Notarial Acts & Their Differences
Under RULONA, a Pennsylvania notary may take acknowledgments, administer oaths and affirmations, take verifications on oath or affirmation (jurats), witness or attest signatures, and certify copies of certain records.
RULONA notarial acts
Pennsylvania's Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts authorizes: acknowledgments, oaths/affirmations, verifications on oath or affirmation (the jurat), signature witnessing, and copy certification of a document the notary is presented and can compare. Each act has a prescribed certificate. The notary must determine that the signer appears, is identified, and—for verifications—takes the oath.
Acknowledgment vs. verification (jurat)
In an acknowledgment the signer declares they signed the record voluntarily. In a verification on oath or affirmation (jurat) the signer swears the statement is true and signs in the notary's presence. RULONA uses the term 'verification on oath or affirmation' for what other states call a jurat. Selecting the correct act is the signer's or document's call, not the notary's.