§ 10B-40. Notarial certificates in general.
Part 6. Certificate Forms.
§ 10B‑40. Notarialcertificates in general.
(a) A notary shall notmake or give a notarial certificate unless the notary has either personalknowledge or satisfactory evidence of the identity of the principal or, ifapplicable, the subscribing witness.
(a1) By making or givinga notarial certificate, whether or not stated in the certificate, a notarycertifies as follows:
(1) As to anacknowledgment, all those things described in G.S. 10B‑3(1).
(2) As to anaffirmation, all those things described in G.S. 10B‑3(2).
(3) As to an oath, allthose things described in G.S. 10B‑3(14).
(4) As to a verificationor proof, all those things described in G.S. 10B‑3(28).
(a2) In addition to thecertifications under subsection (a1) of this section, by making or giving anotarial certificate, whether or not stated in the certificate, a notarycertifies to all of the following:
(1) At the time thenotarial act was performed and the notarial certificate was signed by thenotary, the notary was lawfully commissioned, the notary's commission hadneither expired nor been suspended, the notarial act was performed within thegeographic limits of the notary's commission, and the notarial act wasperformed in accordance with the provision of this Chapter.
(2) If the notarialcertificate is for an acknowledgment or the administration of an oath oraffirmation, the person whose signature was notarized did not appear in thejudgment of the notary to be incompetent, lacking in understanding of thenature and consequences of the transaction requiring the notarial act, oracting involuntarily, under duress, or undue influence.
(3) The notary was notprohibited from acting under G.S. 10‑20(c).
(a3) The inclusion ofadditional information in a notarial certificate, including the representativeor fiduciary capacity in which a person signed or the means a notary used toidentify a principal, shall not invalidate an otherwise sufficient notarialcertificate.
(b) A notarialcertificate for the acknowledgment taken by a notary of a principal who is anindividual acting in his or her own right or who is an individual acting in arepresentative or fiduciary capacity is sufficient and shall be accepted inthis State if it is substantially in the form set forth in G.S. 10B‑41,if it is substantially in a form otherwise prescribed by the laws of thisState, or if it includes all of the following:
(1) Identifies the stateand county in which the acknowledgment occurred.
(2) Names the principalwho appeared in person before the notary.
(3) Repealed by SessionLaws 2006‑59, s. 18, effective October 1, 2006, and except as otherwiseset forth in the act, applicable to notarial acts performed on or after October1, 2006.
(4) Indicates that theprincipal appeared in person before the notary and the principal acknowledgedthat he or she signed the record.
(5) States the date ofthe acknowledgment.
(6) Contains thesignature and seal or stamp of the notary who took the acknowledgment.
(7) States the notary'scommission expiration date.
(c) A notarialcertificate for the verification or proof of the signature of a principal by asubscribing witness taken by a notary is sufficient and shall be accepted inthis State if it is substantially in the form set forth in G.S. 10B‑42,if it is substantially in a form otherwise prescribed by the laws of thisState, or if it includes all of the following:
(1) Identifies the stateand county in which the verification or proof occurred.
(2) Names thesubscribing witness who appeared in person before the notary.
(3) Repealed by SessionLaws 2006‑59, s. 18, effective October 1, 2006.
(4) Names the principalwhose signature on the record is to be verified or proven.
(5) Indicates that thesubscribing witness certified to the notary under oath or by affirmation thatthe subscribing witness is not a party to or beneficiary of the transaction,signed the record as a subscribing witness, and either (i) witnessed theprincipal sign the record, or (ii) witnessed the principal acknowledge theprincipal's signature on the record.
(6) States the date ofthe verification or proof.
(7) Contains thesignature and seal or stamp of the notary who took the verification or proof.
(8) States the notary'scommission expiration date.
(c1) A notarialcertificate for the verification or proof of the signature of a principal or asubscribing witness by a nonsubscribing witness taken by a notary is sufficientand shall be accepted in this State if it is substantially in the form setforth in G.S. 10B‑42.1, if it is substantially in a form otherwiseprescribed by the laws of this State, or if it includes all of the following:
(1) Identifies the stateand county in which the verification or proof occurred.
(2) Names thenonsubscribing witness who appeared in person before the notary.
(3) Names the principalor subscribing witness whose signature on the record is to be verified orproven.
(4) Indicates that thenonsubscribing witness certified to the notary under oath or by affirmationthat the nonsubscribing witness is not a party to or beneficiary of thetransaction and that the nonsubscribing witness recognizes the signature ofeither the principal or the subscribing witness and that the signature isgenuine.
(5) States the date ofthe verification or proof.
(6) Contains thesignature and seal or stamp of the notary who took the verification or proof.
(7) States the notary'scommission expiration date.
(d) A notarialcertificate for an oath or affirmation taken by a notary is sufficient andshall be accepted in this State if it is substantially in the form set forth inG.S. 10B‑43, if it is substantially in a form otherwise prescribed by thelaws of this State, or if it includes all of the following:
(1) Repealed by SessionLaws 2006‑59, s. 18, effective October 1, 2006.
(2) Names the principalwho appeared in person before the notary unless the name of the principalotherwise is clear from the record itself.
(3) Repealed by SessionLaws 2006‑59, s. 18, effective October 1, 2006.
(4) Indicates that theprincipal who appeared in person before the notary signed the record inquestion and certified to the notary under oath or by affirmation as to thetruth of the matters stated in the record.
(5) States the date ofthe oath or affirmation.
(6) Contains thesignature and seal or stamp of the notary who took the oath or affirmation.
(7) States the notary'scommission expiration date.
(e) Any notarialcertificate made in another jurisdiction shall be sufficient in this State ifit is made in accordance with federal law or the laws of the jurisdiction wherethe notarial certificate is made.
(f) On records to befiled, registered, recorded, or delivered in another state or jurisdiction ofthe United States, a North Carolina notary may complete any notarialcertificate that may be required in that other state or jurisdiction.
(g) Nothing in thisChapter shall be deemed to authorize the use of a notarial certificateauthorized by this Part in place of or as an alternative to a notarialcertificate required by any other provision of the General Statutes outside ofChapter 47 of the General Statutes that prescribes the specific form or contentfor a notarial certificate including G.S. 31‑11.6, Chapter 32A of theGeneral Statutes, and G.S. 90‑321. However, any statute that permits orrequires the use of a notarial certificate contained within Chapter 47 of theGeneral Statutes may also be satisfied by the use of a notarial certificatepermitted by this Part. Any form of acknowledgment or probate authorized underChapter 47 of the General Statutes shall be conclusively deemed in compliancewith the requirements of this section.
(h) If an individualsigns a record and purports to be acting in a representative or fiduciarycapacity, that individual is also deemed to represent to the notary that he orshe is signing the record with proper authority to do so and also is signingthe record on behalf of the person or entity represented and identified thereinor in the fiduciary capacity indicated therein. In performing a notarial act inrelation to an individual described under this subsection, a notary is under noduty to verify whether the individual acted in a representative or fiduciarycapacity or, if so, whether the individual was duly authorized so to do. Anotarial certificate may include any of the following:
(1) A statement that anindividual signed a record in a particular representative or fiduciarycapacity.
(2) A statement that theindividual who signed the record in a representative or fiduciary capacity haddue authority so to do.
(3) A statement identifyingthe represented person or entity or the fiduciary capacity. (2005‑391, s. 4; 2006‑59,s. 18.)