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Notary Public · Responsibilities

Performing Notarizations

Use this guide to review the required components of a notarization, recommended practices, acknowledgment and affidavit procedures, and commonly used terms.

Personal appearance and identity are essential

Never notarize an in-person signature that was not made in your presence. Identify the signer conclusively, confirm the signer's willingness and competence, and do not proceed when identity is uncertain.

Five Components

Components of a complete notarization

  1. Original signature. The individual executing the document signs in the notary's presence.
  2. Date of signature. The document includes the day, month, and year the signature was made.
  3. Notary signature. The notary places their original signature on the document.
  4. Official seal. Affix the legible seal imprint approved and recorded by the Secretary of State.
  5. Commission expiration date. Add the words “My Commission Expires” and the month, day, and year shown on the Notary Commission Certificate. Keep these words and the date outside the seal's border.

Impartial Public Officer

Eight important concepts

  1. Never notarize an in-person signature that was not made in your presence.
  2. Serve any person who makes a lawful and reasonable request for notarization.
  3. Act as an impartial witness to the transaction.
  4. A notarization does not prove that a document's contents are true or make the document legally valid.
  5. A notarization verifies the signer's willingness and competence to sign and helps establish that the signer is the person identified by the signature.
  6. Do not notarize when you have unresolved doubt about a signer's identity.
  7. A credible witness may help establish identity. The witness should personally know the signer, be personally known to the notary, take an oath, and remain impartial to the transaction.
  8. Do not notarize your own signature. Under SDCL 18-1-12.2, a person may not sign as a notary when that person also signed as a party to the transaction or proceeding.

Recommended Practice

Dos and don'ts

Do

Protect the public and your commission

  • Learn the duties you are authorized to perform.
  • Learn circumstances that may disqualify you from acting.
  • Consider keeping records of official acts.
  • Keep the official seal or stamp secure.
Do Not

Avoid prohibited or unsafe practices

  • Draft legal documents for clients.
  • Notarize a blank or incomplete document.
  • Notarize a document that was already signed for an in-person notarization.
  • Allow another person to use your seal or stamp.
  • Place “My Commission Expires” inside the seal's border.

Notary Journal

Keeping records of official acts

South Dakota law does not require a notary journal, but keeping one can provide valuable legal protection and help reconstruct a notarization if a certificate is lost, damaged, or questioned.

A journal may record:

  • Date and time of the notarization or acknowledgment
  • Type of document
  • Name and address of each person whose signature was notarized
  • Signatures of the parties
  • Identification presented, number of document pages, land description, and other relevant details

Keep the journal and official seal in a secure location.

Declaration by the Signer

Acknowledgments

In an acknowledgment, the signer appears before the notary, signs the document in the notary's presence, and declares that the document was executed as the signer's free act and deed. The notary must identify the signer with reasonable care.

On this _____ day of ________________, 20____, before me personally appeared ___________________________, to me known to be the person who executed the foregoing instrument, and acknowledged that the person executed the same as a free act and deed.

A government-issued photo identification, such as a driver's license, may be used. The notary must be satisfied that the person appearing is the person identified in the document.

Sworn Written Statement

Affidavits

A valid affidavit requires the affiant, the notary, and the document to be present together. The affiant signs and swears to or affirms the document in the notary's presence.

Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me this ______ day of ____________, 20____.

The notary must make clear that the affiant is taking an oath or affirmation. A notary cannot take their own affidavit. Although taking a relative's affidavit is not automatically prohibited, avoid acting when the matter could benefit the notary or a relative or otherwise compromise impartiality.

Never notarize without personal appearance

South Dakota law makes it a Class 2 misdemeanor for a notary public to affix an official signature when the parties have not appeared before the notary.

Common Terms

Notary glossary

Acknowledgment
A declaration by a person who executed a document that the document was executed as that person's act.
Affidavit
A written statement sworn to or affirmed before an officer authorized to administer an oath.
Affirmation
A solemn declaration made instead of swearing an oath, subject to penalties of perjury.
Affiant
The person making an affidavit.
Jurat
The notary's certificate on an affidavit showing that it was sworn to or affirmed before the notary.