There’s more to the notarial procedure than signing and sealing a notarial seal on the document. Due to the legal weight that a notarized document carries, the notary services public must be able to follow a specific procedure to prevent fraud or to ensure that the singer is in a good sane mind.
An official certificate must substantiate the notarial ceremony. Therefore, notaries must ensure the right language is printed or attached to the document. It clearly states the date and time the notarial ceremony was executed. The Secretary of State will set specific requirements for the wording of each certificate, and the language used may differ depending on the commissioning state. As more states adopt remote online notarization laws, a new language to reflect the new law is added.
These are the most common components of a notarial document, how remote online notarization legislation has altered the language and where you can find the correct wording.
What information must be included in a notarial document?
Every state determines what information to be included in the document. In general, there are nine mandatory elements. These include:
- Venue. The place where notarization occurs or the place of notary services at the moment that remote notarization is required.
- The type of notarial act to be performed The use of words such as “sworn to” (oath) or “acknowledge” (acknowledgement) will be used to indicate the necessary notarial ceremony.
- Remote or in-person. The notary should indicate the type of ceremony performed, whether it was in-person or remote notarization.
- Date of notarization.
- It is the name and address of the person who signed it, the person whose signature will be notarized.
- The kind of identification. The notary indicates the authenticity of the principal verified based on personal information or examination of a recognized type of identification.
- The notary’s signature (exactly as it appears on the commission certification).
- The name of the notary’s signature is printed or typed beneath the signature.
- The seal of the notary public. The seal must include”Notary Public-State of Florida “Notary Public State of Florida” and the name of the notary, his expiration date of commission and commission number, and be written with black ink.
If any of the above elements are not present on the notarial document, notaries should amend the document to ensure that it complies with the state’s laws.
Remote Online Notarization and a New Certificate The Wording
On the 1st of January in 2020, Florida’s remote internet notarization law was put into law. The state made important changes to the language of notarial documents to show that the signer was present in person or through audiovisual communication. The law requires that the certificate of acknowledgement or jurat make this specificity. The new language must be utilised for all public notaries to handle remote closings online when they’re not certified.
In a traditional notarial ceremony, the certificate is typically already included in the document or secured to it. The certificate is secured or linked to any electronic documents when you use remote online notarization.
Where can I obtain Notary Certificates?
If you’re not sure of the language used in an official document, you can locate the correct certificate wording here:
- The Commissioning Authority website. The Florida Secretary of State’s website revised its sample notarial statement to meet the updated regulations.
- You can also make your owner certificate using the correct words.
- You can acquire certificates from third-party organisations such as the National Notary Association. National Notary Association.
Many independent sellers online with certificates and stamps have notarial text. However, before you purchase, please read the item and ensure it complies with the specifications carefully. Your notarizations might be denied if you don’t select the right certificate or alter the text on an out-of-date document.
Make sure you don’t make any mistakes when signing the Notarial Certificate.
A lot of the mistakes that Notary Publics commit are caused by filling out or not marking one of the components on the document. Be sure to go through the document before you fill it out. A common error is when the notary writes their name, where the principals’ names are required to be displayed.
If any part of the certificate has been filled with inaccurate data, take out the error, write the correct data and the date, and mark the modification.
The name you put on your certificate must be the name that appears on the commission certificate. Your signature must match that of the official who is certifying your commission.
Verify the date before including it on the certificate. Making the wrong date or post-dating the certificate is an extremely serious error.
Notary seals must also be visible and clear on documents. Do not stamp over any other text, which could make reading difficult. Incorrectly placed, upside-down blurred, or incomplete stamps or seals of the notary are most likely to be disqualified by the recording jurisdictions.
Certain states require Notaries to utilise stamps that reflect the expiration date of their commission. Many Notaries believe they can correct seals with an outdated expiration date by removing them and putting in the new date. However, this could be a mistake and result in the document being rejected. Notaries must update their seals and stamps whenever they can.
Avoid these common errors by carefully studying the components of an apostille certificate. Check the Notary laws of your state and the official certificate’s wording before making an appointment. Check that all notary tools are up-to-date and make sure you take your time when filling out the form.
