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Should your Notary use a LOOSE Acknowledgement?

Most forms I notarize have a notary section with the standard notary wording in place. Some, however, are missing the required notarial wording. New York State, for example, requires the location where the notarization was performed, the date, a statement by the notary, etc. The most common notary statement is "This instrument was acknowledged before me by." If the requisite wording is missing it is the responsibility of the notary to add it to the document.

There are two primary ways for the notary to add the wording. The most common is to staple a form, the loose acknowledgement directly to the document. However, if the document is to be sent via FAX the stapled addition presents a problem. An alternative is to have the notary either write the wording directly on the document (sloppy), or use an acknowledgement stamp that contains the proper wording. The stamp is much neater, gives a more presentable appearance and does not rely on notary memory for completeness. Not every notary carries this often needed stamp. If your documents do not have notary wording and there is a possibility they will be faxed, be sure your notary has this essential tool.

The worst option is for the notary to ignore the requisite wording and merely rubber stamp the notary seal, and sign below it. That is very poor notary practice and really not a valid notarization. The use of the loose acknowledgement stamp is generally preferred - if there is room at the bottom of the page for both the wording stamp and the notary stamp. Experienced notaries usually carry two notary stamps - same content - but different sizes to fit the available space. A really good notary will have two embossers for the same reason.

It is important that you check the work of the notary to be sure all the requirements for notarization are on your signed document. The Venue (State of.... County of....), your name neatly printed, the notary statement, and the notary signature. The signature of the notary must exactly match the notary name as on the notary rubber stamp. I have additional tips and suggestions regarding notarizations on my site: http://kenneth-a-edelstein.com - check the About Me and Notary at Your Location pages for additional information.  An improperly executed notarization is worse than none at all. At a glance it looks good, but to the trained eye (after a bit of reading on my site), the omissions are obvious. More links and update's from Kenneth A Edelstein All Purpose Certified New York Mobile Notary

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