Pennsylvania Notary Public Exam — All Questions

Under Pennsylvania's RULONA, what term is used for what other states call a 'jurat'?

• a.Copy certification
• b.Acknowledgment
• c.Verification on oath or affirmation✓
• d.Protest

RULONA calls the jurat a 'verification on oath or affirmation': the signer swears the statement is true and signs in the notary's presence. An acknowledgment only confirms voluntary signing. Knowing RULONA's terminology is a common Pennsylvania exam point.

Which act may a Pennsylvania notary perform under RULONA?

• a.Solemnizing a marriage
• b.Certifying a copy of a document presented to the notary✓
• c.Issuing a passport
• d.Granting a divorce

RULONA authorizes Pennsylvania notaries to take acknowledgments, administer oaths/affirmations, take verifications (jurats), witness signatures, and certify copies of documents presented that the notary can compare. Marriages, passports, and divorces are outside notarial authority.

In a Pennsylvania acknowledgment, the signer:

• a.Declares they signed the record voluntarily✓
• b.Swears the contents are true under oath
• c.Must sign in the notary's presence
• d.Provides a thumbprint

In an acknowledgment the signer declares they executed the record voluntarily; the record may already be signed. A verification (jurat) is what requires signing in the notary's presence plus an oath that the contents are true. Selecting the act is the signer's or document's role.

A Pennsylvania signer is unsure whether they need an acknowledgment or a verification. The notary should:

• a.Choose the acknowledgment
• b.Choose the verification
• c.Not decide for the signer; let the document or signer specify, or refer to an attorney✓
• d.Perform both

Deciding which notarial act a document requires is a legal determination. A Pennsylvania notary must not choose for the signer, as that is the unauthorized practice of law. The document's certificate or the signer should specify; otherwise refer to an attorney.