Who Decides What Notarial Act Is Needed?

The notary might hold another position (other than attorney) that allows the notary to say which act to perform. For example the notary could be a justice of the peace or chairman of a municipal board.

You’ll need to consult with counsel in your office to determine if the documents containing an incorrect choice of notarial act affect the recordability of the document. In most cases, Notaries perform the notarial acts specified on the document or requested by the signer. The Notary typically does not select which notarial act to perform.

How does this apply to people who bring in documents that already have notarial language at the end? If it has the language of, say, an Acknowledgement written out, can you just lead with "Looks like you have an Acknowledgement, right?" or do you need to ask which they want anyway? Also, how does this apply within a business setting as an in-house notary? (ex: "My boss said you need an Acknowledgement notarized on this document...")

In California, no where in the SOS Notary Public Handbook or in Government Code or Civil Code does it explicitly state that a Notary cannot decide what notarial act is needed (ack or Jurat) for the client. On page 6 of the California SOS Notary : Acts Constituting the Practice of Law it states " California notaries public are prohibited from performing any duties that may be construed as practice of law" This statement is vague, not specific, open to interpretation, ambiguous, loose, and full of loopholes. It further states that "Among the acts which constitute the practice of law are the preparation, drafting, or selection or determination of the kind of any legal document, or giving advice in relation to any legal documents or matters". To me, a loose leaf certificate acknowledgment or a loose leaf Jurat is not a legal document. If however the document already consist of the proper notarial wording, there is no issue. You use the jurat or acknowledgment within the document. If you have a different take on this, please share your thoughts. Thank you.

An Affidavit (by definition a sworn statement) shows first paragraph wording such as "Being duly sworn...", or "Upon oath...", clearly showing that the document originator intends for the signer to be sworn, and a jurat notarial act performed. But the document shows an incorrect acknowledgement certificate. The penalty in my state for not giving the oath/affirmation when required is loss of commission for three years. My feeling is that my notary responsibility is to perform the JURAT notarial act specifically called for by the document wording, and attach the appropriate "Sworn to and subscribed before me..." jurat certificate language. An acknowledgement certificate can't be used for a sworn statement because it doesn't show that an oath/affirmation was administered by the notary.