The Bay Area Notary

The purpose of an acknowledgment is for a signer, whose identity has been verified, to declare to a Notary or notarial officer that he or she has willingly signed a document.

Notary administered acknowledgements verify the identity of the signer, and validate that the document was signed willingly.

The purpose of a jurat — also known in some states as a “verification upon oath or affirmation” — is for a signer to swear to or affirm the truthfulness of the contents of a document to a Notary or notarial officer.

Jurats are administered by Notary Publics as a means of verifying with the signer, that all of the document’s content are truthful. They are typically carried out along with a verbal oath or affirmation.