Acknowledgment vs jurat: the difference for notaries

Jurat vs acknowledgment, side by side

Both acts begin the same way: the signer appears before you and you settle who they are. They part at two points, what the signer declares and when the pen moves. Read across the rows:

RSMo § 486.600 RCW 42.45.010(1), (18); RCW 42.45.030(1), (2); RCW 42.45.140 Fla. Stat. § 117.05(4)(b) read 2026-10-29

The short version: an acknowledgment is about the signature, a jurat is about the statement. In neither act do you check whether the document is true. California prints that in a box at the top of both its acknowledgment and its jurat form:

What the statutes call each act

“Jurat” is the everyday name, and some statutes use it. Missouri defines the jurat as an act in which the signer, besides appearing and being identified, “Signs the document in the presence of the notary” and

States that adopted the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts give the same act a longer name. Washington's version calls it a verification on oath or affirmation: “a declaration, made by an individual on oath or affirmation before a notarial officer, that a statement in a record is true” (RCW 42.45.010(18)). Its acknowledgment is “a declaration by an individual in the presence of a notarial officer stating that the individual has signed a record of the individual's free will for the purpose stated in the record” (RCW 42.45.010(1)). Note the tense: the signer “has signed”. For either act the signer must appear before you (RCW 42.45.040), but only the jurat's wording puts the signing itself in front of you.

Missouri's acknowledgment says the same thing from the other side: the signer “Indicates to the notary that the signature on the document was voluntarily affixed by the individual for the purposes stated within the document” (RSMo § 486.600(1)). Texas writes its acknowledgment rule around recording: “To acknowledge a written instrument for recording, the grantor or person who executed the instrument must appear before an officer and must state that he executed the instrument for the purposes and consideration expressed in it.” Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 121.004(a). That is why a deed headed for the county recorder usually carries an acknowledgment, while a document that states facts under oath, such as an affidavit, carries a jurat. The document, or the office that will receive it, sets which one; the section on when the signer asks you to choose covers the rest.

Oath or affirmation: the spoken part of a jurat

The jurat's extra step is a vow, and the signer picks its form. Missouri defines the oath and the affirmation as legally equivalent. The only difference is the wording: an oath is made “while invoking a deity or using any form of the word “swear””, an affirmation “without invoking a deity or using any form of the word “swear”” (RSMo § 486.600(2), (13)). The certificates allow for both: Washington's short form reads “sworn to (or affirmed)”, and so does Florida's.

Ask the question aloud and wait for a spoken answer; a nod is not a vow, and on a remote session the answer is what the recording keeps. One plain way to put it: “Do you swear, or affirm, that the statements in this document are true?” If your state's handbook gives set words, use those.

Acknowledgment and jurat on a remote session

On a remote online notarization the camera stands in for the desk. In Washington a remote signer meets the personal-appearance rule by communication technology (RCW 42.45.280(2)), and Florida has you confirm the signer's identity “at the time that the signature is taken” (Fla. Stat. § 117.265(2)). How that identity check runs is in identity proofing in RON. Missouri goes further and limits remote work to exactly these two acts:

The list that follows has two entries: acknowledgment, and jurat. Elsewhere the difference between the acts survives the move to video intact:

• For a jurat, the signer signs the electronic document while you watch, and takes the oath or affirmation on the recorded call. Washington writes this step into its statute from 2027-01-01: identify the signer, record the signer taking the oath or affirmation, and keep that recording (RCW 42.45.280(7) (eff. 2027-01-01)). What the recording must hold is in RON session recording requirements.
• For an acknowledgment, the signer declares on the call that the signature is theirs. Washington asks that you be reasonably able to confirm the record in front of you is the same one the signer signed (RCW 42.45.280(3)(b)), which matters most when a document arrives already signed.
• The certificate says the act was remote. Florida's forms carry a box to tick, “online notarization”, on the jurat and the acknowledgment alike. Washington's short form adds “This notarial act involved the use of communication technology.” (RCW 42.45.280). Each state's line is in remote notary certificate wording by state.
• The journal entry names the act. Washington asks for “a description of the record, if any, and type of notarial act” (RCW 42.45.180(4)(b)); Florida's electronic journal records “the type of notarial act performed, whether an oath or acknowledgment.” (Fla. Stat. § 117.245(1)).

When the signer asks you to choose

It comes up with loose pages: a document with no certificate, and a signer asking which one they need. The choice is a legal one, and Washington says so plainly. A notary who is not an attorney

So the answer comes from whoever drafted the document or will receive it: the lender, the title company, the court, the agency, the signer's attorney. When the document already carries a certificate, perform the act that certificate describes. When the signer comes back with a choice, attach that certificate and say which act you performed in the journal.

How the fee counts each act

In Texas and Pennsylvania the two acts are counted differently: an acknowledgment by signature or name, a jurat by oath or by person. Two signers on one acknowledgment certificate pay the first-signature fee once and the added-signature fee once; two signers who each swear to a statement are two sworn acts at the full fee.

Tex. Gov't Code § 406.024(a)(5) read 2026-10-23 PA Department of State, Notary Public Fees read 2026-10-23

On a remote act both states add the remote fee to that regular fee, so the act still sets the base. The caps state by state are in remote notarization fees by state.