What is a Copy Certification by document custodian?
The permanent keeper of the document – the document custodian – certifies the copy, not the Notary. The custodian makes a photocopy of the original document; makes a written statement about the trueness, correctness, and completeness of the copy; signs that statement before a Notary; and takes an oath or affirmation regarding the truth of the statement. The Notary, having witnessed the signing and given the oath or affirmation, executes a Jurat.
A Copy Certification by document custodian is an alternative notarial act to a Notary certified copy. The custodian of a document signs a declaration that a copy of that document is identical to the original; the Notary, using a jurat, then notarizes the custodian’s signature on the declaration. Documents that can never be Certified as copies by a notary or document custodian include: Naturalization certificates, recordable documents such as deeds, vital records such as birth and death certificates.
