Notarization in California

There are two main types of notarial acts in California: jurat and acknowledgment.

In the jurat, the notary proves the identity of the signer and administers an oath in which the signer swears or affirms the veracity of the document being signed. In an acknowledgment, the notary proves the identity of the signer but does not administer an oath of accuracy. If you request notarization of my translator certification, I will have the notary affix an acknowledgment.

The notary used to be able to prove the identity of a signer by personal knowledge, but the law was changed and the signer must now be positively identified "on the basis of satisfactory evidence".

The jurat form below is from the California Secretary of State website. Note that it says "subscribed and sworn".

County of _______________ Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on this _____ day of ____________, 20__, by________________________, proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) who appeared before me. (Seal) Signature_______________________ State of California County of _______________ Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on this _____ day of ____________, 20___, by________________________ __________________________________________________, proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) who appeared before me. (Seal) Signature_______________________

The acknowledgment form below is also from the California Secretary of State website. Note that it basically says you are who you say you are in the document.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT State of California County of _____________________________) On _________________________ before me, _________________________________________ (insert name and title of the officer) personally appeared ______________________________________________________________, who proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their authorized capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their signature(s) on the instrument the person(s), or the entity upon behalf of which the person(s) acted, executed the instrument. I certify under PENALTY OF PERJURY under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing paragraph is true and correct. WITNESS my hand and official seal. Signature ______________________________ (Seal)