A. A notarial act must be evidenced by a certificate. The certificate must:

Terms Used In Arizona Laws 41-264

  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • Commission: means to authorize to perform notarial acts and the written authority to perform those acts. See Arizona Laws 41-251
  • Electronic: means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic or similar capabilities. See Arizona Laws 41-251
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Notarial officer: means a notary public or other individual who is authorized to perform a notarial act. See Arizona Laws 41-251
  • notary: means any individual who is commissioned to perform notarial acts by the secretary of state. See Arizona Laws 41-251
  • Official stamp: means a physical image that is affixed to a tangible record or an electronic image that is attached to or logically associated with an electronic record. See Arizona Laws 41-251
  • Process: means a citation, writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • Record: means information that is either:

    (a) Inscribed on a tangible medium. See Arizona Laws 41-251

  • Signature: means a tangible symbol or an electronic signature that evidences the signing of a record. See Arizona Laws 41-251
  • State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Arizona Laws 41-251

1. Be executed contemporaneously with the performance of the notarial act.

2. Be signed and dated by the notarial officer and, if the notarial officer is a notary public, be signed in the same manner as on file with the secretary of state.

3. Identify the jurisdiction in which the notarial act is performed.

4. Contain the title of office of the notarial officer.

5. If the notarial officer is a notary public, indicate the date of expiration of the notarial officer’s commission.

6. Be worded and completed using only letters, characters and a language that are read, written and understood by the notary public.

B. If a notarial act regarding a tangible record is performed by a notary public, an official stamp must be affixed to the certificate. If a notarial act is performed regarding a tangible record by a notarial officer other than a notary public and the certificate contains the information specified in subsection A, paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of this section, an official stamp may be affixed to the certificate. If a notarial act regarding an electronic record is performed by a notarial officer and the certificate contains the information specified in subsection A, paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this section, an official stamp may be attached to or logically associated with the certificate.

C. A certificate of a notarial act is sufficient if it meets the requirements of subsections A and B of this section and any of the following:

1. It is in a short form set forth in section 41-265.

2. It is in a form otherwise allowed by the laws of this state.

3. It is in a form allowed by the laws applicable in the jurisdiction in which the notarial act was performed.

4. It sets forth the actions of the notarial officer and the actions are sufficient to meet the requirements of the notarial act as provided in sections 41-253, 41-254 and 41-255 or the laws of this state other than this article.

D. By executing a certificate of a notarial act, a notarial officer certifies that the notarial officer has complied with the requirements and made the determinations specified in sections 41-252, 41-253 and 41-254.

E. A notarial officer may not affix the notarial officer’s signature to or logically associate it with a certificate until the notarial act has been performed.

F. If a notarial act is performed regarding a tangible record, a certificate must be part of or securely attached to the record. If the notarial certificate is attached to the record using a separate sheet of paper, the attachment must contain a description of the record that includes at a minimum the title or type of record, the date of the record, the number of pages of the record and any additional signers of the record other than those named in the notarial certificate. If a notarial act is performed regarding an electronic record, the certificate must be affixed to or logically associated with the electronic record. If the secretary of state has established standards pursuant to section 41-275 for attaching, affixing or logically associating the certificate, the process must conform to the standards.