Notarizations

Notarizations are acts carried out by a notary public in which the signer’s identity is verified, the signer’s appearance is witnessed, and a certificate is added to attest that the signature is genuine. Notarizations serve to deter fraud and provide a record that the document was properly executed. They do not validate the document’s legal content.

A notary public is a public official who administers oaths, verifies identities, and ensures that signatures are affixed voluntarily. Notaries do not give legal advice or opinions about the document’s substance. They may refuse to notarize if the signer cannot prove identity, appears to be under duress, lacks capacity, or there is a conflict of interest.

The typical process involves presenting acceptable government-issued identification, the signer signing or acknowledging a signature, and the notary attaching a certificate and official seal. In many jurisdictions, the act is recorded in a notary journal with details such as date, document type, signer's name, and the ID used.

Common types of notarization include: acknowledgments, where the signer appears and confirms signing; jurats, where the signer swears or affirms the truth of statements to be true under oath; and copy certifications, which attest that a copy is a true image of the original. Some regions also permit remote or electronic notarizations.

For international use, documents may require an apostille or legalization after notarization, depending on the destination country’s requirements. Notarizations thus function as a formal attestation of signature authenticity and signer presence within the applicable legal framework.