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The notary public can establish the identity of the signer using identification documents as follows (Civil Code section 1185(b)(3) and (4)):
1. There is reasonable reliance on any one of the following forms of identification, provided it is current or was issued within 5 years:
a. An identification card or driver’s license issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles;
b. A United States passport;
c. An inmate identification card issued by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, if the inmate is in custody in California state prison;
d. Any form of inmate identification issued by a sheriff’s department, if the inmate is in custody in a local detention facility;
or 2. There is reasonable reliance on any one of the following forms of identification, provided that it also contains a photograph, description of the person, signature of the person, and an identifying number:
(a) A valid consular identification document issued by a consulate from the applicant’s country of citizenship, or a valid passport from the applicant’s country of citizenship;
(b) A driver’s license issued by another state or by a Canadian or Mexican public agency authorized to issue driver’s licenses;
(c) An identification card issued by another state;
(d) A United States military identification card (caution: current military identification cards might not contain all the required information);
(e) An employee identification card issued by an agency or office of the State of California, or an agency or office of a city, county, or city and county in California.
(f) An identification card issued by a federally recognized tribal government.
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A notary public cannot take an acknowledgment on a document that is incomplete. (California Government Code section 8205.) When presented with a document containing a signature to be notarized, the notary public should visually scan the document to determine if the document is complete. Blank spaces and blank lines should be examined to ensure information is not missing. Also, if a notary public has experience with a particular type of document, and knows what information should be stated in the document, and that information is missing or incomplete, the notary public must refuse to notarize the signature. (California Government Code section 8205(a)(2).) A notary public cannot take an acknowledgment on a document that is incomplete. (California Government Code section 8205.) When presented with a document containing a signature to be notarized, the notary public should visually scan the document to determine if the document is complete. Blank spaces and blank lines should be examined to ensure information is not missing. Also, if a notary public has experience with a particular type of document, and knows what information should be stated in the document, and that information is missing or
incomplete, the notary public must refuse to notarize the signature. (California Government Code section 8205(a)(2).) -
By completing a certificate of acknowledgment, the notary public is not certifying the legality of the underlying document. An acknowledgment is the notarial certificate attached to a document when the notary public confirms the identity of the signer and the signer acknowledges being the signer of the document.
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A notary public cannot certify copies of vital records, such as birth, marriage or death certificates. However, a notary public can administer an oath or affirmation and give a jurat for an affidavit that states the birthdate or age of the affiant, and/or includes a photograph of the affiant and/or fingerprints or thumbprints of the affiant. In effect, a signer can certify their own vital information by swearing to the contents of a document containing that information.
If the notary public gives a jurat for a document that includes the signer’s birthdate or age and a photograph or their finger or thumb print, the notary public must require the signer to verify their birthdate or age by showing a certified copy of the signer’s birth certificate or an identification card or driver’s license issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. (California Government Code section 8230.)
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At the California Secretary of State website (link provided) Jurat form
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A notary public can notarize a signature on a document written in a foreign language, whether or not they are familiar with the language, since a notary public’s function only relates to the signature and not the contents of the document. However, a notary public must be able to communicate with the customer in order for the signer to swear or affirm the contents of an affidavit or to acknowledge the execution of a document, as well as to enable the notary public to obtain proper identification of the signer and to complete the required journal entries. An interpreter should not be used because vital information could be lost in the translation. If a notary public is unable to communicate with a customer, the customer should be referred to a notary public who speaks the customer’s language. (See generally California Civil Code sections 1189 and 1195; California Government Code sections 8202, 8205 and 8206.)
The notary public should be able to identify the type of document for entry in the notary public’s journal. If unable to identify the type of document, the notary public must make an entry to that effect in the journal, e.g., “a document in a foreign language.” As in all cases, the notary public should determine if the document is complete and must not notarize the signature if the document appears to be incomplete. The notarial certificate in a foreign language document or attached to a foreign language document, e.g., the acknowledgment or jurat, must be written in English. California law requires these forms to be followed exactly and they appear in California law in the English language. (California Civil Code sections 1188 and 1189; California
Government Code section 8202.) -
At the California Secretary of State website (link provided) Acknowledgement form
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