Definitions

Affirmation. – A notarial act that is legally equivalent to an oath and in which a notary certifies that at a single time and place all of the following occurred:
a. An individual appeared in person before the notary.
b. The individual was personally known to the notary or identified by the notary through satisfactory evidence.
c. The individual made a vow of truthfulness on penalty of perjury, based on personal honor and without invoking a deity or using any form of the word “swear”.   (Equivalent to an oath which the individual made a vow of truthfulness on penalty of perjury while invoking a deity or using any form of the word “swear“.

Country of Destination. -   The "country of destination" is where the document is going.

Country of Origination. -  The "country of origination" is where the document came from.

Credible witness. – An individual who is personally known to the notary and to whom all of the following also apply:
a. The notary believes the individual to be honest and reliable for the purpose of confirming to the notary the identity of another individual.
b. The notary believes the individual is not a party to or beneficiary of the transaction

Jurat. – A notary’s certificate evidencing the administration of an oath or affirmation.

Satisfactory evidence – Identification of an individual based on either of the following:

a. At least one current document issued by a federal, state, or federal or state-recognized tribal government agency bearing the photographic image of the individual’s face and either the signature or a physical description of the individual.
b. The oath or affirmation of one credible witness who personally knows the individual seeking to be identified.

Subscribing witness. – A person who signs a record for the purpose of being a witness to the principal’s execution of the record or to the principal’s acknowledgment of his or her execution of the record. A subscribing witness may give proof of the execution of the record as provided in subdivision (28) of this section.

Verification or proof. – A notarial act in which a notary certifies that all of the following occurred:
a. An individual appeared in person before the notary.
b. The individual was personally known to the notary or identified by the notary through satisfactory evidence.
c. The individual was not a party to or beneficiary of the transaction.
d. The individual took an oath or gave an affirmation and testified to one of the following:
i. The individual is a subscribing witness and the principal who signed the record did so while being personally observed by the subscribing witness.
ii. The individual is a subscribing witness and the principal who signed the record acknowledged his or her signature to the subscribing witness.
iii. The individual recognized either the signature on the record of the principal or the signature on the record of the subscribing witness and the signature was genuine. (1991, c. 683, s. 2; 1998-228, s. 2; 2005-391, s. 4; 2006-59, s. 1; 2020-3, s. 4.1(a).)