3.7 New Notarial Acts (2019)

The 2019 Expansion

House Bill 370 (2019), Montana's adoption of RULONA, did more than reorganize the existing acts — it created three new specialized certifications and gave notaries authority to solemnize marriages. These additions are favorite exam material precisely because they are recent and distinctive.

Certification of Fact

The notary reviews a public or private record and certifies a specific fact drawn from it.

• Vital dates — date of birth, death, marriage, or divorce
• Relationships — a named parent, spouse, child, or sibling
• Status — for example, that a person is living
• Record contents — a particular detail contained in a record

Process: review the record, confirm it appears reliable, ascertain the specific fact, and complete the certificate. Sample wording: "I certify that [fact] based on [source/record] on [date]." The certificate must name the source that supports the fact.

Certification of Life

This act certifies that a specific, named person is alive — often demanded by foreign pension systems and benefit administrators as a "proof of life" before continuing payments.

• The person must physically appear before the notary (this is the distinctive rule).
• The notary verifies identity by personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence.
• The notary certifies the person is alive at the time of certification.

Sample wording: "I certify that [name] is alive and appeared physically before me at [location] on [date] at [time]." Note the certificate captures location, date, and time — granular details that prove the proof-of-life moment.

Certification of Photograph

The notary certifies that an attached photograph accurately represents a named individual or item.

• The notary must confirm, from personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence, that the photo accurately depicts the subject and that the subject is correctly identified.
• Sample wording: "I certify that the attached photograph is an accurate representation of [name of individual or item] based on [how confirmed] on [date]."
• Common uses: passport and visa support, insurance documentation, and identity verification.

Marriage Solemnization

The 2019 law authorized Montana notaries to solemnize marriages statewide. Requirements:

• A valid Montana marriage license issued before the ceremony
• Compliance with Montana marriage law and return of the completed license
• Properly documenting the solemnization

Common Traps

• Certification of life without the person present — physical appearance is mandatory.
• Treating certification of fact as legal opinion — you certify what the record says, not its legal meaning.
• Forgetting marriage authority — it is a 2019 grant, not a pre-existing power.

Why These Acts Were Added

The three 2019 certifications fill gaps that older Montana law left to improvisation. Before RULONA, a notary asked to confirm someone was alive for a foreign pension, or to attest that a photo matched a person for a visa, had no clean statutory act to perform. RULONA gave each scenario a defined act with prescribed wording, which protects both the public and the notary. These acts are narrow and specialized — most notaries perform them rarely — but the exam treats them as fresh, high-yield material because they postdate older study habits.

Expect questions that test whether you can match a real-world need (proof of life, photo identity, a fact from a record) to the correct new act.

Worked Example: A Proof-of-Life for an Overseas Pension

Mr. Olsen, age 78, receives a pension from a Norwegian fund that requires an annual "life certificate." He appears at your office in person; remote video will not satisfy this act. You examine his unexpired U.S. passport (satisfactory evidence), confirm he is the named individual, and complete the certification of life: "I certify that Lars Olsen is alive and appeared physically before me at 123 Main St., Helena, Montana on June 14, 2026 at 10:15 a.m." The location, date, and time lock down the exact proof-of-life moment, which is why those granular fields appear in the wording. You then seal and journal the act.

Certification of Fact vs. Certification of Life

These two are easy to confuse. A certification of fact verifies a discrete piece of information from a record (e.g., "the record shows a date of death of January 3, 2020") and may not require anyone to appear. A certification of life verifies a living person standing in front of you and demands physical appearance. If the question hinges on whether someone must appear, that is the line between them.

Certificate Wording Summary

Marriage Solemnization in Practice

Before solemnizing, confirm the couple holds a valid Montana marriage license issued by a clerk of court prior to the ceremony. Perform the ceremony, then complete and return the license to the issuing clerk within the statutory window. A notary who solemnizes without a valid license, or fails to return it, undermines the marriage's recording. Remember this authority did not exist before 2019.

Exam Focus

• Three new 2019 acts: fact, life, photograph.
• Certification of life requires physical appearance and records time/location.
• Certification of fact verifies information from a record and may need no appearance.
• The 2019 reforms also let notaries solemnize marriages with a valid Montana license.