While an acknowledgment is a common notarial act, it can often confuse newer or less-experienced notaries. Read on for a brief examination of this essential notary declaration.

What Is an Acknowledgment?

An acknowledgment is a common part of the notarization process. It confirms a signer's identity, intentions, and final signature.

One of a notary's primary duties is to confirm that all signers of a particular document are exactly who they claim to be. They must also ensure that signers fully understand the essential content of the document and have decided to sign that document of their own free will.

In many ways, an acknowledgment is quite similar to a jurat and accomplishes many of the same objectives.

Notaries commonly use an official form or certificate to certify that the right signer has properly signed a document with a solid comprehension and appreciation of its contents and intent.

Typically a relatively short statement or declaration, this legal document includes some sort of written acknowledgment oath that a notary must fill out, date, and endorse. These oaths may differ for different kinds of signers, including individuals acting on their own behalf, individuals acting as a principal or representative, individuals acting on behalf of a partner, and individuals representing a corporation.

Acknowledgments rank highly among a notary's primary responsibilities for a very good reason. By officially identifying all signing parties as well as their comprehension of and commitment to the document at hand, notaries play an essential role in preventing fraud.

If an acknowledgment isn't handled correctly, it can result in an invalid document. For this reason, acknowledgments are incredibly valuable when it comes to preventing and overcoming legal challenges to important official agreements and statements such as:

• Contracts
• Deeds
• Mortgages
• Powers of attorney
• Last wills and testaments

How to Acknowledge a Signature

Here are five general steps all notaries should complete when performing an acknowledgment.

Step 1: Document Inspection

Before applying their notary stamp to a document, notaries must ensure that it is appropriate for the occasion. They also check the document carefully for missing pages and improper blank spaces.

Then, they should immediately look for a notary certificate, indicating the desire for notarization. If they don't see one, they should inform all signers of their various options and provide the appropriate certificate.

Step 2: Fact Verification

The number one responsibility of a notary is to authenticate identity. However, because notary rules and regulations are determined at the state level, each state will have different ways to identify a signer.

To confirm identification, notaries in all states are authorized to accept some form of government-issued card or document with a photo and signature. The most common of these cards and documents include state driver's licenses and U.S. passports, but each state has its own list of acceptable IDs.

Depending on state regulations and jurisdiction requirements, other forms of identification may be available to notaries.

For example, many states (including California, Texas, and Florida) allow credible witnesses with a valid government-issued ID to legally identify and verify a document signer. This is particularly valuable when a signer does not have a valid government-issued ID of their own.

While some states share similar fact verification policies, they may also differ in quite significant ways. No matter where they happen to live, notaries should check the relevant process and requirements in their state of operation before attempting to confirm a signer's identity.

Step 3: Signature Witnessing

Before the document is signed, confirm the signer's willingness and awareness to sign the document in question.

If the document was signed previously, the signer must re-sign the document in the notary's presence. Because physically witnessing the signature happen lies at the very core of the notary's purpose, they should never violate the presence requirement.

Step 4: Record Information

Even if not required, all notaries should keep a journal and write down important details like how they identified all signers, confirmed their relevant information, and ascertained that they are fully prepared to sign willingly and knowingly.

Step 5: Seal the Notary Certificate

Once a notary has completed all the above steps with precision and certainty, they can finalize the document at hand by applying their seal and signature.

Perfect Your Notarizations

If you are an aspiring or active notary public who wants to succeed in the profession, you must prioritize the acknowledgment process and complete it with care.

Following these practices will help keep you organized and efficient when tackling this task, leaving less room for simple mistakes that may hurt you later.

Another way to avoid mistakes is to take advantage of our available resources. If you ever come across a document that doesn't include the necessary wording, you can use an acknowledgment stamp to save time! Forgo writing the necessary language by hand or requesting a whole new document. A stamp with the necessary language makes the process easy.

New notaries who didn't need to complete any education to get commissioned can also take our online general notary course. It not only describes the acknowledgment process, but it also guides notaries through their other responsibilities.