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Phil McGrane, Idaho Secretary of State
Phil McGrane, Idaho Secretary of State

Notary Certificate Examples

Here are some illustrations of different types of notarial certificates that you will likely encounter.

Taking Acknowledgements

The notarial act of taking an acknowledgment requires the signer to personally appear before the notary, but it does not require the notary to witness the act of signing. Often the party has previously signed the record before bringing it to the notary.

In taking an acknowledgment, the notary must do the following:

  • Require the personal appearance of the signer.
  • Review the document to determine the type of document and type of notarial act required.
  • Identify the signer as the person who is supposed to sign the document.
  • Verify the signature on the document is the signer’s, by watching them sign the document. If it has already been signed, compare the signature on the document to one on the signer’s ID and the signature made by the signer in the notary’s journal.
  • Have the signer verbally acknowledge the signature is his or hers. Complete the notarial certificate.

This short-form certificate is taken directly from the example provided in Idaho Code 51-116. You may copy and paste it into any relevant documents.

				
					State of ______________________

County of _____________________

This record was acknowledged before me on _____ by ____________________
                                          Date     Name(s) of individual(s)

__________________________________
Signature of notary public

(Stamp)

My commission expires: _________

For best results when pasting, use a monospace font. Default monospace fonts are:

  • Windows: Consolas, Courier New, Lucida Console
  • macOS: SF Mono, Menlo, Monaco
  • Linux/Android: DejaVu Sans Mono, Roboto Mono
A blank basic acknowledgement certificate
Example 1a: A blank basic acknowledgement certificate.
A completed basic acknowledgement certificate
Example 1b: A completed basic acknowledgement certificate.
A blank acknowledgement certificate with a longer statement
Example 2a: A blank acknowledgement certificate with a longer statement.
A completed version of the long-form acknowledgement certificate
Example 2b: A completed version of the long-form acknowledgement certificate.

Witnessing Signatures

Witnessing a signature is exactly that—you watch the signer sign the document. Occasionally someone will bring a document to you that has already been signed, but the preprinted form calls for you to witness the person sign the document. In situations like that, you must have the person sign the document again in your presence. It is not necessary for the signer to cross out the first signature; he or she should just sign again as close to the original signature as possible. When witnessing a signature, the notary will do the following:

  • Require the personal appearance of the signer.
  • Review the document to determine the type of document and type of notarial act required.
  • Identify the signer as the person who is supposed to sign the document.
  • Have the signer sign the document as you watch
  • Complete the notarial certificate.

This short-form certificate is taken directly from the examples provided in Idaho Code 51-116. You may copy and paste it into any relevant documents.

				
					State of ______________________

County of _____________________

Signed (or attested) before me on ________ by ____________________
                                  Date        Name(s) of individual(s)

__________________________________
Signature of notary public

(Stamp)

My commission expires: _________

For best results when pasting, use a monospace font. Default monospace fonts are:

  • Windows: Consolas, Courier New, Lucida Console
  • macOS: SF Mono, Menlo, Monaco
  • Linux/Android: DejaVu Sans Mono, Roboto Mono
A blank basic signature certificate
Example 3a: A blank basic signature certificate.
A completed basic signature certificate
Example 3b: A completed basic signature certificate.
A blank signature certificate with a longer statement
Example 4a: A blank signature certificate with a longer statement.
A completed version of the long-form signature certificate
Example 4b: A completed version of the long-form signature certificate.

Representative Capacity Signatures

Sometimes the person who requests a notarization will be signing the document on behalf of another person or entity. This usually happens when someone is signing on behalf of a corporation, a trust, as a personal representative, or with a power of attorney.

When notarizing in this situation include the following information in the certificate:

  1. the name of the person signing the document
  2. the type of authority in which they are signing, and
  3. the name of the party or entity on whose behalf it is signed.

This short-form certificate is taken directly from the examples provided in Idaho Code 51-116. You may copy and paste it into any relevant documents.

				
					State of ______________________

County of _____________________

This record was signed before me on ______ by ____________________
                                    Date      Name(s) of individual(s)

as [INCLUDE: type of authority, such as officer or trustee] of [INCLUDE: name of party on behalf of whom record was executed]

__________________________________
Signature of notary public

(Stamp)

My commission expires: _________

For best results when pasting, use a monospace font. Default monospace fonts are:

  • Windows: Consolas, Courier New, Lucida Console
  • macOS: SF Mono, Menlo, Monaco
  • Linux/Android: DejaVu Sans Mono, Roboto Mono
A completed representative capacity signature certificate
Example 5: A completed representative capacity signature certificate.

Signed Upon Oath or Affirmation (Jurat)

Performing a jurat requires you to do two things:

  1. Witness the person signing the document, and
  2. Administer an oath, placing the person under penalty of perjury if the statements made in the document are proven false.

As the notary, you are not responsible for the truthfulness or accuracy of the document, and the person who takes the oath may not, in fact, be telling the truth. As long as you have administered an oath, you have done your job.

Suggested Oath When Performing a Jurat Notarization:

“Do you swear that the information contained in this document is true and complete to the best of your knowledge and ability?”

This short-form certificate is taken directly from the examples provided in Idaho Code 51-116. You may copy and paste it into any relevant documents.

				
					State of ______________________

County of _____________________

Signed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me

on ________ by ____________________
   Date        Name(s) of individual(s) making statement

__________________________________
Signature of notary public

(Stamp)

My commission expires: _________

For best results when pasting, use a monospace font. Default monospace fonts are:

  • Windows: Consolas, Courier New, Lucida Console
  • macOS: SF Mono, Menlo, Monaco
  • Linux/Android: DejaVu Sans Mono, Roboto Mono
A blank basic jurat certificate
Example 6a: A blank basic jurat certificate.
A completed basic jurat certificate
Example 6b: A completed basic jurat certificate.
A blank jurat certificate with a longer statement
Example 7a: A blank jurat certificate with a longer statement.
A completed long-form jurat certificate
Example 7b: A completed long-form jurat certificate.
A completed jurat certificate from a different venue with the proper corrections made
Example 8: A completed jurat certificate from a different venue with the proper corrections made.

Certifying Copies of Documents

An Idaho notary public may be asked to certify or attest that a copy of a document or other record is a full, true, and accurate transcription or reproduction of that which was copied. Because you are not verifying a signature, there is no need for you to require the presence of any particular individual, nor are you required to identify anyone in conjunction with the notarial act of certifying a copy. There are two ways to fulfill a request for a certified copy of a document: Direct Certification or Certification by Document Custodian.

NOTE: Some documents will contain a warning they are not to be copied. Such documents cannot be copy certified. If you make a copy of a document and language appears indicating the copy is void, you may not certify that copy.

While not a comprehensive list, the following tables include most of the frequently requested documents and whether they should be certified or not.

Typical “Private” Documents

You May Copy & Certify

  • Driver’s Licenses
  • Student ID Cards
  • Employee ID Cards
  • Passports
  • Diplomas
  • Certificates or Awards
  • Professional Licenses
  • Personal Documents
  • Bills or Invoices
  • Photographs

Typical “Public” Documents

Do Not Copy or Certify

  • Birth Certificates
  • Death Certificates
  • Marriage Licenses
  • Divorce Decrees
  • Court Orders
  • Adoption Records
  • School Transcripts
  • FBI Fingerprint Cards
  • Motor Vehicle Titles
  • Recorded Documents

Direct Certification

When asked to certify a copy, the notary should:

  • Examine the document to determine that it is an unaltered original.
  • Verify that the document may be lawfully copied and certified.
  • Personally photocopy the document.
  • Note that the requester does not sign the copy at all—only the notary’s signature appears on the copy of the document.

This short-form certificate is taken directly from the examples provided in Idaho Code 51-116. You may copy and paste it into any relevant documents.

				
					State of ______________________

County of _____________________

I certify that this is a true and correct copy of a record in the possession

of _______________________________

Dated ____________________________

__________________________________
Signature of notary public

(Stamp)

My commission expires: _________

For best results when pasting, use a monospace font. Default monospace fonts are:

  • Windows: Consolas, Courier New, Lucida Console
  • macOS: SF Mono, Menlo, Monaco
  • Linux/Android: DejaVu Sans Mono, Roboto Mono
A completed direct certification
Example 9: A completed direct certification.

Certification By Document Custodian

A customer may bring you a copy of a document and request it be certified. In this situation, the notary should:

  • Require the customer to certify the copy is a true and accurate copy of the original and sign the statement of certification.
  • Place the customer under oath and perform a jurat notarization of the customer’s signature.
  • Complete the notarial certificate.
A completed certification statement signed by the document custodian
Example 10a: A completed certification statement signed by the document custodian.
The completed jurat certifying the document custodian's signature
Example 10b: The completed jurat certifying the document custodian's signature.

Photo: Dierkes Lake near Twin Falls, Idaho.

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