Utah Notary Acts Described

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

An Acknowledgment is a notarial act in which a notary certifies that a signer, whose identity is personally known to the notary or proven on the basis of satisfactory evidence, has admitted, in the presence of the notary, to voluntarily signing a document for the document’s stated purpose (UCA 46-1-2(1)).  An Acknowledgment is not a sworn statement (see Jurat) and is generally for documents that were signed before the signer appears before the Notary.

 

SIGNATURE WITNESS

Signature Witnessing is a new Notarial act in Utah.  This language allows for a notary to just witness a signer’s signature or confirm a signer’s identity, without placing the signer under oath or affirmation. This may be helpful when the notarization does not require the signer to be placed under oath or affirmation for the document’s stated purpose.

 

JURATS

A Jurat is a notarial act in which a notary certifies the identity of a signer who is personally known to the notary; or provides the notary satisfactory evidence of the signer’s identity; and that the signer affirms or swears an oath attesting to the truthfulness of a document; and that the signer voluntarily signs the document in the presence of the notary (UCA 41-1-2(5)). A Jurat is a sworn statement.

 

OATHS & AFFIRMATIONS

An Oath or Affirmation is a notarial act in which a notary certifies that a person made a vow or affirmation in the presence of the notary on penalty of perjury (UCA 41-1-2(9)).  The format or form for Oaths & Affirmations is dependent on the situation the Notary Public is invited to participate.  For example, the State of Utah permits, as a form of valid identification, the oath or affirmation of a credible person who is personally known to the Notary Public and who personally knows the individual signing a document to be notarized.  The Notary Public would administer that oath to the known individual.

A Notary will administer an oath, in theses instances, to the effect of: "“Do you solemnly swear that the contents of this document subscribed (signed) by you are correct and true?”, or "“Do you solemnly, sincerely, and truly declare and affirm that the statements made by you are true and correct?”

 

COPY CERTIFICATION

A Copy Certification is a notarial act in which a Notary Public certifies that a photocopy is an accurate copy of a document that is neither a public record nor publicly recorded (UCA 41-1-2(3)).

 

Utah Notary Frequently Asked Questions

 

What law governs Utah Notaries Public?

Utah Notarial Acts and Notaries Public are governed under the Notaries Public Reform Act (UCA 46-1-1).  Information regarding Utah Notaries Public, including a current Utah Notary Public roster and complaints about Notaries Public can be found at https://notary.utah.gov/.

What authority does a Utah Notary have?

A Utah Notary may perform only the following acts: a jurat, an acknowledgment, a signature witnessing, a copy certification; and an oath or affirmation. A Utah Notary may not perform any act as a Notary that is not described in UCA 46-1.  Additionally, a Utah Notary may not perform a notarial act is not in the physical presence of the Notary at the time the Notary performs the act.

What identification is required for a Utah Notarial Act?

A Utah Notary must ensure that they witness “satisfactory evidence of identity” which proves the identity of the individual requesting the Notarial Act, in other words, the signor (this does not apply to Copy Certifications).

Acceptable means identification of an individual include:  (i) valid personal identification with the individual’s photograph, signature, and physical description that the United States government, any state within the United States, or a foreign government issues; (ii) a valid passport that any nation issues; or (iii) the oath or affirmation of a credible person who is personally known to the Notary and who personally knows the individual (UCA 46-1-12(a)).

Unacceptable means of identification include items such as a driving privilege card under Subsection 53-3-207(10) or any another document that is not considered valid for identification (for example: birth certificate, marriage license, Social Security Identification Card, etc.) (UCA 46-1-12(b)).

 

What if my notarial certificate is from out-of-state?

A Utah Notary must ensure the Jurat, Acknowledgment or Copy Certification language from another state complies with Utah laws. The Utah Notary may simply use a Utah-compliant language and attach it to the document to be notarized.  Of course the Notary will explain this to you and seek your approval before making any changes to your document..  A Utah Notary should refuse to notarize any document where the notarial certificate language does not comply with Utah law.

 

What if I am an “attorney-in-fact” or if I have a power of attorney to act on someone else's behalf?

Utah law allows for someone claiming to be the attorney in fact to sign as the person they are representing. Most attorney in fact are not attorneys, rather they are a spouse, business partner or relative of the principal. You may be required to sign their name as well as the name of the person they are signing for.
For example:

Jane R. Smith, attorney in fact for John Q. Smith, principal

 

Can a Utah Notary notarize my document in my capacity as a representative of an organization?

Yes, in some cases representatives of companies are asked to sign papers on behalf of their organization. The signer would still sign his or her name; however, you would place their capacity after their name in the certificate. For example:

John Q. Smith, as Chief Executive Officer of the ABC Corporation