MS Notary Notarial Acts and Procedures 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A signer brings a document already signed at home and asks a Mississippi notary for an acknowledgment. What must the notary require before completing the act?
- The signer must appear personally and acknowledge the signature is theirs (Correct answer)
- The document must be re-signed in the notary's presence
- A witness must confirm they saw the original signing
- The document must be dated the same day as the notarization
Correct answer: The signer must appear personally and acknowledge the signature is theirs
For an acknowledgment, the signature may be made beforehand, but the signer must personally appear and acknowledge that the signature is their own voluntary act.
Question 2: Which notarial act requires the signer to sign the document in the notary's presence?
- A verification on oath or affirmation (jurat) (Correct answer)
- An acknowledgment
- A copy certification
- Noting a protest
Correct answer: A verification on oath or affirmation (jurat)
A jurat requires the signer to sign in the notary's presence after taking an oath or affirmation that the contents are true.
Question 3: Under Mississippi law, when must the notarial certificate be completed?
- Contemporaneously with the performance of the notarial act (Correct answer)
- Within 24 hours of the act
- Within 3 business days
- Any time before the document is recorded
Correct answer: Contemporaneously with the performance of the notarial act
Mississippi's Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts requires the certificate to be executed at the same time the notarial act is performed.
Question 4: A Mississippi notary is asked to notarize a deed in which the notary is named as the grantee. What should the notary do?
- Refuse, because a notary may not notarize a document in which they have a disqualifying interest (Correct answer)
- Proceed, but note the conflict in the journal
- Proceed if another notary co-signs the certificate
- Notarize only the grantor's signature
Correct answer: Refuse, because a notary may not notarize a document in which they have a disqualifying interest
A notary may not perform a notarial act on a record in which the notary is a party or has a direct beneficial interest.
Question 5: What is the difference between an oath and an affirmation in a Mississippi notarization?
- An oath invokes a deity while an affirmation is a solemn promise on personal honor (Correct answer)
- An oath is written while an affirmation is verbal
- An oath applies to affidavits and an affirmation applies to deeds
- There is no legal difference in wording or effect
Correct answer: An oath invokes a deity while an affirmation is a solemn promise on personal honor
An oath appeals to a Supreme Being, while an affirmation is an equally binding solemn declaration made on one's personal honor, and the signer may choose either.
Question 6: When witnessing or attesting a signature, what must the Mississippi notary personally observe or verify?
- That the individual signed the record in the notary's presence and is the person identified (Correct answer)
- Only that the signature matches the ID card
- That the document contents are true
- That the document was prepared by an attorney
Correct answer: That the individual signed the record in the notary's presence and is the person identified
Witnessing a signature requires the signer to appear, be identified, and sign the record in the notary's presence.
Question 7: A signer appears with a document written in Spanish, which the Mississippi notary cannot read. The notary and signer communicate well in English. May the notary proceed?
- Yes, if the notary can identify the signer and communicate directly with them, since the notary certifies the act, not the contents (Correct answer)
- No, notaries may only notarize English-language documents
- Only if a certified translator signs an affidavit
- Only if the notary attaches an English summary
Correct answer: Yes, if the notary can identify the signer and communicate directly with them, since the notary certifies the act, not the contents
Mississippi notaries certify the signer's identity and the notarial act itself, not the document's contents, so a foreign-language document may be notarized if the notary and signer can communicate directly.
MS Notary Notarial Acts and Procedures 2
A signer brings a document already signed at home and asks a Mississippi notary for an acknowledgment.
What must the notary require before completing the act?