In Mississippi, as in most states, a notary must use their seal on all notarized documents to authenticate the notarial act. The seal provides an official mark of the notary’s authority and helps ensure the document's credibility.
A jurat involves the notary witnessing the signing of a document and administering an oath or affirmation. It confirms that the signer swears or affirms that the contents of the document are true.
For a proper notarization, the notary must witness the signing of the document. If the document has already been signed, the notary should ask the signer to sign it again in their presence to ensure the notarial act is performed correctly.
An acknowledgment is used to verify that the signer has willingly signed the document and that they are aware of its contents. It does not involve administering an oath or directly witnessing the act of signing beyond confirming the signer's intent and understanding.
The primary difference is that an acknowledgment is used to confirm that the signer willingly signed the document, while a jurat involves both witnessing the signing of the document and administering an oath or affirmation about the document’s contents.
