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Table of Sections
Sec.
1.1 Introduction.
1.2 Requirements for
Documents to be Recorded.
1.3 The New Notaries Public
Law.
1.4 Seal.
1.5 Identification.
1.6 What May Not Be
Notarized.
1.7 Form of Certificate.
1.8 Certifying True Copies.
1.9 Applications and Bonding.
1.10 Foreign Language.
1.11 Prohibitions.
1.12 Penalties and Effects
of Violation.
1.13 Curative Provision.
1.14 Conclusions.
Appendix A. Sample
Form of Signature, Witness and Notary Lines
for a Document Affecting Real Property to Be
Recorded.
Appendix B. Sample
Forms of Oath, Affirmation and
Acknowledgment.
Appendix C.
Certificate Required by F.S.A. 117.05(15).
Appendix D.
Requirements for Recording Instruments
Affecting Real Property-Full Text of F.S.A.
Section 695.26.
Appendix E. Notaries
Public Law-Full Text of F.S.A. Chapter 117.
Appendix F.
Self-Proof of Will-Full Text of F.S.A.
732.503.
1.1 Introduction
New laws were passed effective July 1,
1991, and January 1, 1992, affecting the
manner of executing documents to be recorded
in Florida. Both new laws present possible
traps for unwary lawyers. Chapter 90-183,
Laws of Florida, creates F.S.A. Section
695.26 and was enacted by the Legislature in
1990 to be effective July 1, 1991. It
contains requirements that must be met
before an instrument can be recorded in the
public records. It was further amended by
Chapter 94-348, Laws of Florida, to require
a 3" by 3" space at the top right hand
corner on the first page and a 1" by 3"
space at the top right hand corner on all
subsequent pages. The other new law, Chapter
91-291, Laws of Florida, effective January
1, 1992, completely amends and restates the
Florida law governing notaries public in
Florida Statutes Chapter 117. It was further
amended by Chapter 92-209, Laws of Florida,
effective April 16, 1992 and by Chapter
93-62, Laws of Florida, effective April 22,
1993. This article will discuss these new
laws.
1.2 Requirements for Documents to Be
Recorded
F.S.A. 695.26 (Chapter 90-183, Laws of
Florida) states that instruments which
convey, assign, encumber or otherwise
dispose of the title to or any interest in
real property must contain the following
information in order to be recorded:
- The name of each person who executed
the instrument must be legibly printed,
typewritten or stamped immediately
beneath the signature of the person.
- The post office address of each
person who executed the instrument must
be legibly printed, typewritten or
stamped upon the instrument.
- The name and post office address of
the natural person who prepared the
instrument or under whose supervision it
was prepared must be legibly printed,
typewritten or stamped upon the
instrument.
- The name of each witness must be
legibly printed, typewritten or stamped
immediately beneath the signature of the
witness.
- The name of any notary public or
other officer taking the acknowledgment
must be legibly printed, typewritten or
stamped immediately beneath his or her
signature.
- A 1-inch square at the top
right-hand corner must be reserved for
use by the clerk of the court.
- The name and post office address of
each grantee must be legibly printed,
typewritten or stamped on any instrument
conveying an interest in real property
other than a mortgage.
The potential trap is that the Clerk of
Court may reject a document presented for
recording if the document does not comply
with this new law, unless the document fits
within one of the exemptions within the law
(documents executed outside Florida, etc.).
The Clerk's rejection of a document for
recording could alter the sequence of
recording documents, which could cause
unintended results and loss of priority of
mortgages and other instruments.
For example, it is customary to record a
mortgage and notice of commencement at the
same time and to direct the Clerk to record
the mortgage first so that it has priority
over construction liens. If neither the
mortgage nor the notice contained the
information required by Section 695.26, the
Clerk could return the mortgage unrecorded
and record the notice of commencement, which
could result in construction liens having
priority over the mortgage. Since the
mortgage is an interest which encumbers real
property, the mortgage must contain the
information required by Section 695.26
before it can be recorded. However, since
the notice of commencement does not encumber
real property (F.S.A. Section 713.13(3)) the
information would not be required by Section
695.26.
The form of signature, witness and notary
acknowledgment lines set forth as
Appendix A below
includes most of the information required by
F.S.A Sections 695.26 and 695.25. Use of
this or a similar form will assist lawyers
in preparing real property documents that
may be recorded by the Clerk without
problem.
As of June 3, 1994, all deeds and
mortgages (and any other instrument by which
the title to real property or any interest
therein is conveyed, assigned, encumbered,
or otherwise disposed of) must have a 3" by
3" space at the top right hand corner on the
first page and a 1" by 3" space at the top
right hand corner on all subsequent pages in
order to be recorded by the clerk of court.
Failure to reserve such space for use by the
clerk may preclude the instrument from being
recorded. This new requirement is contained
in Chapter 94-348, Laws of Florida, which
amends Florida Statutes Section 695.26
(requirements for recording instruments
affecting real property). The statute
formerly required a 1" square at the top
right hand corner of each instrument. The
amendment requires a 3" square at the top
right hand corner of the first page and a 1"
by 3" space at the top right hand corner of
subsequent pages.
1.3 The New Notaries Public Law
The Florida law governing notaries public
was amended by Chapter 91-291, Laws of
Florida, effective January 1, 1992, by
Chapter 92-209, Laws of Florida, effective
April 16, 1992, and by Chapter 93-62, Laws
of Florida, effective April 22, 1993. The
new law, the result of a state-wide study
commission, completely revises the Florida
notary public law in Chapter 117, Florida
Statutes Annotated. Among other changes, the
new law requires that the notary seal
include the notary's commission number, in
addition to the commission's expiration date
and other information, and requires that all
notary bonds be payable to harmed
individuals rather than to the Governor.
The law also prohibits a notary from
notarizing the signature of his or her
spouse, son, daughter, mother, or father,
and it prohibits a notary from notarizing
any document if the notary has a financial
interest in the underlying transaction or is
a party to the underlying transaction.
The following is a discussion of the
provisions of the new law that will affect
most of the notaries in Florida and raises
some of the questions that remain to be
answered.
1.4 Seal
- A notary public must affix a rubber
stamp type notary public seal to all
notarized documents. The seal must
contain all of the following:
- The words "Notary Public-State
of Florida."
- The name of the notary.
- The date of expiration of the
notary's commission. This was not
required in the impression seal
under prior law.
- The notary's commission number.
This is an entirely new requirement.
In addition, the seal must use
photographically reproducible black ink.
F.S.A. Section 117.05(3)(a).
- An impression type seal may be used
in addition to the rubber stamp seal,
but cannot be substituted for the rubber
stamp seal (which is the official seal).
F.S.A. Section 117.05(3)(a). This means
that the impression type seal that
actually embossed the notarized paper
with an imprint of the notarial seal
will become a thing of the past.
- Notaries whose commissions expire
after January 1, 1992, are required to
use the rubber stamp seal only upon
reappointment after that date. F.S.A.
Section 117.05(3)(b). However, F.S.A.
Section 117.108 validates use of
impression seals until January 1, 1995.
- The new notary law requires that a
rubber stamp seal replace the
traditional embossed seal. The resulting
mark on the paper is like any other
printed aspect of the document and can
be reproduced by a copy machine. This
requirement will make it easier to
falsify and alter documents, as it will
be difficult to tell an original from a
copy. This is particularly true since
the law requires the use of black ink on
the seal. With the embossed seal, there
was no doubt as to which of several
copies was the original.
1.5 Identification
- The notary must personally know or
have satisfactory evidence that the
person whose signature is to be
notarized is the individual described in
and who executed the instrument.
Otherwise, the notary cannot notarize
the signature. Section 117.05(5). This
requirement of having either personal
knowledge or satisfactory evidence is
more complicated than those simple words
would imply, primarily due to the
definition of those terms as set forth
in the law.
- Personally Know. If the notary is
acquainted with the individual from
association with the individual which
establishes the individual's identity
with reasonable certainty, the notary
need not require further identification
since this constitutes "personally
knowing" the individual. F.S.A. Section
117.05(5)(a). This is a very subjective
test.
Acquaintances could conceivably
include relatives, friends, co-workers,
and business associates. However, the
notary cannot notarize his or her
spouse's, parents' or children's
signatures (F.S.A. Section
117.05(6)(d)). In addition, the notary
cannot notarize his or her employer's
signature if a benefit other than his or
her salary and any fee for his services
authorized by law is received. F.S.A.
Section 117.05(6)(e).
- Satisfactory Evidence. What is
"satisfactory evidence" of identity is
very complicated under this part of the
law, which reads as confusingly as the
Internal Revenue Code. There are three
types of evidence that may be used: a
witness personally known to the notary
who also personally knows the person
whose signature is to be notarized, two
witnesses who personally know the
person, or a documentary form of
identification.
- One Witness Personally Known.
Satisfactory evidence may consist of
merely a sworn written statement of
a "credible witness" personally
known to the notary that the person
whose signature is to be notarized
is personally known to the witness.
F.S.A. Section 117.05(5)(b)(1). This
means that, while a notary cannot
notarize his own father's signature,
he can notarize the signature of his
father's friend but only if his
father gives a sworn statement. Who
is to administer the oath for the
father's sworn statement in such a
case? The notary could not because
his father is related to him by
blood. An oath can be administered
by a judge, clerk, deputy clerk,
U.S. commissioner or notary public.
F.S.A. Section 92.50. Thus, either
two notaries or a notary plus a
judge, clerk or commissioner would
be required to notarize the
signature of the father's friend
under this alternative.
- Two Witnesses. Satisfactory
evidence may consist of the sworn
written statement of two credible
witnesses who need not be personally
known to the notary but whose
identities must be proven to the
notary by "satisfactory evidence",
which means that they must either
provide documentary evidence of
identity meeting the requirements of
F.S.A. Section 117.05(5)(b)(3) or a
witness personally known to the
notary also personally knows them
and provides a sworn written
statement. F.S.A. Section
117.05(5)(b)(2). Once the identity
of the two witnesses is proven, the
two witnesses must sign a sworn
written statement that each of the
following are true with regard to
the person whose signature is to be
notarized:
- He or she is the person
named in the document.
- He or she is personally
known to the witness.
- It would be very difficult
or impossible for him or her to
obtain another form of
identification.
- He or she does not possess
any of the identification
documents specified in F.S.A.
Section 117.05(5)(b)(3).
- The witnesses do not have a
financial interest in the
underlying transaction and are
not parties to it.
This means that a notary may
notarize the signature of a person
who is unknown to the notary, who
does not have the acceptable
documentary evidence of
identification, and who does not
bring a witness who is personally
known to the notary as long as there
are two witnesses who have
acceptable documentary evidence of
their identities and who sign a
sworn statement that the above five
conditions are true. What if the
person whose signature is to be
notarized has a valid Florida
driver's license but left it at
home? Does "possess" mean to have on
his or her person at the time of
notarization or does possession at
his or her home constitute
possession? The statute does not
answer these questions.
- Documentary Evidence. This is
the more common method of
identifying someone. Either a
Florida driver's license or a U.S.
passport is an acceptable form of
identification, as long as it is
either current or was issued within
the past 5 years. Another
alternative form of ID is an
identification card issued by the
Florida Department of Motor Vehicles
(F.S.A. Section 322.051), but the
application for such an ID must be
verified by a person authorized to
administer oaths; i.e., a notary
public.
Other forms of acceptable
documentary identification are the
following, but only if they bear a
serial number or other identifying
number: a passport issued by a
foreign government; a driver's
license issued by another state,
U.S. territory, Canada or Mexico; an
ID card issued by another state or
U.S. territory or by any branch of
the U.S. armed forces; an inmate ID
issued by the Florida Department of
Corrections; or an ID issued by the
U.S. Immigration and Naturalization
Service.
It is a fact that many
individuals do not have any of the
above forms of identification. Such
individuals may be elderly,
disabled, or otherwise impaired.
They could not, under the new law,
present a Social Security Card,
voter's identification card, or any
other form of ID in place of the
above forms. Their only hope in
having their signatures notarized
would be that they personally know a
notary who is not their spouse,
parent or child, or two persons who
have acceptable IDs.
- Even with the above proof, the
notary cannot take the acknowledgment
unless there is an absence of any
information, evidence or other
circumstances which would lead a
reasonable person to believe that the
person is not the person he or she
claims to be. F.S.A. Section
117.05(5)(b). The law does not state how
the notary is supposed to determine
whether there is an absence of such
information. Is the notary supposed to
conduct an independent investigation or
inquiry of some type before accepting
the identification offered? Must the
notary verify the validity of the driver
license with the Department of Motor
Vehicles before notarizing a document?
This could be a problem since
information about individual driver's
licenses is not voluntarily disclosed by
the DMV and is never given over the
phone.
- Thus, the new law requires that the
notary either be personally acquainted
with the person executing the document
or that such person present witnesses or
certain identification, limited, for all
practical purposes, to a driver's
license. While a state identification
card is also acceptable, most people who
do not have driver's licenses do not
have state ID cards and do not know of
the availability of such cards.
Ironically, in order to obtain a state
ID card, the applicant must submit an
application that has been notarized.
1.6 What May Not Be
Notarized
- A notary cannot notarize a signature
if the person whose signature is being
notarized is not in the presence of the
notary at the time the signature is
notarized. F.S.A. Section 117.05(6)(a).
Must the person stay in the room while
the notary both signs and seals the
document? Violation of this Section is a
civil infraction punishable by penalty
of up to $5000.
- A notary cannot notarize a signature
if the document is incomplete. F.S.A.
Section 117.05(6)(b). Is a document
"incomplete" if it has a blank date?
What if there are other blanks that the
parties agree to fill in at some other
time? What if the document refers to
exhibits which are not attached? Is the
notary prohibited from notarizing a
document in each of these cases? If so,
is a notary required to read the entire
document before notarizing it? And if
so, does reading the entire document for
completeness constitute the practice of
law, which may only be performed by a
lawyer?
There is no explanation or limitation
of what "incomplete" means. This would
preclude notarization of thousands of
governmental forms that have a space
"FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY," which forms are
not processed (and therefore not
completed) until submitted, but which
cannot be submitted until they are
notarized. This is a classic Catch 22.
An exception is made for the
endorsement or assignment in blank of a
negotiable or non-negotiable note and
the assignment in blank of any
instrument given as security for such
note.
- A notary cannot notarize a signature
if the person signing has been
adjudicated mentally incapacitated, the
notary actually knows this, the
notarization relates to a right that has
been removed pursuant to F.S.A. Section
744, and capacity has not been restored.
F.S.A. Section 117.05(6)(d) and F.S.A.
Section 117.107(4). Does the notary have
a duty to call the clerk of court to see
if the signer has been adjudicated
incapacitated at least in that county?
If the person signing is incapacitated
but has a limited guardian rather than a
plenary guardian and is, therefore,
capable of signing certain documents,
can none of those documents be
notarized?
- The 1991 law's prohibiting a notary
from notarizing the signature of one
related by blood or marriage was amended
in 1992 to be limited so that only
signatures of the notary's spouse,
parents and children are prohibited.
F.S.A. Section 117.05(6)(d).
1.7 Form of Certificate
- The notary must certify in the
certificate of acknowledgment or jurat
the type of identification, either based
on personal knowledge or other form of
identification, that is being relied
upon by the notary. F.S.A. Section
117.05(5). This now applies to
self-proof of a will, so the statutory
form of self-proof has been modified
accordingly (see
Appendix F). F.S.A. Section 732.503.
- The notary must also sign and date a
notarial certificate or jurat and
specify which signature is being
notarized and that the signer personally
appeared before the notary at the time
of notarization. F.S.A. Section
117.05(4).
- The notary must print, type or stamp
his or her name below his or her
signature exactly as commissioned.
F.S.A.Section 117.05(3)(a).
- The statutory short forms of
acknowledgment are completely revised.
F.S.A. Section 695.25. The statute
provides that these forms "may" be used,
which makes them permissive rather than
mandatory. It is interesting to note
that these forms do not comply with the
requirement of Section 117.05(4) that
the notary specify in the certificate
that the signer personally appeared
before the notary at the time of
notarization. Does the notary violate
the law by using these permissive short
forms without including such a
statement? Perhaps Section 695.25's
statement that the short forms "are
sufficient for their respective
purposes" validates the form but does
not exonerate the notary from penalties
for failure to include the statement.
- In 1993, the legislature amended
F.S.A. Section 117.05(16) and set forth
several forms of notarial certificates
that satisfy the notary law. See
Appendix B.
These forms, although promulgated by
the Legislature, do not comply with the
other provisions of Chapter 117, Florida
Statutes. Specifically, they do not
contain a certification that the person
personally appeared "at the time of
notarization."
- Sample forms of acknowledgment for
the signatures of an individual and a
corporation are set forth in
Appendix B below.
1.8 Certifying True Copies
- A notary may still supervise the
making of a photocopy of an original
document and attest to the trueness of
the copy. F.S.A. Section 117.05(15).
However, the notary must use a
certificate in substantially the form
set forth in Appendix
C below in notarizing an attested
copy.
- The certificate form requires that
the notary attest that the document is
"complete." Can a notary certify as true
a document which does not contain all
exhibits or which has a missing date or
other blank? Is the notary obligated to
review the entire document and make what
could be a legal determination of
completeness?
- The certificate form also requires
the notary to attest that the person who
presented the document is the document's
custodian. What is meant by "custodian?"
How can the notary make this
determination? Can the notary presume
that whoever presents him the document
is the custodian?
- A notary cannot attest to the
trueness of a photocopy; only
photocopies of original documents may be
attested as to trueness. F.S.A. Section
117.05(15)(a).
- A notary cannot attest to the
trueness of a photocopy of a public
record if a copy can be made by another
public official. F.S.A. Section
117.05(15)(a). This would mean that a
notary cannot certify a photocopy of a
recorded deed because the clerk of court
does this. However, the mandatory
certificate form goes beyond this and
requires the notary to attest that the
photocopied document is:
"neither a public record nor a
publicly recordable document,
certified copies of which are
available from an official source
other than a notary public."
Since the clerk of court will record
just about any document that contains a
notary acknowledgment, can a notary
certify a true copy of any document
which contains a notary acknowledgment,
whether or not the document is actually
recorded? If not, a notary could not
certify a true copy of an unrecorded
contract, trust agreement or other paper
if it contained a notary acknowledgment
entitling it to be recorded.
1.9 Applications and
Bonding
- The new law increases the bonding
requirement to $5,000 and requires that
it be payable to "any individual harmed
as a result of a breach of duty by the
notary public acting in his official
capacity." F.S.A. Section 117.01(7)(a).
The prior law required a $1,000 bond
payable to the Governor.
- Notaries whose commissions expire
after January 1, 1992, are required to
increase the amount of their bond to
$5,000 only upon reappointment after
that date. F.S.A. Section 117.01(7)(b).
However, the requirement of F.S.A.
Section117.01(7)(a) that the bond be
payable to any harmed individual is a
totally new requirement and will
probably require that all notaries
obtain new bonds before January 1, 1992.
While it may have been the intent of the
law's drafters to grandfather all
existing bonds, the clear language of
Section 117.01(7)(b) merely states that
the increased bond amount is required
only upon reappointment, not that the
bond payee may remain the Governor. The
clear language of Section 117.01(7)(a)
does not limit the requirement that the
bond run to any harmed individual to
just new notaries, so the new payee in
bonds would be required for all notaries
as of January 1, 1992.
- Notary commissions are issued by the
Florida Department of State, Division of
Elections, Bureau of Notaries Public,
2002 The Capitol, Tallahassee, Florida
32399-0250. Notary applicants must
provide their Social Security Number on
the application. F.S.A. Section
117.01(2). This law may be in direct
conflict with the Federal Privacy Act.
(Pub.L. 93-579, 5 U.S.C.A. Section 552a
note).
- The notary must notify the Florida
Department of State in writing of any
change in his or her business address,
home address, home phone number,
business phone number, or criminal
record within 60 days after such change.
F.S.A. Section 117.01(2). Failure to
timely comply with this provision may
result in suspension. F.S.A. Section
117.01(4).
- A notary who lawfully changes his or
her name must immediately request an
amended commission from the Florida
Department of State. F.S.A. Section
117.05(11).
- Notary appointments are not
automatically renewed. The application
process must be completed for renewals
as well as new commissions. F.S.A.
Section 117.01(6).
1.10 Foreign Language
- A non-lawyer notary who advertises
notary services in a language other than
English must include the following
conspicuous notice in the ad both in
English and in the language used for the
ad (the only exception is a single desk
plaque), per F.S.A. Section 117.05(13):
"I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY LICENSED TO
PRACTICE LAW IN THE STATE OF
FLORIDA, AND I MAY NOT GIVE LEGAL
ADVICE OR ACCEPT FEES FOR LEGAL
ADVICE."
- The phrase "Notary Public" may not
be literally translated into a language
other than English in an advertisement
for notary services. F.S.A. Section
117.05(14).
- A notary cannot take the
acknowledgment of a person who does not
either speak or understand English
unless both the nature and effect of the
instrument are translated into a
language that the person understands.
F.S.A. Section 117.107(6). Thus, the
instrument itself need not be translated
into that language, just the nature and
effect of the instrument. It is
generally the practice of law to explain
the nature and effect of instruments,
especially when the instrument itself is
not translated into the signer's own
language. Does this mean that a
multilingual lawyer must be involved
whenever a non-English-speaking person's
signature is to be notarized?
1.11 Prohibitions
- The notary cannot use a notary
public commission in other than his or
her legal name. F.S.A. Section
117.05(1). A notary may not use a
fictitious or assumed name other than a
nickname on an application to become a
notary. F.S.A. Section 117.01(2). A
notary may not use a name or initial in
signing certificates other than that by
which the notary is commissioned. F.S.A.
Section 117.07(1).
- A notary cannot notarize his or her
own signature. F.S.A. Section 117.05(1).
A notary cannot notarize an instrument
in which the notary's name appears as a
party to the transaction. F.S.A. Section
117.107(2).
- A notary may not affix his or her
signature to a blank form of affidavit
or certificate of acknowledgment and
deliver that form to another person with
intent that it be used as an affidavit
or acknowledgment. F.S.A. Section
117.107(3). A literal reading of this
provision would prohibit a notary from
having his own signature notarized.
- A notary cannot change anything in a
written instrument after it has been
signed by anyone. F.S.A. Section
117.107(7).
- A notary cannot notarize a blind
person's signature until the notary has
read the instrument to that person.
F.S.A. Section 117.107(5).
- The notary's fee cannot exceed $10
for any one notarial act, other than
marriage. F.S.A. Section 117.05(2).
- The employer of a notary is liable
to the "persons involved" for all
damages proximately caused by the
notary's "official misconduct" if the
notary was acting within the scope of
his or her employment at the time he or
she was engaged in the official
misconduct. F.S.A. Section 117.05(7). Is
a lawyer liable to the beneficiaries
under a will if the lawyer's secretary
notarizes a will but fails to obtain the
required identification? Is this what is
meant by "official misconduct?" What
damages proximately flow from such an
omission?
- A notary who loses or misplaces his
or her seal must immediately notify the
Secretary of State of that fact. F.S.A.
Section 117.05(12).
- A notary cannot notarize a signature
on a document if the notary has a
financial interest in the underlying
transaction or is a party to it. F.S.A.
Section 117.05(6)(e). An employee who is
a notary may notarize a signature for
his or her employer and the fact of
employment is not a financial interest
as long as the employee receives no
benefit other than his or her salary and
notary fee. A lawyer who is a notary may
notarize a signature on a document for a
client for whom he or she serves as
attorney of record as long as the
attorney has no interest in the document
other than a fee paid to him or her for
his legal and notary services and as
long as the attorney is *not a party to
the transaction nor has a financial
interest in it. Does "for his employer"
and "for a client" mean any document or
just a document signed by the employer
or client?
1.12 Penalties and
Effects of Violation
- Violation of many provisions of the
new law constitute crimes (third degree
felonies). F.S.A. Sections 117.05(1),
117.05(8), 117.05(9), 117.05(10),
117.105. Other violations are grounds
for suspension. F.S.A. Section
117.01(4). Still other acts are
prohibited without reference to a
specific penalty. F.S.A. Sections 117.05
and 117.107. Finally, violation of at
least one provision has been reduced to
a civil infraction. F.S.A. Section
117.05(6)(a). The new law does not state
whether an acknowledgment is valid if
the notary violates one or more
provisions of the new law during the
acknowledgment process.
1.13 Curative Provision
- The 1993 amendment to the notary law
added a curative provision that
validates acts, seals and certificates
that would have been valid under the
notary laws in effect on January 1,
1991. F.S.A. Section 117.108. For
example, impression type seals without
commission numbers are still valid until
then. However, as of January 1, 1995,
full compliance with the new law will be
required, including rubber stamp seals
with commission numbers.
1.14 Conclusions
The Legislature's timing in revising
the notary public law is interesting.
Florida's corporation laws were amended
effective July 1, 1990, to no longer
require notary acknowledgments on
articles of incorporation and other
corporate documents filed with the
Division of Corporations. In 1986, the
Legislature passed a law (F.S.A. Section
95.525) authorizing use of a
verification that "under penalties of
perjury" the person signing declares the
facts stated in the document are true,
in place of a notary acknowledgment.
Several years ago, the court rules for
probate were changed to replace the
notary acknowledgment with the
verification statement. Notary
acknowledgments were recently removed
from the bill of sale form on the
reverse side of Florida motor vehicle
and boat title certificates.
Notary acknowledgments are still
required on documents to be recorded
with the clerks of court, such as deeds,
mortgages, and other real estate
documents, and they will still be
required on affidavits filed with courts
and on government forms of various
types. But the question remains why this
tightening of the notary public laws
comes at a time when the trend is toward
other forms of proof of execution in
place of the archaic notarization.
Perhaps the Legislature should follow
this trend and eliminate the requirement
of notarization for all documents and
allow verification of documents to be
executed under penalties of perjury.
Appendix A
SAMPLE FORM OF
SIGNATURE, WITNESS AND NOTARY LINES FOR
A DOCUMENT AFFECTING REAL PROPERTY TO BE
RECORDED PER F.S.A. 695.26 AND F.S.A.
117.05(16)
In witness whereof, the parties
have signed this document on this
_________ day of _________, 19__.
|
Witnesses: |
Party A: |
| sign__________________ |
sign__________________ |
| print_________________ |
print_________________ |
| sign__________________ |
|
| print_________________ |
Address______________________________ |
| Witnesses: |
Party B: _______, INC. |
| sign__________________ |
sign__________________ |
| print_________________ |
print_________________ |
| sign__________________ |
Title_________________ |
| print_________________ |
Address______________________________ |
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF _________
Sworn to (or affirmed) and
subscribed before me this _____ day of
__________________, 19____, by
__________________.
NOTARY PUBLIC-State of
Florida
sign_______________________________
print______________________________
(Seal)
Personally Known _____; OR Produced
Identification ______
Type of Identification Produced:
____________________________
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF _________
The foregoing instrument was
acknowledged before me this _____ day of
_________, 19____, by _________, as
_________ for _________, INC., a Florida
corporation, on behalf of the
corporation.
NOTARY PUBLIC-State of
Florida
sign_______________________________
print______________________________
(Seal)
Personally Known _____; OR Produced
Identification ______
Type of Identification Produced:
____________________________
APPENDIX B
SAMPLE FORMS OF OATH, AFFIRMATION AND
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
1. Oath or Affirmation - Under
F.S.A. 117.05(16)(a)
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF _________
Signature of applicant:
____________________________
Sworn to (or affirmed) and
subscribed before me this _____ day
of __________________, 19____, by
__________________.
Notary Public-State of Florida:
sign_________________________________
print________________________________
Personally Known _____; OR Produced
Identification ______
Type of Identification Produced:
____________________________
Affix Seal Below:
2. Acknowledgment by Individual
A. Under F.S.A. 117.05(16)(b)
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF _________
The foregoing instrument was
acknowledged before me this _____
day of __________________, 19____,
by __________________.
Notary Public-State of Florida:
sign_________________________________
print________________________________
Personally Known _____; OR Produced
Identification ______
Type of Identification Produced:
____________________________
Affix Seal Below:
B. Under F.S.A. 695.25(1)
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF _________
The foregoing instrument was
acknowledged before me this _____
day of __________________, 19____,
by __________________, who is
personally known to me or who has
produced ________________ as
identification.
Notary Public-State of Florida:
sign_________________________________
print________________________________
Affix Seal Below:
3. Acknowledgment by Corporation
A. Under F.S.A. 117.05(16)(c)
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF _________
The foregoing instrument was
acknowledged before me this _____
day of __________________, 19____,
by __________________ as _________
for _________, a Florida
corporation.
Notary Public-State of Florida:
sign_________________________________
print________________________________
Personally Known _____; OR Produced
Identification ______
Type of Identification Produced:
____________________________
Affix Seal Below:
B. Under F.S.A. 695.25(2)
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF _________
The foregoing instrument was
acknowledged before me this _____
day of __________________, 19____,
by __________________, of
______________________, a Florida
corporation, on behalf of the
corporation. He/she is personally
known to me or has produced
__________________ as
identification.
Notary Public-State of Florida:
sign_________________________________
print________________________________
Affix Seal Below:
4. Acknowledgment by Partnership
A. Under F.S.A. 117.05(16)(c)
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF _________
The foregoing instrument was
acknowledged before me this _____
day of __________________, 19____,
by __________________ as _________
for _________, a Florida
partnership.
Notary Public-State of Florida:
sign_________________________________
print________________________________
Personally Known _____; OR Produced
Identification ______
Type of Identification Produced:
____________________________
Affix Seal Below:
B. Under F.S.A. 695.25(3)
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF _________
The foregoing instrument was
acknowledged before me this _____
day of __________________, 19____,
by __________________, partner (or
agent) on behalf of
______________________, a
partnership. He/she is personally
known to me or has produced
__________________ as
identification.
Notary Public-State of Florida:
sign_________________________________
print________________________________
Affix Seal Below:
5. Acknowledgment by Agent
A. Under F.S.A. 117.05(16)(c)
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF _________
The foregoing instrument was
acknowledged before me this _____
day of __________________, 19____,
by __________________ as agent for
_________.
Notary Public-State of Florida:
sign_________________________________
print________________________________
Personally Known _____; OR Produced
Identification ______
Type of Identification Produced:
____________________________
Affix Seal Below:
B. Under F.S.A. 695.25(4)
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF _________
The foregoing instrument was
acknowledged before me this _____
day of __________________, 19____,
by __________________, as attorney
in fact, who is personally known to
me or has produced
__________________ as
identification, on behalf of
__________________.
Notary Public-State of Florida:
sign_________________________________
print________________________________
Affix Seal Below:
6. Acknowledgment
by Trustee, Personal Representative
or Public Officer
A. Under F.S.A. 117.05(16)(c)
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF _________
The foregoing instrument was
acknowledged before me this _____
day of __________________, 19____,
by __________________ as
_____________ for _________.
Notary Public-State of Florida:
sign_________________________________
print________________________________
Personally Known _____; OR Produced
Identification ______
Type of Identification Produced:
____________________________
Affix Seal Below:
B. Under F.S.A. 695.25(5)
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF _________
The foregoing instrument was
acknowledged before me this _____
day of __________________, 19____,
by __________________, as
__________________, who is
personally known to me or has
produced __________________ as
identification.
Notary Public-State of Florida:
sign_________________________________
print________________________________
Affix Seal Below:
APPENDIX C
CERTIFICATE REQUIRED BY F.S.A.
117.05(15)
CERTIFICATE OF TRUE COPY
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF _________
On this _________ day of
_________, 19____, I attest that the
preceding or attached document is a
true, exact, complete, and unaltered
photocopy made by me of
_________(description of document)
_________ presented to me by the
document's custodian, _________,
and, to the best of my knowledge,
that the photocopied document is
neither a public record nor a
publicly recordable document,
certified copies of which are
available from an official source
other than a notary public.
NOTARY PUBLIC-State
of Florida
sign_______________________________
print______________________________
(Seal)
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