3.3 Jurats (Verifications)

Jurats (Verifications on Oath)

A jurat — also called a verification upon oath or affirmation — is the act used when a signer must swear that what a document says is true. The jurat is two acts fused into one: the notary (1) administers an oath or affirmation and (2) witnesses the signature. Both must happen, in the notary's presence, for the jurat to be valid.

Statutory Definition (Utah Code 46-1-2)

"Jurat" means a notarial act in which a notary certifies that a signer, whose identity is personally known to the notary or proven on the basis of satisfactory evidence, has made, in the notary's presence, a voluntary signature and taken an oath or affirmation vouching for the truthfulness of the signed document.

The phrase "in the notary's presence, a voluntary signature" is decisive: pre-signing is forbidden. If the document is already signed, the signer must sign again after being placed under oath.

Key Characteristics

Required Oath Wording

Utah notaries should administer language equivalent to:

"Do you swear or affirm, under penalty of perjury, that the statements contained in this document are true?"

The signer must answer affirmatively (a verbal "yes" or a raised hand and "I do"). Silence or a mumbled reply is not enough — the notary must hear an affirmative response. "Affirm" is offered for signers who decline to swear; it carries identical legal weight.

Step-by-Step Procedure

1. Signer appears with the unsigned document and acceptable identification.
2. Notary verifies identity.
3. Notary administers the oath/affirmation and obtains an affirmative response.
4. Signer signs in the notary's presence.
5. Notary completes the jurat certificate, affixes seal/signature, and journals the act.

Worked Scenario — The Pre-Signed Affidavit

David emails an affidavit for a child-custody case, signs it the night before, then comes in. Because a jurat demands a witnessed signature, the notary cannot simply stamp it. The correct fix: place David under oath using the required wording, then have him sign a fresh copy (or sign a second time and initial) in the notary's presence. Stamping the pre-signed page would be a defective jurat and could void his court filing.

Sample Jurat Certificate

State of Utah
County of __________

Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on this ___ day of
________, 20__, by ______________________, proved to me on the basis
of satisfactory evidence of identification, which was ____________.

____________________________   (seal)
Notary Public — My commission expires: ________

Jurat vs. Acknowledgment — The Core Distinction

Why the Order Matters

The oath must come before or at the moment of signing, never after. The logic is that the signer is binding themselves, under penalty of perjury, to the truth of what they are about to attest. A common field error is to have the signer sign first and then, almost as an afterthought, ask "oh, do you swear this is true?" while stamping. On the exam, treat the sequence — identify, oath, sign, certify — as fixed. Reversing the oath and the signature produces a procedurally defective jurat even if every other element is present.

Subscribing Witnesses and Refusals

A jurat cannot be performed for an absent signer, and there is no "subscribing witness" shortcut that lets someone swear on another person's behalf — the affiant must personally appear and personally swear. If the signer refuses to take the oath, the notary must refuse the jurat; without an affirmative oath there is no verification. Likewise, if the signer cannot understand the oath (language barrier with no shared language, or apparent incapacity), the notary should decline, because the signer cannot knowingly assume perjury liability.

Jurat Defects and Consequences

Because jurats most often support court filings and government applications, a defect can cause a pleading to be stricken or an application denied — higher stakes than many acknowledgments.

On the Exam

• Jurat = witnessed signature + oath. Memorize the trigger words "affidavit" and "sworn."
• Sequence is fixed: identify → administer oath → witness signing → complete certificate.
• Pre-signed jurat document? Re-sign after the oath — never just stamp it.
• No oath, no jurat. A refusal to swear means the notary must decline.
• Oath wording ties truth of the statements to penalty of perjury.