3.1 Acknowledgments Explained

What an Acknowledgment Is

Under the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (RULONA), 57 Pa.C.S. Chapter 3, an acknowledgment is a notarial act in which an individual appears before the notary and acknowledges (declares) that the signature on a record is their own and was made for the purposes stated in the document. It is the most common act a Pennsylvania notary performs.

The statutory definition is precise: when taking an acknowledgment, the notary must determine from personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence of identity that (1) the individual appearing has the identity claimed, and (2) the signature on the record is the signature of that individual. The notary is certifying the authenticity of the signature, not the content of the document.

The Defining Feature: Pre-Signing Is Allowed

The single most tested distinction for acknowledgments is the timing of the signature. The signer may either sign in the notary's presence or present an already-signed document and acknowledge that the signature is theirs. A pre-signed document is perfectly valid for an acknowledgment.

When Acknowledgments Are Used

Acknowledgments are used for documents that affect title or that must be recorded in public records, because recording offices require proof that the named party genuinely signed.

• Real estate deeds and mortgages (recording requirement)
• Powers of attorney (Pennsylvania requires acknowledgment for a POA to be valid)
• Deeds of trust and easements
• Contracts where parties want proof of execution

In contrast, documents containing sworn statements of fact (affidavits) take a verification on oath, not an acknowledgment - that distinction is covered in section 3.2.

Step-by-Step Procedure

Step 1 - Confirm personal appearance

The individual must be physically before the notary (or appearing by approved audio-video for remote online notarization). Mail, phone, or email-only requests cannot be acknowledged.

Step 2 - Identify the signer

Use personal knowledge, satisfactory evidence (a current government-issued photo ID such as a driver's license, passport, or non-driver ID), or the oath of a credible witness.

Step 3 - Take the acknowledgment

Ask the signer to confirm the signature is theirs and was signed willingly, e.g.: "Do you acknowledge that this is your signature and that you signed this voluntarily for the purposes stated?" The signer either signs now or confirms a prior signature.

Step 4 - Complete the certificate

The act is not complete until the notary fills in, signs, dates, and stamps a certificate. The maximum PA fee is $5 per acknowledgment (plus $2 for each additional signer in the same acknowledgment).

RULONA Short-Form Certificates

Individual acknowledgment:

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of __________

This record was acknowledged before me on __________ (date) by __________ (name(s) of individual(s)).

[Notary signature] [Official stamp] [Title] [Commission expiration]

Representative acknowledgment (signer acts for a company, trust, or another person):

This record was acknowledged before me on __________ (date) by __________ (name(s)) as __________ (type of authority, e.g., officer, agent) who represent that (he/she/they) are authorized to act on behalf of __________ (name of party).

Why "Acknowledge" Means Confirming, Not Swearing

The verb at the heart of this act is acknowledge - the signer is confirming an existing fact (that they signed). They are not promising anything is true, and they are not signing anew. This is why an acknowledgment can rest on a signature made days earlier: the law only needs the signer, while personally present and identified, to claim the signature as their own act made for the purposes stated. 2, where the signer must actively swear that written contents are true. The mental model that prevents most errors is: an acknowledgment looks backward at a signature, while a verification looks forward at a sworn promise of truth.

Because acknowledgments certify only the genuineness of the signature, the notary should never read or evaluate the document's substance, give legal advice about it, or decide whether the signer has authority to enter the transaction. Those concerns belong to the parties and their attorneys. The notary's narrow legal role is to confirm identity and capture the acknowledgment in a proper certificate.

Capacity and Willingness

Even though no oath is given, the notary must still observe that the signer appears to be acting knowingly and willingly and is not obviously coerced, confused, or incapacitated. If the signer seems unaware of what they are signing or is being pressured, the notary should decline the act. RULONA empowers a notary to refuse a notarial act when the notary is not satisfied that the individual is acting of their own free will. This duty applies to every act in this chapter, but it is easy to overlook for acknowledgments precisely because the signing happened earlier and out of view.

Common Exam Traps

• "Must the signer sign in front of you?" No - that is the witnessing/jurat rule, not the acknowledgment rule.
• The notary does not verify the truth of the document, only the signature.
• A certificate is always required; signature and seal alone are never sufficient.
• An acknowledgment looks backward at a signature; a verification looks forward at a sworn truth - keep the two acts separate.