Frequently Asked Questions

The individual or company requesting that your signature be notarized will usually determine which notarial act is used.  

A Notary Public may provide an Acknowledgement or Jurat, but cannot choose which notarial act is to be executed.   

If your document does not have notarial verbiage attached, check with the custodian of the document for their preference.  

The following is a brief description of both types of notarial acts:   

Jurat: A notarial act that certifies the signer appeared personally before the Notary and was positively identified.  It also certifies that the Notary witnessed the signer sign the document at the time of notarization, and that the Notary administered an oath or affirmation to the signer.      

Acknowledgment:  A notarial act that certifies the signer appeared personally before the Notary, was positively identified, and acknowledged to the Notary that the signature was made freely for the purpose stated in the document. 

In Tennessee, a Notary must confirm the identity of a signer using one of 4 types of Identification:  

• A Driver License issued by the TN Department of Safety 
• A State-Issued I.D. card issued by the TN Department of Safety  
• A Military I.D. card; or 
• A Passport issued by the U.S. Department of State 

In addition, the name on your I.D. has to match the name on the document that you are signing.

• The signer is not physically present (unless the Notary is performing a remote online notarization)
• The signer cannot be properly identified
• The signer does not speak the same language as the Notary
• The signer is unwilling to swear or affirm the contents of the document for notarizations that require an oath or affirmation
• The Notary has reason to believe the signer appears to be confused, disoriented or lacks the mental capacity to sign documents
• ​The Notary has reason to believe that the signer is being coerced to sign, rather than signing of his or her own free will