Notary Tip: "Acknowledgment Certificate"

ACKNOWLEDGMENT CERTIFICATE:

Although there are statutory acknowledgment certificates for North Carolina notaries’ use, certificates from other jurisdictions may be used as long as they include the following components:

• State and county in which the acknowledgment took place, sometimes called the “venue statement.”
• Name of the principal who appeared in person before the notary and for whom the notary act is performed.
• An indication that the principal appeared before the notary and signed the record in the notary’s presence or principal already signed the record.
• Date when the acknowledgement occurred.
• Signature, seal, or stamp of the notary.
• Notary’s expiration date.

If an acknowledgment certificate from another jurisdiction does not include any one of these components, it should not be used and should be replaced with a North Carolina acknowledgment certificate.

When executing an acknowledgment, the signer is acknowledging to the notary that the signature is the principal’s and that the principal signed the document willingly. Signing the document in the presence of the notary will accomplish this act since the notary actually witnesses the signer sign. However, if the document is presented with a signature already affixed, the notary must ask the signer if he or she willingly signed the document and the signer must respond in the affirmative. 

IT IS PERFECTLY FINE FOR DOCUMENTS REQUIRING AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO HAVE BEEN SIGNED PRIOR TO BEING PRESENTED TO THE NOTARY. The notary will simply need to make sure that the signer acknowledges his or her signature. IT IS NOT NECESSARY FOR DOCUMENTS IN THIS SITUATION TO BE SIGNED AGAIN IN THE NOTARY’S PRESENCE. 

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