Chapter 1 of 526% of exam
Notarial Acts and Certificates
The acts a Nebraska notary performs under Nebraska Revised Statutes Chapter 64, how acknowledgments and jurats differ, and what a valid certificate must contain.
The authorized acts
Nebraska notaries take acknowledgments, administer oaths and affirmations, and perform jurats. The notary must match the correct act to the document without choosing it for the signer.
An acknowledgment certifies the identified signer appeared and acknowledged signing voluntarily.
A jurat certifies the signer signed in the notary's presence and swore or affirmed the statement is true.
A notary may not certify vital records or record documents; those belong to other offices.
Choosing the notarial act for a signer is the unauthorized practice of law.
Acknowledgment vs. jurat
The oath and the presence-at-signing requirement separate the two most common acts.
A jurat requires an oath or affirmation; an acknowledgment does not.
For a jurat the signer must sign in front of the notary.
An oath and affirmation carry equal legal weight.
Both acts require identifying the signer.
Personal appearance and online acts
Every act requires personal appearance. Nebraska authorizes online notarization under set conditions.
Personal appearance is required for every notarization.
Online acts require an approved audio-video platform with identity verification.
An email scan, phone vouch, or personal trust never satisfies personal appearance.
The certificate
The certificate is the notary's official record of the act.
State the venue and the date of the act.
Sign as commissioned and affix the official seal or stamp.
Nebraska does not require a thumbprint; never record a Social Security number.
Never opine on the document's validity in the certificate.