Notarial acts and documents

Study notes · 50 practice questions · 30 in the mock pool

Acknowledgment, jurat and proof

• An acknowledgment certifies identity and execution; an affidavit involves administering an oath. Some forms combine both.
• A jurat is the part of an affidavit where the officer certifies it was sworn to — it is not the affidavit.
• A proof of execution has a subscribing witness swear they saw the signer execute the instrument, and state their own residence.
• The signature need not be made in the notary's presence, but personal appearance is required: taking an acknowledgment by telephone is a misdemeanor.

Real Property Law

• What counts as a conveyance, and what is excluded (wills, short leases, executory contracts, agency powers).
• Where each officer may act: notaries anywhere in the state, other officers within their districts.
• Section 303's identity requirement — knowledge or satisfactory evidence — and New York's retention of personal knowledge.
• The uniform certificate forms of 309-a and 309-b, and the 'substantially conform' standard.
• What section 306 requires the certificate to contain, and where it is endorsed or attached.

Signature, seal and venue

• No seal is required in New York; if one is used it should identify the notary, the authority and the jurisdiction.
• The section 137 statement of authority beneath the signature, in black ink, and the official number for New York City counties.
• Signing the commissioned name, and the parenthetical arrangement after marrying mid-term.
• Venue is where the act happened, not where the notary qualified.

What a notary may not do

• No authority to issue certified copies, or to certify documents for foreign consular officers.
• No authority to solemnize a marriage, or to take the acknowledgment of parties to a marriage contract.
• A notary should not take an acknowledgment on an instrument in which they are a party in interest — such an act has been held a nullity.