Notary Handbook - the Montana Secretary of State Website

Administering Oaths - Although notaries are fully authorized to administer oaths, most of the time they are done
in conjunction with a signature – a jurat. There is no standardized verbiage mandated for various situations
requiring an oath. In most cases the accompanying document will include the proper language for the specific oath
that is to be administered.
Suggested oath to be administered when performing a jurat notarization: “Do you swear that the information
contained in this document is true and complete to the best of your knowledge and ability?”
Witnessing or attesting a signature - Witnessing or attesting a signature is probably the most common of notarial
acts requiring the notary to witness the signature by the signer who appears in person before the notary to do the
signing. The notary also must authenticate the identity of the signer by approved methods. See pages 36 - 37 for
examples of correct formats for this type of notarial block.
Certifying copies - A Montana Notary Public may be asked to certify or attest that a copy of a document or other
item is a full, true, and accurate transcription or reproduction of that which was copied. There are two ways to
fulfill a request for a certified copy of a document:
CERTIFICATION OF COPY - When someone brings an original document or when the original document is
kept in the office where the notary works, the notary personally makes a copy of the document and then
affixes a notarial block as shown on page 41. The customer does not sign the document at all – only the
notary’s signature appears on the document. The notary must complete a journal entry for this type of
notarization, however the requester’s signature, printed name, and address is not required, but it is
certainly acceptable to include it.
NOTE: Montana notaries are prohibited from making and certifying copies of public documents, such as
birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, school transcripts, FBI fingerprint cards, and other
official records that are issued by state or other government officials. Generally any document that must
be certified by the issuing agency, such as a clerk & recorder, a clerk of court, or the department of vital
records cannot be copied and certified by a notary public. Other government-issued documents, such as
drivers’ licenses, diplomas, passports, or professional licenses may be copied by the notary and certified as
being true and accurate copies. If you are unsure whether you can certify a copy of a particular record or
document, contact the Secretary of State’s office.
CERTIFICATION BY DOCUMENT CUSTODIAN – A person may bring you a copy of a document and request
that it be certified. In this situation, the notary should require the customer to certify that the copy is a
true and accurate copy and sign the statement of certification. The notary then places the customer under
oath and performs a jurat notarization of the customer’s signature. In this situation, it is the customer who
is attesting, under oath, to the authenticity of the document, not the notary. “Certification by a document
custodian” should not be used to certify copies of public records that cannot be certified by a notary
public. The notary’s journal entry for this type of notarization would reflect that a jurat notarization was
performed on a certification by document custodian as the type of notarial act. See the example on page
41.
Taking (transcribing) depositions and Making protests of instruments – These two types of notarial acts require
additional training and cannot be performed by a notary unless they are also court reporters or have been
specifically trained by a financial institution to do protests. We will not discuss those notarial acts in any further
detail in this handbook.
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