Certification
A Notary is authorized to certify certain documents. When a Notary certifies copies, they affirm that they have personally made a copy of relevant documents and that the copy was unaltered. A Notary may only certify non-recordable documents. A non recordable document is one that would never be recorded with any governmental agency. Documents such as Birth Certificates, Military ID's, Marriage Certificates are recordable documents and cannot be certified by a Notary.
Certified copies indicate that a Notary made True, Complete, Exact and unaltered copy of the record. To Certify a copy:
(1) The Notary confirms that the document is an Original Document, it is non-recordable and not a public record.
(2) The Notary then makes a True, complete, Exact and unaltered copy of the document
(3) The Notary then selects the proper Notarial certificate based upon the documents being copied.
(4) The Notary then complete the certificate by affixing their Seal and Signature.
Certified Copy Sample Forms: I.
Certified Copy of a Notary’s Record
State of Texas
County of _______________
On this __________ day of __________, (year), I certify, pursuant to Tex. Gov’t Code §406.014(c), that the preceding or attached document is a true, exact, complete, and unaltered copy made by me of (description of notarial record), the original of which is held in my custody as a notarial record.
____________________ (Personalized Seal)
Notary Public's Signature
II. Certified Copy of a Non-Recordable Document
State of Texas
County of _______________
On this __________ day of __________, (year), I certify that the preceding or attached document, is a true, exact, complete, and unaltered copy made by me of (description of document), presented to me by the document's custodian, _______________, and that, to the best of my knowledge, the photocopied document is neither a public record nor a publicly recordable document, certified copies of which are available from an official source other than a notary. ____________________
(Personalized Seal)
Notary Public's Signature