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A California notary acknowledgment is a certification form proving that a notary public witnessed an individual sign a document after verifying their identity. Signing a document in front of a notary demonstrates that the signature is legitimate and that the individual signed free of duress or coercion. A notary acknowledgment is needed when signing certain forms, such as powers of attorney, trusts, deeds, and other legal contracts.
A notary public’s term of office is four years, after which point they must renew their commission (GOV § 8204).
Is Online Notarization Legal in California?
No, online notarization is prohibited in the state of California.
Sample (Individual)
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CALIFORNIA NOTARY ACKNOWLEDGMENT
| A notary public or other officer completing this certificate verifies only the identity of the individual who signed the document to which this certificate is attached, and not the truthfulness, accuracy, or validity of that document. |
State of California
County of [COUNTY]
On [MM/DD/YYYY] before me, [NOTARY PUBLIC NAME], personally appeared [SIGNER NAME], who proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their authorized capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their signature(s) on the instrument the person(s), or the entity upon behalf of which the person(s) acted, executed the instrument.
I certify under PENALTY OF PERJURY under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing paragraph is true and correct.
WITNESS my hand and official seal.
Signature: ________________________
(Seal)