2.1 Acknowledgments & Representative Capacities

The acknowledgment is the notarial act most often used for deeds, deeds of trust, powers of attorney, and other instruments that convey property or create legal obligations. Section 486.640 lists it first among the acts a Missouri notary may perform.

The Statutory Definition

Section 486.600(1) RSMo defines an acknowledgment as a notarial act in which an individual, at a single time and place:

1. appears in person before the notary and presents a document;
2. is personally known to the notary or identified through satisfactory evidence; and
3. indicates to the notary that the signature on the document was voluntarily affixed by the individual for the purposes stated in the document and, if applicable, that the individual had due authority to sign in a particular representative capacity.

The phrase "at a single time and place" matters: every element must happen during one meeting. A notary cannot identify the signer on Monday and complete the acknowledgment on Tuesday.

Signed Before or During the Meeting

The definition requires the signer to indicate that the signature was voluntarily affixed. It does not require the signature to be made in front of the notary. A deed signed at home last week may be acknowledged today, as long as the signer personally appears and is identified. That is the key contrast with a jurat and a signature witnessing, both of which require the individual to sign in the notary's presence (Sections 486.600(9) and (23)).

What never changes is presence. Section 486.645.1(1) allows a notarial act only if the principal is in the presence of the notary at the time of notarization, and the Secretary's FAQ states plainly that a notary may not take an acknowledgment over the phone.

Performing an Acknowledgment Step by Step

1. Identify the signer by personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence (Chapter 3).
2. Screen for the Section 486.645.1 conditions: the signer appears to understand the transaction, appears to act of his or her own free will, signs in characters the notary understands, and communicates directly with the notary.
3. Check the document for blanks and confirm that certificate wording is present (Section 486.665.1).
4. Ask the signer to acknowledge the signature, for example: "Is this your signature, and did you sign this document willingly for the purposes stated in it?" For a representative signer, also confirm the capacity claimed.
5. Record the act in the journal at the time of notarization (Section 486.705).
6. Complete the certificate with venue, date, and the facts, then sign and seal it (Section 486.740).

The Statutory Certificate (Section 486.750)

A notary uses a certificate "in substantially the following form" for any person acknowledging on his or her own behalf or in a representative capacity:

State of Missouri
County (and/or City) of ________
On this ____ day of ______, 20__, before me, the undersigned notary,
personally appeared ________ (name of document signer),
  (personally known to me)
  (proved to me through identification documents, which were ________,)
  (proved to me on the oath or affirmation of ________, who is personally
   known to me and stated to me that (he)(she) personally knows the
   document signer and is unaffected by the document,)
  (proved to me on the oath or affirmation of ____ and ____, whose
   identities have been proven to me through identification documents and
   who have stated to me that they personally know the document signer and
   are unaffected by the document,)
to be the person whose name is signed on the preceding or attached
document, and acknowledged to me that (he)(she) signed it voluntarily for
its stated purpose(.)
  (as partner for ________, a partnership.)
  (as ________ for ________, a corporation.)
  (as attorney in fact for ________, the principal.)
  (as ________ for ________, (a)(the) ________)
________ (official signature and seal of notary)

The notary chooses the one identification clause that matches how identity was proved, and the one capacity clause (if any) that matches how the person signed.

Individual and Representative Capacities

In a representative acknowledgment, the notary identifies the person who appears (the representative) and records the capacity that person claims. The definition makes the claim of "due authority" part of what the signer indicates; Section 486.655.2 states that a commission does not authorize the notary to investigate or attest to the lawfulness, propriety, accuracy, or truthfulness of a document or transaction. A notary therefore does not audit corporate resolutions or trust instruments. A nonattorney notary also may not advise the signer about which capacity or document to use (Section 486.675.1).

Other Acceptable Wording

Section 486.740.2 accepts a certificate if it meets the required elements and its form is set out in Chapter 486, is otherwise prescribed by Missouri law, is prescribed by another jurisdiction's law, regulation, or custom (as long as it does not require acts Missouri does not authorize), or describes the notary's actions in a way that meets the act's requirements. That is why the shorter handbook sample ("known to me to be the person whose name is subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged that he/she executed the same") and an out-of-state acknowledgment form can both be used in Missouri.

For a remote online acknowledgment, the certificate in Section 486.1175.2 adds the words "personally appeared by remote online means."

What an Acknowledgment Does Not Do

An acknowledgment certifies identity and the signer's voluntary act. It does not certify that the document is true, valid, or enforceable, and it does not involve an oath. If a document requires the signer to swear to its contents, the act needed is a jurat (Section 2.2).

Exam Scenarios

• Pre-signed deed. Carla signed a warranty deed at home three days ago. She appears with a current driver's license and confirms that she signed it voluntarily. The notary may complete an acknowledgment without having her sign again.
• Phone request. A signer calls from out of town and asks the notary to "acknowledge" a deed already mailed to the office. The notary must refuse; there is no personal appearance.
• Two spouses. Both spouses acknowledge their signatures on one deed. The maximum fee is $10, which is $5 per signature.