ceb.com: Changes to California Notary Law

The California Legislature amended Civil Code section 1189, effective January 1, 2008, to alter the required wording of the Certificate of Acknowledgment form. Recorders are likely to reject any document submitted for recording on or after January 1, 2008 that does not use the new wording.

The new wording (Section 2 of AB 886) changes the wording required by Civil Code Section 1189 to read as follows:

(a) Any certificate of acknowledgment taken within this state shall be in the following form:

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)

In addition, Section 7 of AB 886 amended Government Code section 8202(b), also effective January 1, 2008, concerning jurats attached to affidavits, as follows:

(b) To any affidavit subscribed and sworn to before a notary, there shall be attached a jurat in the following form:

State of California
County of _______________

Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on this _____ day of _______, 20__, by _________________________, proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) who appeared before me.

Signature ____________________________ (Seal)

Changes to California Notary Forms — January 1, 2008