“Can You Just Stamp This?”
As notaries we are often asked to “stamp” a document. Simply putting a notary stamp on a document means absolutely nothing. We could put our stamp on a coconut, but what does a notarized coconut mean? It doesn’t make it any more or less of a coconut than it was before the stamp, just as the sheet of paper is nothing more or less than a sheet of paper before we stamped it.
For the notary stamp to actually mean something it MUST be accompanied by a statement indicating what the notary did. For most documents this means the notary received acknowledgement from the signer that they did indeed sign the document willingly, OR that the signer was asked by notary to swear (or affirm) under oath that the statements in the document are true or correct. This statement is called the “Notary Certificate” and must be on every document that we as notaries notarize. If the certificate is not included, we can add the appropriate wording at the direction of the person requesting the notary service or by the person or entity requesting the document. Because we at Chattanooga Notary On Call are NOT attorneys, we can not advise you as to which type of notarization your document requires if it does not already have the certificate printed.
Without both a notary certificate AND the notary stamp, either on its own is worthless.
So what does a notary certificate look like and does your document have one? Here are examples of the two basic forms of certificates- Jurats (sworn statements) and Acknowledgments. The examples below are very basic, but they both have some things in common such as a State and County where it took place, what the notary is doing, and a place for the notary to sign. The wording may be quite a bit more or even less, but if your document has the general format of what you see below, your document has a proper notary certificate in most cases:
Acknowledgement:
State Of Tennessee
County Of Hamilton
On this, the________day of __________, 20____, before me a notary public personally appeared________________, known to me (or satisfactorily proven) to be the person whose name is subscribed to the within instrument, and acknowledged that he executed the same for the purposes therein contained.
Signed___________________
My commission expires _______________
Jurat (Sworn Statement)
State of Tennessee
County of Hamilton
Subscribed and sworn before me by John Doe on January 1st, 2001.
Signed____________________
My commission expires_______________