Notary Public 101 On-line - The Functions and Duties of a California Notary Public

Civil Code

1189. Certificate of acknowledgment; form; sufficiency of out of state acknowledgment; force and effect of acknowledgment under prior laws


    1. Any certificate of acknowledgment taken within this state shall include a notice at the top of the certificate of acknowledgment in an enclosed box stating: "A notary public or other officer completing this certificate verifies only the identity of the individual who signed the document to which this certificate is attached, and not the truthfulness, accuracy, or validity of that document." This notice shall be legible.
    2. The physical format of the boxed notice at the top of the certificate of acknowledgment required pursuant to paragraph (3) is an example, for purposes of illustration and not limitation, of the physical format of a boxed notice fulfilling the requirements of paragraph (1).
    3. A certificate of acknowledgment taken within this state shall be in the following form:

      A notary public or other officer completing this certificate verifies only the identity of the individual who signed the document to which this certificate is attached, and not the truthfulness, accuracy, or validity of that document.

      State of California )
      County of _________ )
      On ________________________ before me, (here insert name and title of the officer), personally appeared ____________________________________, who proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their authorized capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their signature(s) on the instrument the person(s), or the entity upon behalf of which the person(s) acted, executed the instrument.

      I certify under PENALTY OF PERJURY under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing paragraph is true and correct.

      WITNESS my hand and official seal.

      Signature __________________________________ (Seal)


    4. A notary public who willfully states as true any material fact that he or she knows to be false shall be subject to a civil penalty not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000). An action to impose a civil penalty under this subdivision may be brought by the Secretary of State in an administrative proceeding or any public prosecutor in superior court, and shall be enforced as a civil judgment. A public prosecutor shall inform the secretary of any civil penalty imposed under this section.

  1. Any certificate of acknowledgment taken in another place shall be sufficient in this state if it is taken in accordance with the laws of the place where the acknowledgment is made.


  2. On documents to be filed in another state or jurisdiction of the United States, a California notary public may complete any acknowledgment form as may be required in that other state or jurisdiction on a document, provided the form does not require the notary to determine or certify that the signer holds a particular representative capacity or to make other determinations and certifications not allowed by California law.


  3. An acknowledgment provided prior to January 1, 1993, and conforming to applicable provisions of former Sections 1189, 1190, 1190a, 1190.1, 1191, and 1192, as repealed by Chapter 335 of the Statutes of 1990, shall have the same force and effect as if those sections had not been repealed.



Here's Where You're at in This Chapter:

 Unit 6. The Law
 GC 8200. Appointment and commission
 GC 8201. Qualifications; proof; reappointment
 GC 8201.1. Qualifications; identification; fingerprints
 GC 8201.2. Educational courses
 GC 8201.5. Application
 GC 8202. Jurat; administration of oath
 GC 8202.5. Government employees
 GC 8202.7. Private employers; treatment of notary expenses
 GC 8202.8. Private employers; limitation on notarial services
 GC 8203.1. Military and naval reservations; appointment; qualifications
 GC 8203.2. Military and naval; recommendation and jurisdiction
 GC 8203.3. Military and naval reservations; additional qualifications
 GC 8203.4. Military and naval; term, termination and resignation
 GC 8203.5. Military and naval; jurat
 GC 8203.6. Military and naval; fees
 GC 8204. Term of office
 GC 8204.1. Cancellation of commission; failure to pay; notice
 GC 8205. Duties
 GC 8206. Notary journal
 GC 8206.5. Response time for a request
 GC 8207. Notary seal
 GC 8207.1. Identification number
 GC 8207.2. Notary seal; authorized manufacturers
 GC 8207.3. Notary seal; procurement procedures
 GC 8207.4. Violations; penalties
 GC 8208. Protests
 GC 8209. Resignation, disqualification or removal; records
 GC 8211. Fees
 GC 8212. Bond; amount; form
 GC 8213. Bonds and oaths; filing; transfer; name changes; fees
 GC 8213.5. Change of address
 GC 8213.6. Name changes; application; filing
 GC 8214. Misconduct or neglect
 GC 8214.1. Grounds for refusal, revocation or suspension of commission
 GC 8214.15. Civil penalties
 GC 8214.2. Fraud relating to deed of trust; felony
 GC 8214.3. Right to hearing
 GC 8214.4. State right to investigation and disciplinary proceedings
 GC 8214.5. Revocation of commission; filing copy with county clerk
 GC 8214.8. Revocation of commission; surrender of seal
 GC 8214.21. Failure to provide journal; penalty
 GC 8214.23. Failure to obtain thumbprint; penalty
 GC 8216. Release of surety
 GC 8219.5. Advertising requirements and restrictions
 GC 8220. Rules and regulations
 GC 8221. Destruction, defacement or concealment of records; misdemeanor
 GC 8222. Injunction; reimbursement for expenses
 GC 8223. Immigration issues affecting notaries
 GC 8224. Conflict of interest; financial or beneficial interest
 GC 8224.1. Writings, depositions or affidavits of notary public
 GC 8225. Improper notarial acts, solicitation, coercion; misdemeanor
 GC 8227.1. Unlawful acts by one not a notary public; misdemeanor
 GC 8227.3. Unlawful acts; deeds of trust; felony
 GC 8228. Enforcement of chapter; examination of books
 GC 8228.1. Failure to perform duty; misdemeanor
 GC 8230. Identification of affiant; verification
 GC 1360. Necessity of taking constitutional oath
 GC 1362. Administration by authorized officer
 GC 6100. Performance of services; officers; notaries public
 GC 6107. Veterans
 GC 6108. Oaths of office; claim against counties
 GC 6109. Receipt of fees; written account; officer liability
 GC 6110. Performance of services following payment; officer liability
 GC 6203. False certificate or writing by officer
 GC 6707. Last day for filing an instrument
 GC 6800. Computation of time in which act is to be done
 GC 27287. Acknowledgment of execution by subscribing witness; exceptions
 GC 66433. Content and form; application of article
 GC 66436. Statement of consent; nonliability for omission; acknowledgment
 CC 14. Words and phrases; construction; tense; gender; number
 CC 1181. Notaries public; officers before whom proof may be made
 CC 1183.5. Notarial acts
 CC 1185. Acknowledgments; requisites
 CC 1188. Certificate of acknowledgment
 CC 1189. Certificate of acknowledgment; form
 CC 1190. Certificate of acknowledgment as prima facie evidence
 CC 1193. Certificate of acknowledgment; authentication
 CC 1195. Proof of execution; methods; certificate form
 CC 1196. Subscribing witness; establishment of identity
 CC 1197. Subscribing witness; items to be proved
 CC 1633.11. Notarization and signature under penalty of perjury requirements
 CC 1633.12. Retaining records; electronic satisfaction
 CCP 1935. Subscribing witness defined
 CCP 2093. Officers authorized to administer oaths or affirmations
 CCP 2094. Oath to witness; form
 BPC 6125. Unlawful Practice of Law
 BPC 22441. Definitions; violations
 BPC 22442.2. Posted notice; required information; written disclosure
 BPC 22442.3. Literal translations; misleading use; bonding requirements
 EC 8080. Fee for verification
 CMC 3505. Protest; Noting for Protest
 PC 4307. Certified copies of power of attorney
 PNC 17. Felony; misdemeanor; infraction; classification of offenses
 PNC 115.5. Filing false or forged documents relating to single-family residences
 PNC 118. Perjury defined; evidence necessary to support conviction
 PNC 126. Punishment
 PNC 470. Forgery; counterfeiting; falsification of documents; fraud
 PNC 830.3. Peace officers; employing agencies; authority




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