Has anyone ever faced the peculiar situation of conducting a loan signing for a refinance that included numerous Jurat pages with the phrase, “Sworn before me…”?
If so, I would love to hear how you navigated that challenge.
Interestingly enough, there were ten additional Jurat pages within the same document tthat did contain the necessary wording.
Seeking clarity, I reached out to the National Notary Association with my query. They informed me that in Texas, a properly executed Jurat should incorporate both phrases “sworn to” and “subscribed to” to ensure it holds up for recording purposes.
I promptly informed the signing company, Summit Settlement, only to be met with skepticism. They mentioned they could not find any documentation requiring such wording and that no other Texas notary had expressed similar concerns.
Faced with the potential risk to my notary license, I made the decision to withdraw from the signing.
To be clear, your issue is that where most of the jurats you’ve encountered said “subscribed and sworn to before me” (or similar words), the ones in the package your concerned about just said “sworn before me”. Right?
I don’t know what the law is in Texas. In Vermont, the short form certificate says “Signed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on ______ by ________”.
I can’t find anything in the Vermont notary law, other than the certificate, that says a person taking an oath must sign in front of the notary (if the oath is written). But it seems to be the universal understanding that a person taking a written oath must appear before the notary and, while before the notary, indicate they agree to the oath by saying “I do” or equivalent, and sign. The certificate should indicate that
The oath taker appeared.
The oath taker agreed to the oath.
The oath taker signed in the notary’s presence.
One exception would be if the state law allows to use a short form certificate that omits some of the above. Another exception would be if the oath were purely oral, such as a person about to give sworn testimonly before a board.
Great minds / notaries, think alike This is exactly where I pulled the Jurat wording from the Texas SOS website and confirmed with the NNA to explain to Title.
Just about everyday. In CA we describe those as “non-compliant” and attach our required, state specific Jurat. This is typical when the Lender and/or Title is in another state and not aware of our laws. Ours begin … “Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me…”
In California, I would write “see attached” & initial on the signature line of the certificate that did not meet my state requirements and only execute the corrrectly worded certificate. However, sworn before me could be an oath only and wouldn’t require a certificate, I would simply sign and stamp.
I’m in California and do the same for non-compliant Jurats, I strike through the certificate, print ‘see attached’ and initial. I then attach a state compliant Jurat. Not all Jurats are recordable, so for an out of state property I might use their Jurat on such an occasion. Whatever the Jurat, the signer must appear before you, swear or affirm the statement is true to the best of their knowledge, and sign.
It is never acceptable to use an out of state jurat unless the wording is exactly the same as California’s jurat wording. You may use out of state acknowledgments for documents that will record out of California, but jurats must always be California compliant.
If though, the line for Texas says “Sworn before me” this is an oath and you may sign and stamp and there is no certificate. You record this as an oath in your journal.
It is best practice to use California compliant Jurat certificates even for out of state properties, but not all certificates are recordable and are for internal use. Since not all notaries know the difference, best practice is to swap them and not notarize two certificates.
Why would you notarize 2 certs for 1 document?
And yes, I get that not all jurats are recorded, but why would you risk an audit? The handbook clearly states all jurats executed in California will be California compliant.
States vary. In Vermont, I could either administer a purely oath as a notary, or as a justice of the peace; I hold both those positions. If I did it as a notary, the law says I have to create a certificate. Since there’s no written document to write the certificate on, or staple it to, it isn’t clear what I should do with the certificate. I’d have to decide on a case-by-case basis.
I would never, ever, just sign and stamp a piece of paper that lacked a notarial certificate. If I administered an oral oath as a notary, I’d complete a certificate like this, on a piece of paper with nothing else:
State of Vermont
County of Windsor
Before me, on July 4, 1776, Ethan Allen swore to tell the truth in a matter before the Andover Board of Civil Authority.
X - - - - - -
Printed name
My commission number is 123
My commission expires January 31, 1777
[official stamp]
If I were acting as a Justice of the Peace, I’d make a note in my notary journal and would not create any certificate, and I wouldn’t sign anything. I don’t have a Justice of the Peace stamp.
In some states sworn before me is notarial wording for an oath at the bottom of a document-so it could be signed and stamped, of course always follow your state laws.
Here are the steps that will serve you best at this point in time for ALL your signings within your State:
Review & Memorize the Notary Handbook for your State
Familiarize yourself with the set of sample documents for loan signings available online
ALWAYS remember for any questions about the documents or how they are to be executed including Trust documents, etc. ===>>>Reach out directly to your hiring entity to pose your query(ies) to them in writing.
Their response in writing will support you in the future should a discrepancy arise & avoid the “he said” “she said” quandary.
This is exactly where I pulled the Jurat wording from the Texas SOS website and confirmed with the NNA to explain to Title.
“she said” quandary.