2015

Although many businesses have updated their forms to reflect the new Notary language required for Certificates of Acknowledgment and Jurats, we still see many obsolete forms floating around. Documents with outdated Notary Acknowledgments or Jurats are being rejected by County Recorder offices throughout the State of California.

For those of you not already aware, the California Legislature recently passed a law to make it clear that the Notary’s seal and signature do not authenticate or endorse the contents of a document. The purpose of the law was to make sure that consumers unfamiliar with a Notary’s duties would not be more inclined to trust a fraudulent document simply because it was notarized.

The law, effective January 1, 2015, requires the following new language to appear word-for-word at the top of the notary certificate in a box:

“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.”

If you haven’t already done so, it is important to update all of your forms that require a Notary Acknowledgment, Jurat or Proof of Execution Certificate. Links to updated PDF forms can be found below:

Notary Acknowledgment (Effective January 1, 2015):

http://notary.cdn.sos.ca.gov/forms/notary-ack.pdf

Jurat (Effective January 1, 2015)

http://notary.cdn.sos.ca.gov/forms/notary-jurat.pdf

For more information contact:

Christopher E. Ng, Esq.
Gibbs Giden Locher Turner Senet & Wittbrodt LLP
1880 Century Park East, 12th Floor
Los Angeles, California 90067
Phone: (310) 552-3400
email: cng@gibbsgiden.com

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