On a notary form, “ss” is an abbreviation of the Latin word scilicet, meaning “namely” or “in particular.” It sits in the venue block of a notarial certificate as a label pointing to where the state and county of the notarization go. It has nothing to do with Social Security, and you don’t write anything on or next to it. Your job is to fill in the correct state and county; the “ss” is just the old-fashioned nameplate above that information.
What Scilicet Actually Means
Scilicet is a contraction of scire (to know) and licet (it is permitted), translating loosely as “it is permitted to know” or, in practice, “namely.” Legal documents have used it for centuries to introduce specific details after a general statement. On a notarial certificate it works as a grammatical bridge, so the venue reads something like “State of California, namely the County of Los Angeles.” Nobody reads it aloud that way anymore, but the abbreviation stuck on pre-printed forms.
Two quick points of confusion worth clearing up. The “ss” has no connection to Social Security numbers, despite the shared letters. And when it appears in a stylized typeface it can look like the section symbol (ยง), which is unrelated: that symbol points to a part of a statute, while “ss” on a notary form only flags the venue.
What You Fill In
Fill in the state and county where the notarization is physically happening. The “ss” is a label, not a blank. Formats vary, but the venue block usually looks like one of these:
- State of ________
County of ________ ss. - State of ________, County of ________, ss:
- State of ________
ss.
County of ________
Whichever layout you encounter, treat the state and county lines as the real work and leave the “ss” alone. A few things trip people up:
- Use the location of the notarial act, not where the document was drafted. A contract written in New York but signed and notarized in New Jersey has a New Jersey venue.
- Don’t leave the venue blanks empty. Banks, courts, and recording offices routinely reject certificates with missing venue information.
- Write legibly. The venue is one of the first things a reviewer checks.
Which County Goes on the Line
This is where most notaries slip up. The venue is wherever you are physically standing when you perform the notarization, sometimes described as “where your feet are.” It is not automatically the county printed on your seal or commission certificate.
In most states a notary’s authority runs statewide, so you can notarize in any county within your commissioning state. The county on your seal reflects where you were appointed or registered, not where you are limited to working. If you were commissioned in Cook County but drive to DuPage County for a signing, your venue is DuPage County. The venue line should always reflect reality, not what your stamp says.
Fixing a Pre-Printed Venue That’s Wrong
Some documents arrive with the wrong state or county already printed in the venue block. Draw a single line through the incorrect information, print the correct state or county legibly nearby, then initial and date the correction. Don’t use correction fluid, and don’t let anyone other than the notary alter the certificate. If the correction would make the certificate hard to read, the cleaner approach in most states is to strike through the entire pre-printed certificate and attach a fresh one with the correct venue.
Venue for Remote Online Notarization
With remote online notarization the signer appears by video, which raises the obvious question of whose location goes in the venue. In virtually every state that authorizes remote notarization, the venue is the notary’s physical location, not the signer’s. Most states also require the notary to be physically within their commissioning state during the session.
The “ss” block on a remote certificate works the same way as on paper. Fill in the state and county where you, the notary, are sitting during the video session. Some platforms auto-populate the field from the notary’s profile; verify it before you complete the certificate anyway.
Is “ss” Legally Required?
No. The abbreviation is a holdover from legal tradition, not a statutory requirement. The Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, which many states have adopted, doesn’t mention “ss” or scilicet in its certificate requirements or short-form examples. What the law requires is that the certificate identify the jurisdiction where the act was performed, meaning the state and county. The “ss” is just a formatting convention pointing to that information.
Federal regulations likewise treat venue, not the “ss” label, as the mandatory element. Venue is defined as “the place where the certificate is executed” and is required on all notarial certificates to establish the officer’s authority to perform the act.1eCFR. 22 CFR Part 92 – Venue on Notarial Certificates
Many modern certificates have dropped “ss” entirely and simply provide labeled blanks for state and county. A certificate without it is no less valid than one with it, as long as the venue information is present and correct. If you encounter “ss” on a form, you can safely ignore the abbreviation itself and focus on filling in the state and county correctly. If a form omits it, nothing is missing.