Many documents used in the United States of America may require an acknowledgment to be performed as the notarial act. An acknowledgment is an attestation by you, the signer, stating that the signature on the document in question is, in fact, your signature. For an acknowledgment to be properly performed, you must appear physically in the flesh or virtually online before a duly commissioned Notarial Officer (in this case, Shane Duncan). You must be of sound mind when appearing, and you must have on hand a government issued ID in order for your identity to be verified by the officer if you are not personally know by the officer. After you have been identified, you must then attest to the officer that the signature on the document in question is in fact your signature.

After you have attested that the signature on the document is your signature, the officer will complete the notarial certificate on the document provided. The Notarial Officer may issue you a notarial certificate if no notarial certificate is present or if there is an error with the notarial certificate that came with the document in question.

Note that if your document requires an acknowledgment to be performed by the Notary, you may sign the document before appearing before the Notary. However, keep in mind that some documents may require you not sign the documents until you are in the presence of a duly commissioned Notary.