How does a notary acknowledge a document?
A notary first identifies the signer to be the person whose name is signed to the document. The identification can be made through personal knowledge or through appropriate credentials such as a driver’s license. The notary completes the certificate of acknowledgment by writing or typing on the document the appropriate “acknowledged before me” phrase and signing her or his name and commission expiration date underneath. Documents will often have the acknowledgment phrase pre-printed on them, in which case the notary merely fills in the blanks.
