Chapter 1 of 526% of exam
Notarial Acts and Certificates
The acts a Utah notary performs under the Notaries Public Reform Act (Utah Code Title 46, ch. 1), how acknowledgments and jurats differ, and what a valid certificate requires.
The authorized acts
Utah notaries take acknowledgments, administer oaths and affirmations, perform jurats, witness signatures, and certify copies of documents the custodian presents. Each act has a distinct purpose the notary must respect.
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 certify a copy the custodian presents, but not vital records or already-recorded public documents.
The notary may not choose the act for the signer; that is the unauthorized practice of law.
Acknowledgment vs. jurat
The oath and the presence-at-signing requirement separate these two 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 and penalty.
Both acts require identifying the signer.
Personal appearance and remote acts
Every act requires the signer to appear. Utah authorizes remote online notarization only under strict conditions.
Personal appearance is mandatory for every notarization.
Remote acts require an authorized remote notary using an approved audio-video platform with identity proofing.
An email, phone call, or promise to appear later never satisfies personal appearance.
The certificate
The certificate is the notary's official record of the act and must be complete.
State the venue (state and county) and the date of the act.
Sign exactly as commissioned and affix the official seal.
Utah does not require a thumbprint; never record a signer's Social Security number.
Never summarize or opine on the document's legal effect in the certificate.