Two different acts, one notary
An acknowledgment is the notary certifying that the signer appeared, was identified, and confirmed the signature is theirs and voluntarily made. It's about the signature — who made it, and freely.
A jurat is the notary certifying that the signer appeared, was identified, swore or affirmed under oath that the document's contents are true, and signed in the notary's presence. It's about the content — the signer takes legal responsibility for the truth of what the document says, which is why affidavits and sworn statements use it.
Same commissioned official, same seal, different legal act. The certificate wording the notary completes is different for each, and the difference matters to the office receiving the document.
Who chooses the act? Not the notary — and not us
The notarial certificate printed on your document decides. Whoever drafted or issued the document chose the certificate language, and the notary performs the act that language describes. When a document arrives with no certificate at all, the signer must direct which act to perform — usually after asking the office that will receive the document, or the attorney who prepared it.
Here's the part worth knowing: a notary who picks the act for you would be making a legal judgment about your document, which notaries — and platforms like this one — don't do. SignSealShip never selects the notarial act. Your document's certificate, or your instruction, controls; the session simply performs it faithfully.
How to read the certificate block in ten seconds
Flip to the notary section, usually the last block before or after the signature lines:
"Acknowledged before me" → acknowledgment
Language like "On this date, before me personally appeared [name], who acknowledged that they executed the foregoing instrument" is an acknowledgment certificate.
"Subscribed and sworn to" → jurat
Language like "Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on this date by [name]" is a jurat — expect the notary to administer an oath before you sign.
No certificate at all → ask the issuer
The office receiving the document, or the attorney who drafted it, tells you which act it needs. The notary can attach the matching certificate you direct — but the direction is yours, not theirs.
What it means for your online session
Both acts run over live video where RON is authorized: identity verification and voluntary signing are the core of an acknowledgment, and for a jurat the notary administers the oath on camera before you sign — you'll raise your right hand over a webcam, and it counts exactly as it would across a desk.
Either way the session produces the same evidence machinery: identity verification results, the recorded session retained under state law, and a sealed, tamper-evident document. What that evidence proves — and doesn't — is the subject of our RON evidence guide.