell what it is · pdf filehow to notarize a...

How to Notarize a Document When You Can’t Tell What It Is

Pennsylvania Association of Notaries

One Gateway Center, Suite 401420 Fort Duquesne Boulevard • Pittsburgh, PA 15222-1498

800-944-8790 • www.notary.org • [email protected]


Pennsylvania Association of Notaries PAN Report — of 6

Notaries encounter every imaginable type of document; some are perceivedas more difficult than others in determining the appropriate notarial act tocomplete. The Pennsylvania Association of Notaries (PAN) offers this information tohelp you complete notarizations no matter how problematic the document.

Review the document

It is not your responsibility to read every word of a customer’s document.You should, however, review the document to determine if it contains anyblank spaces that could be filled in fraudulently at another time. If you find blank spaces, have your customer draw a line through and initialthem to prevent fraud.

Don’t be fooled by the document title

Sometimes preprinted documents have titles that can be confusing to a no-tary. Don’t be fooled by a document’s title. It is the notary wording that deter-mines what notarial power should be used to complete the notarization.

Look for the notary wording

A notary cannot notarize unless there is proper notary wording on the docu-ment. Notary wording includes the venue and the notary statement. The venue is the location (county and state) where the notarization is takingplace. It is required for all notarial acts. You as the notary are responsible forcorrecting the venue if it is incorrect. If the venue is missing, you must add itto the document.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

County of ___________________

I certify that on October 10, 20XX, Tina K. Bridge, personally came before me and this person acknowledgedunder oath to my satisfaction that:

Jefferson

Notarizing blank documents is never allowed.Additionally, a customer is not allowed to coverup part of a document he or she does not wantyou to see.



For example, if the venue says “State of New York, County of Columbia” andthe notarization is taking place in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,County of Jefferson, draw a line through State of New York, and write Com-monwealth of Pennsylvania beside it. Then draw a line through Columbiaand write Jefferson beside it.

The notary statement determines which notarial power you are completing.The two most common notarial powers are affidavit and acknowledgment. AffidavitAn affidavit is a voluntary, written, sworn statement signed by your customerin your presence. Your customer, called an affiant, is responsible for the truthand accuracy of the statement he or she makes on the affidavit. The notary statement of an affidavit contains the words sworn to and sub-scribed, or sworn by, or sworn by and subscribed before me this day and isusually located somewhere near the end of the document or near where youwill place your signature and notarial seal. This statement is referred to as ajurat.

When you see this wording on a document, you know you need to completean affidavit. Acknowledgment An acknowledgment is a method of authenticating a signature on a docu-ment. It is a declaration made in your presence by an individual who signed,or is signing, a document. The individual appears before you to declare thathe or she did sign the document and knew what he or she was doing at thetime. The notary statement of an acknowledgment contains these words or sub-stantially similar words:

State of New York

County of Columbia

I certify that on October 10, 20XX, Tina K. Bridge, personally came before me and this person acknowledgedunder oath, to my satisfaction, that:

(

Commonwealth of PennsylvaniaJefferson

Zip _________ Contact Person for Owner Info

_ Date of Incorporation ____________ Telephone ___________________P

Total Aggregate Amount $ ___________ (total $ amount of items worth less than $100 andi TOTAL $ _________

5

Title __________________________________

Subscribed and sworn to before me this _________ day of ____________, 20____.

Notary Public ____________________________ My Commission Expires _______________

2

44444

V

Warehousing

1

Dorothy Doe

May 1, 20XX5th January XX

Owner



When you see this wording on a document, you need to complete an acknowledgment.

What if there is no notary wording

If your customer knows specifically what notarial act he or she wants, you may either add the notary wording to the actual document or attach aseparate sheet of paper with the notary wording on it. The notary wording includes the venue, date, the proper wording for the notarial act and spacefor your signature and seal.

The procedurePAN recommends stapling the notary wording (on the separate sheet) tolessen the chance that the notary wording will become separated from thedocument. Some county recorders will not accept documents that have staples in them. Cross-reference the attached notary wording to the customer’s document by writing specific information about the customer’s document on the attach-ment, such as “affidavit attached,” “acknowledgment attached,” or similarwording. Please note: you may ask the customer which notarial act he or she wants,but you can’t advise or make the decision for them. If the customer is unableto give any indication of the notarial act he or she wants, you must refuseservice.

On this, the ______ day of ____________ , 20_____ , beforeme______________________________ , the undersigned officer, personally appeared ___________________________________ , known to me (or satisfactorily proven) to be the person__ whose name_____ subscribed to the within instrument, and acknowledged that ____he ____executed the same for the purposes therein contained.

In witness whereof, I hereunto set my hand and official seal.

P

5th August XXDorthy Doe, a notary public

Sylvia Tracker

s ----

---------------------------

P M

M

C

-- is

You may add or attach the notary wording to thedocument only with the customer’s permission.



When someone wants a certificate/certified copy

Step 1 – Inspect the original document. Make sure the original document hasnot been tampered with or altered. Step 2 – Make the photocopy and compare it to the original. When the cus-tomer provides the copy, you must compare the copy to the original page bypage to make sure it is an exact reproduction of the original document. Whenyou make the copy, the comparison is more straightforward because youknow the document has not been altered. Step 3 – Add the notary wording. You may hand write or type the wordingon the copy. If there is no room on the copy, attach the wording. Don’t forgetto add the venue. Certificate Wording

I, ___________________________, a notary public, certify that this orthe attached copy of the __________________, dated ________________,is an accurate, correct and complete copy of the original documentpresented to me by __________________________ on ________________. In witness whereof, I hereunto set my hand and official seal.

Step 4 – Add your signature and seal.

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Your notarial register

A notarial register is required by the Pennsylvania Notary Public Law. Yourregister must contain a separate and chronological entry for each notarial actyou perform. Only you can enter information in it. However, it is considered a publicrecord and anyone may inspect it under your supervision or ask for copies of pages from it. It is your exclusive property, no matter who paid for it. Each entry in your register must contain the following information:

n Date of Notarial Act – always the date on which your customer stands before you, in person.

n Character of Act – the type of notarial act performed. n Parties to the Instrument – the full name of your customer(s).

Do not make certified copies of birth certificates,death certificates and naturalization certificates.Your customer can obtain certified copies of thesedocuments from their originating office.



n Date of Instrument – the date on the document your customer presents to you. It may be the current day or any date prior to the current date, depending on the notarial act.

n Notary Fee Paid – record the notarial fee you charged for each act. Although Remarks are not required, they could help you remember a partic-ular customer if you are called into court. However, do not list any personalinformation about your customer, such as a driver’s license or Social Securitynumber.

Who We Are

The Pennsylvania Association of Notaries (PAN) is a membership-based notary organization that helps our members avoid making these mistakes byanswering their questions via phone, fax, E-mail and online Live Chat. Ourcustomer service representatives are well-versed in Pennsylvania notary andmotor vehicle laws and answer over 200 questions a day from Pennsylvanianotaries. For more information, call 800-944-8790 Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. orsend us an E-mail at [email protected].

If you fail to keep a complete and accurate recordof every notarial act you perform, in chronologicalorder and you fail to keep your register in a securelocation to be used only by you, the Secretary ofthe Commonwealth may take disciplinary actions,including fines and suspending or revoking yourcommission.

how to notarize a document when you can’t tell what it is · pdf filehow to notarize a...

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