A notary acknowledgment is a written statement made by a notary public that acknowledges an individual’s signature is valid and was provided without coercion. This form is used to prove the notary positively identified the signer, making their signature on the document legitimate. A notary acknowledgment includes the name of the signatory, the date, the notary’s signature, and their seal.

Is Online Notarization Legal?

Yes, Remote Online Notarization (RON) is recognized in almost every state.

However, the following states do not recognize RON: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, and Massachusetts (in addition to Washington D.C.).

By State

By State
Purpose of a Notary Public
How to Acknowledge a Signature
- Step 1
- Step 2
- Step 3
- Step 4
Online Notarization Laws: By State
Sample

Purpose of a Notary Public

A notary public is an officer appointed by a government body, typically the secretary of state, to act as an impartial witness to the signing of legal documents. Their purpose (when taking acknowledgments) is to confirm the identities of the signing parties and ensure they all signed of their own free will.

Notaries are tasked with other duties, depending on the state where they are commissioned. They may be called upon to administer oaths and affirmations, authenticate copies of documents, witness the opening of safety deposit boxes, and perform other legal and business assignments that necessitate a ministerial official.

How to Acknowledge a Signature

Step 1 – Appointment

An appointment can be made with a notary public through banks, law firms, post offices and courier services, libraries, government offices, and other locations. Alternatively, a notary can be located by providing a zip code on the American Society of Notaries website.

Step 2 – Identification

Whether the appointment is online or in person, the signatory must present the document to be notarized and valid forms of identification (e.g., driver’s license, passport, etc.) for the notary to review. Unless the notary knows the signatory personally, they will verify the provided pieces of identification.

Step 3 – Signatures

The notary will look over the document briefly to ascertain what type of notarization is required and check for blank spaces (to prevent fraudulent future alterations). Once they are satisfied, they will witness the individual sign the document or simply have them confirm it is in fact their signature.

Step 4 – Acknowledgment

After approving the signature, the notary will complete the acknowledgment form, which will contain the date, their signature, and their official seal. They will record the entry in their journal, as most states either require or recommend maintaining records of all notarizations.

Online Notarization Laws: By State

STATE	ONLINE NOTARIZATION?	STATUTE	FORM
Alabama	Yes	§ 36-20-73.1	PDF
Alaska	Yes	§ 44.50.075	PDF
Arizona	Yes	§ 41-263	PDF
Arkansas	Yes	§ 21-14-309	PDF
California	No	N/A	PDF
Colorado	Yes	§ 54-24-514.5	PDF
Connecticut	No	N/A	PDF
Delaware	No	N/A	PDF
Florida	Yes	Chapter 117, Part II	PDF
Georgia	No	N/A	PDF
Hawaii	Yes	§ 456-23	PDF
Idaho	Yes	§ 51-114A	PDF
Illinois	Yes	§ 6-102.5	PDF
Indiana	Yes	§ 32-42-17-10	PDF
Iowa	Yes	§ 9B.14A	PDF
Kansas	Yes	§ 53-5a15	PDF
Kentucky	Yes	§ 423.455	PDF
Louisiana	Yes	§ 623	PDF
Maine	Yes	§ 961	PDF
Maryland	Yes	§ 18–214	PDF
Massachusetts	No	N/A	PDF
Michigan	Yes	§ 55.286c	PDF
Minnesota	Yes	§ 358.645	PDF
Mississippi	Yes	Executive Order 1467,	PDF
Missouri	Yes	§§ 486.1100 – 486.1250	PDF
Montana	Yes	§ 1-5-603	PDF
Nebraska	Yes	§ 64-408	PDF
Nevada	Yes	NRS 240.181 – 240.206	PDF
New Hampshire	Yes	§ 456-B:6-a	PDF
New Jersey	Yes	§ 52:7-10.10	PDF
New Mexico	Yes	§ 14-14A-19	PDF
New York	Yes	NY EXC § 135-c	PDF
North Carolina	Yes	Chapter 10B – Article 2	PDF
North Dakota	Yes	§ 44-06.1-13.1	PDF
Ohio	Yes	§ 147.62, § 147.64, Rule 111:6-1-04	PDF
Oklahoma	Yes	Remote Online Notary Act (§ 201 – § 214)	PDF
Oregon	Yes	ORS § 194.305 and Or. Admin. R. 160-100-0140	PDF
Pennsylvania	Yes	§ 306.1 and § 320	PDF
Rhode Island	Yes	§ 42-30.1-12.1 and § 42-30.1-12.2	PDF
South Carolina	Yes	§ 26-2-5	PDF
South Dakota	Yes	§ 18-1-11.1	PDF
Tennessee	Yes	§ 8-16-307	PDF
Texas	Yes	§ 406.106	PDF
Utah	Yes	§ 46-4-205	PDF
Vermont	Yes	§ 47.1-6.1	PDF
Virginia	Yes	§ 5379	PDF
Washington	Yes	§ 42.45.280	PDF
West Virginia	Yes	§ 39-4-37	PDF
Wisconsin	Yes	§ 140.145	PDF
Wyoming	Yes	§ 32-3-114(c), (d)	PDF

Sample

Download: PDF, Word (.docx), OpenDocument

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 [STATE]
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 [STATE] that the foregoing paragraph is true and correct.

WITNESS my hand and official seal.

Signature: ________________________

(Seal)