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Omission of Customary Words Indicating Knowledge

Acknowledgement of an instrument declares that the instrument was created by the person signing it.[i] Acknowledgement of an instrument provides protection against forged instruments.

Generally, an officer authorized to take acknowledgement of an instrument can only take acknowledgement of instruments of persons personally known to him/her.  The acknowledging party has to personally appear before the officer taking acknowledgement.   The officer is authorized to certify those transactions that he has personal knowledge of.

Omissions of certain details are fatal to an acknowledgement’s legal effectiveness.  Some states require an officer taking acknowledgement of an instrument to certify that the person acknowledging the instrument is personally known to the officer.[ii] A failure to use the word ‘known’ or some other word having the same meaning in the certificate of acknowledgement will make the acknowledgement defective.[iii]

In some states, a statement in the certificate of acknowledgement that the ‘party personally appeared before the officer’ is enough to cure the defect in the certificate caused because the officer is not personally acquainted with the party to the instrument.[iv] In some jurisdictions, however, the term ‘personally appeared before officer’ does not indicate ‘personal acquaintance’.  Therefore, in those states a certificate of acknowledgement can be held defective if the executing party is not personally known to the officer taking acknowledgement of the instrument.

The terms to be “personally acquainted with” and to “know personally” are considered equivalent phrases in certificate of acknowledgement.  However, if the word “personally” is omitted it does not make the certificate defective either.

[i] Newkirk v. Wisconsin DOT, 228 Wis. 2d 830 (Wis. Ct. App. 1999)

[ii] MOUNT v. KESTERSON, 46 Tenn. 452 (Tenn. 1869)

[iii] Jefferson County Bank v. Hale, 152 Tenn. 648 (Tenn. 1926)

[iv] Farm Bureau Fin. Co. v. Carney, 100 Idaho 745 (Idaho 1980)


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