Notary Handbook - the Montana Secretary of State Website

For Documents Signed in a Representative Capacity
There are several instances when the person who requests a notarization will be signing the document on behalf of
another person or another entity. This is called “signing in a representative capacity,” and usually happens when
someone is signing on behalf of a corporation, a trust, as a personal representative, or with a power of attorney.
Montana law specifies that such notarial blocks must be completed with the name of the person who signed the
document, the capacity in which it was signed, and the name of the party or entity on whose behalf it was signed.
Here’s an example of how to complete such a notarial block (This is how you would complete the information if the
signer is using a Power of Attorney as the basis for signing the document):
State of Montana
County of _Yellowstone___
This instrument was signed or acknowledged before me on _May 5, 2012______ by __Mary Doe_____, as _Attorney-in-
Fact__ of or for _John Doe _____.
Affix seal/stamp as close to
signature as possible.
_____L E Egan___________________________
Notary Signature
[Montana notaries must complete the following,
if not part of stamp.]
_________________________________________
Printed Name
Notary Public for the state of _________________
Residing at________________________________
My Commission expires:___________, 20_______
NOTES:
When notarizing a document that is being signed by someone other than the person or entity designated as
the signer, the notary should determine:
1. the identity of the person who is actually signing the document,
2. the capacity of the person to sign on behalf of the person or entity, and
3. the authority to sign for that person or entity in this particular transaction.
• The above information can be determined using the same methods that are used to
identify
Personal knowledge
Satisfactory evidence
Credible witness
Most documents’ notarial blocks do not anticipate that the document will be signed by someone other than
the person or entity whose name appears on the document, so the notary will have to adjust the
preprinted notarial block accordingly.
Documents Without Preprinted Notarial Blocks
From time to time, notaries are asked to notarize a document that does not have a notary block. If the requester
can specify the type of notarial act that is needed, the notary may complete a proper notarial block by handwriting,
typing, or otherwise affixing the appropriate form to the document. The notary may not decide what type of block
to use: The person requesting the notarization, the author of the document, or the receiving entity must determine
and communicate to the notary what type of notarial act, and thus which notarial block, should be completed.
Pages of printable notarial blocks for all of the types of notarial acts are available for downloading from our website
at www.sos.mt.gov/Notary/Forms.
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