District of Columbia Notary Block: Wording, Seal, and Placement

A DC notary block is valid when it shows the venue (District of Columbia), the date of the act, the correct short-form wording for the type of notarial act performed, and the notary’s signature, official seal, title of office, and commission expiration date, all completed at the time the act takes place. Those elements come from DC Code § 1-1231.14, and leaving any of them out is the usual reason a recording office, title company, or court sends a document back.¹

What Every DC Notary Block Must Contain

The certificate has to be completed at the same time the notarial act is performed. It must be dated, and it must identify the District of Columbia as the jurisdiction where the act took place. That jurisdictional line, usually labeled the venue, tells any later reader which body of law governed the notarization.¹

The certificate must also include the notary’s title of office. When the officer is a notary public, two more requirements attach: the notary signs the certificate in the same manner as the signature on file with the Mayor, and the certificate shows the commission expiration date. A notary cannot sign the certificate until the act itself is finished. Signing blank certificates in advance and filling them in later violates the statute.¹

A typical DC block, then, has a venue line, a wording block naming the act, the notary’s signature, the impressed or affixed seal, the notary’s printed name and title, and the commission expiration date. Miss the venue, forget the expiration, or use wording that doesn’t match the act, and the document is defective on its face.

Short-Form Wording by Act Type

DC Code § 1-1231.15 supplies short-form templates that are legally sufficient when combined with the other certificate elements. The wording inside the block has to match the act performed. Copying the wrong template is one of the easiest ways to get a document kicked back.

Individual Acknowledgment

An acknowledgment confirms that the signer appeared before the notary and acknowledged signing the record. Use this wording:

“This record was acknowledged before me on [date] by [name of individual].”²

Below the statement, add the notary’s signature, seal, title of office, and commission expiration date. This is the standard form for deeds, powers of attorney, and other recorded documents.

Acknowledgment in a Representative Capacity

When someone signs on behalf of an entity, the wording changes to name the role and the entity:

“This record was acknowledged before me on [date] by [name] as [type of authority, such as officer or trustee] of [name of the entity on whose behalf the record was executed].”²

Leaving out the signer’s title or the entity’s name can raise questions about authority to sign, which is exactly what this form exists to head off.

Verification on Oath or Affirmation (Jurat)

A jurat goes further than an acknowledgment. The signer swears or affirms that the contents of the document are true. Use this wording:

“Signed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on [date] by [name of individual] making statement.”²

Jurats appear on affidavits and sworn declarations. The notary has to administer the oath or affirmation before the signer signs, unlike an acknowledgment, where the document may already be signed when the signer appears.

Seal Requirements

For any notarial act involving a paper document, the official seal must be physically affixed to or embossed on the certificate.¹ Under DC Code § 1-1231.16, the seal itself must contain:

The notary’s name, exactly as it appears on the commission.
The words “District of Columbia.”
The commission expiration date.
Any additional information the Mayor requires.

The seal has to be capable of being photocopied along with the document it accompanies.³ DC regulations require permanent ink so the impression survives copying and long-term storage. The DC Notary Public Handbook adds that the seal must include the words “Notary Public” alongside “District of Columbia,” and that the notary’s signature must match the name on the seal and on the Certificate of Appointment.⁴

The name on the seal, the printed name on the certificate, and the signature all have to agree. Any mismatch is a reason for a title company or recorder to bounce the document.

Extra Wording for Remote Online Notarization

DC permits remote online notarization, where the signer appears by live audio-video communication rather than in person. When an act is performed that way, the certificate needs an extra line in substantially this form: “This notarial act involved the use of communication technology.”

If the notary is witnessing a remotely located individual sign a paper record that isn’t physically in front of the notary, the certificate uses different language instead: “I [name of notary public] witnessed, by means of communication technology, [name of individual] sign the attached record and declaration on [date].”⁵

Omitting either statement can make a remote certificate defective. Notaries who do RON work should build these lines into their block templates so they aren’t forgotten under time pressure.

For electronic notarizations, where the document exists only digitally, the seal is attached to or logically associated with the electronic record rather than physically embossed, and the notary applies an electronic signature and seal using tamper-evident technology.¹⁶

Placement, Loose Certificates, and When to Sign

The notary signs the block and applies the seal only after the signer has appeared, been identified, and completed the act described in the certificate. Signature and seal should sit near the notarial wording without covering document text or any part of the certificate. Recording offices and title companies reject documents where a seal or signature obscures critical information.

When the document itself has no room for the certificate, the notary can complete the block on a separate certificate page and attach it. The separate page must clearly reference the original document so the two cannot be confused or separated without notice. Attaching a blank page to a signed document is a bad idea, because a loose blank sheet can be detached and misused.⁷

Every element on this page comes from a specific statutory hook. If a block is missing a piece, the fix is almost always to identify which requirement was skipped, redo the act correctly, and attach a fresh certificate.

1
D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 1-1231.14 – Certificate of Notarial Act
2
D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 1-1231.15 – Short Forms
3
D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 1-1231.16 – Official Seal
4
Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia. Notary Public Handbook
5
D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 1-1231.13a – Notarial Act Performed for Remotely Located Individual
6
Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia. Electronic Notarization Handbook
7
District of Columbia Office of the Secretary. Notary Public Handbook