A notarized letter looks like an ordinary formal letter with a certification block added near the bottom. That block, called a notarial certificate, contains a short paragraph of formal language identifying the state and county, the notary public’s signature, their printed name and commission details, and in most states an official seal or stamp. The letter above the block is whatever you wrote. The notary’s additions below are what make the document notarized and signal to anyone reviewing it that a neutral witness verified your identity and watched you sign.
The Letter Portion
The top of the page is your content, and it reads like any other formal letter. You will usually see a heading or title describing the document’s purpose, the date, and the recipient’s name and address when there is one. The main text sets out whatever statement, request, or declaration you need to make. Near the bottom sits your printed name and a signature line where you sign in front of the notary.
Formatting varies with purpose. An affidavit is laid out differently than a travel consent letter for a child, and a power of attorney looks different again. What stays constant is that the document must be complete before it reaches the notary. Blank spaces in the body are a problem: notaries in most states must refuse to notarize a letter with empty fields, because a blank is an opening to add text after signing. If a field genuinely does not apply, a line through it or “N/A” shows the blank is intentional.
The Notarial Certificate
The notarial certificate is the block of text the notary adds, and it is the most distinctive visual element on the page. It sits below or beside your signature in a section set apart from the letter’s body. Every certificate opens with a venue line identifying where the notarization took place, formatted roughly as “State of _____, County of _____.” Below that, a short paragraph describes what the notary did: confirmed your identity, witnessed your signature, or administered an oath.
The specific wording tracks the type of notarial act performed. The two you will see on almost any notarized letter are acknowledgments and jurats, and they read noticeably differently.
Acknowledgment Wording
An acknowledgment certificate confirms that you appeared before the notary, that your identity was verified, and that you declared the signature to be yours. The language typically reads along these lines: “On [date], before me, the undersigned notary public, personally appeared [your name], personally known to me or proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the individual whose name is subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she executed the same.” Acknowledgments are the more common of the two. They turn up on deeds, powers of attorney, and most contracts. One quirk worth knowing: unlike a jurat, an acknowledgment does not always require you to sign in the notary’s presence. Many states allow you to bring an already-signed document and simply declare the signature is yours.
Jurat Wording
A jurat looks different because it involves an oath or affirmation. The language reads something like “Signed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on [date] by [your name].” The word “sworn” is the tell. It signals that the notary administered an oath and you swore or affirmed that the contents of the document are true. A jurat always requires you to sign in front of the notary, and the notary must watch you do it. Federal regulations define the jurat as “the written statement attesting to the administration of an oath or affirmation” and require the notarizing officer to sign and seal it.1eCFR. 22 CFR Part 92 – Specific Notarial Acts Affidavits and other sworn statements use jurats because the truthfulness of the content is the point.
The Seal and Signature
Below the certificate you will see the notary’s personal signature and their official seal. The seal is often the most eye-catching part of the document. It is either a raised embossed impression you can feel with your fingertips or an inked rubber stamp in black or blue. Most seals are circular (roughly two inches across) or rectangular, with a decorative border around the edge.
The exact information on the seal varies by state, but most include:
- The notary’s full name as it appears on their commission
- The words “Notary Public”
- The state of commission
- A commission number
- The commission expiration date
Not every state requires a physical seal. A handful, including New York, Connecticut, Kentucky, and Louisiana, either do not mandate a seal or treat the notary’s signature itself as the seal. In those states, a notarized letter may lack the embossed or stamped impression you would otherwise expect. If the letter is going to be used in another state or country, check whether the receiving party wants to see a visible seal, because its absence can cause confusion even when the notarization is perfectly valid.
Near the signature, the notary also prints their name, title, and commission expiration date. Those details plus the seal let anyone reviewing the letter confirm the notary’s authority was current on the notarization date. A notarization performed while the commission was active remains valid even after that commission later expires.
How a Remotely Notarized Letter Looks
Remote online notarization, where you appear before the notary over a live video call rather than in person, is now permitted in 44 states and the District of Columbia.2Mortgage Bankers Association. RON Adoption Map A remotely notarized letter looks different from a traditional one in a few ways.
Instead of an inked stamp or embossed seal, the notary applies an electronic seal, a digital image embedded in the PDF. The notary’s signature is also electronic. The notarial certificate usually includes language indicating the notarization was performed through audio-visual communication technology, so the method is clear on the face of the document.
The more important difference is not visible on a printed copy. Remotely notarized documents carry a digital certificate, an encrypted layer that makes the file tamper-evident. If anyone alters the document after notarization, the digital certificate flags the change. Anyone opening the PDF can verify it, but a paper printout will not show that protection.
How the Look Changes by Letter Type
The purpose of the letter shapes what sits above the certificate block.
Affidavits
An affidavit is a written statement of fact made under oath. Federal regulations define it as “a written declaration under oath made before some person who has authority to administer oaths.”3eCFR. 22 CFR 92.22 – Affidavit Defined On the page, an affidavit opens with a title (usually “Affidavit of [Your Name]”), identifies who you are, and lays out the facts you are swearing to, often in numbered paragraphs. Because you are swearing to the truth of the contents, an affidavit always carries a jurat, never an acknowledgment. Lying in one exposes you to perjury charges.4U.S. Department of State. 7 FAM 850 – Taking an Affidavit
Powers of Attorney
A power of attorney authorizes someone else to act on your behalf, signing contracts, managing finances, or making healthcare decisions.5Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is a Power of Attorney (POA)? These documents are longer and more detailed than a plain letter, with specific sections defining what powers you are granting and any limits. They almost always carry an acknowledgment rather than a jurat, because the focus is on confirming your voluntary signature, not swearing to facts.
Short Sworn Statements and Declarations
Beyond formal affidavits, you may need a notarized letter for simpler situations: confirming your address for a government agency, authorizing a child to travel with someone other than a parent, or declaring that information you have given an institution is accurate. These letters are shorter and less formal, but they follow the same visual pattern. Your text sits on top, the notarial certificate below, and the seal and signature at the bottom.
Leaving Room for the Certificate
If you are drafting the letter yourself, leave roughly three to four inches of clear space near the signature line for the notarial certificate, the notary’s signature, and the seal. Some notaries will attach a separate certificate page when the document does not have room, which is why you sometimes see a notarized letter where the certificate appears on its own sheet stapled to the back. Building the space into the original keeps everything on one page and looks cleaner.
One last point on appearance: do not sign the letter before you arrive. For a jurat, the notary must watch you sign. For an acknowledgment, pre-signing is sometimes acceptable, but arriving with an unsigned document avoids any complication and keeps the signature and the notarization dated the same day on the finished page.