Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 25 - PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES; PUBLIC RECORDS (§§ 25-1-1 — 25-65-33) › Chapter 34 - REVISED MISSISSIPPI LAW ON NOTARIAL ACTS (§§ 25-34-1 — 25-34-57) › Section 25-34-31 - Notarial act to be evidenced by certificate; certificate requirements; sufficiency of certificate

(1)
A notarial act must be evidenced by a certificate. The certificate must:
(a)
Be executed contemporaneously with the performance of the notarial act;
(b)
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;
(c)
Identify the jurisdiction in which the notarial act is performed;
(d)
Contain the title of office of the notarial officer; and
(e)
If the notarial officer is a notary public, indicate the date of expiration of the notary public's commission.
(2)
If a notarial act regarding a tangible record is performed by a notary public, the notary public's official seal 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 (1)(b), (c) and (d), the notarial officer's official seal 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 (1)(b), (c) and (d), the notarial officer's official seal may be attached to or logically associated with the certificate.
(3)
The party drafting a record that is the subject of a notarial act is responsible for the form of the certificate, its wording and legal sufficiency. A notary public is not required to draft, edit or amend a certificate where the record presented does not contain an acceptable certificate; instead, the notary must refuse to perform the notarial act with respect to the record.
(4)
A certificate of a notarial act is sufficient if it meets the requirements of subsections (1) and (2) and:
(a)
Is in a form otherwise permitted by the law of this state;
(b)
Is in a form permitted by the law applicable in the jurisdiction in which the notarial act was performed; or
(c)
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
25-34-7
,
25-34-9
,
25-34-11
and
25-34-15
or any law of this state other than this chapter.
(5)
By executing a certificate of a notarial act, a notarial officer certifies that the officer has complied with the requirements and made the determinations specified in Sections
25-34-7
,
25-34-9
,
25-34-11
and
25-34-15
.
(6)
A notarial officer may not affix the officer's signature to, or logically associate it with, a certificate until the notarial act has been performed.
(7)
If a notarial act is performed regarding a tangible record, a certificate must be part of, or securely attached to, the record. 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 under Section
25-34-39
for attaching, affixing or logically associating the certificate, the process must conform to those standards.
(8)
The signature of a notarial officer certifying a notarial act may not be deemed evidence to show that the notarial officer had knowledge of the contents of the record so signed, other than those specific contents which constitute the signature, execution, acknowledgment, oath, affirmation, affidavit, verification or other act which the signature of that notarial officer chronicles.
Added by Laws, 2020, ch. 382, HB 1156,§ 16, eff. 7/1/2021.