Quick answer. Below is Texas's official sample certificate wording, act by act. We show seven forms: acknowledgment (individual), ordinary certificate of acknowledgment, acknowledgment by a corporation, acknowledgment by an attorney-in-fact, acknowledgment by a public officer, trustee or other representative, jurat (verification on oath or affirmation) and certified copy of a non-recordable document. We found no official form for signature witnessing. There is no fixed remote sentence in the sources we read.
These are the Texas Secretary of State's sample certificates, reproduced as printed. The acknowledgment short forms follow Civil Practice and Remedies Code chapter 121, which we did not open directly.
Which Texas certificate do I use?
| Act | Use it when | Texas source |
|---|---|---|
| Acknowledgment (individual) | The signer declares that the signature on the document is theirs and that they signed willingly. No oath is given. Deeds, powers of attorney and many contracts use it. | Secretary of State sample: short form A |
| Acknowledgment by a corporation | Like an acknowledgment, but the signer signs for someone else: a company, a trust, a partnership, or a principal under a power of attorney. The certificate names the capacity and the party represented. | Secretary of State sample: short form D |
| Jurat (verification on oath or affirmation) | The signer swears or affirms that the statements in the document are true, and signs in front of you. Affidavits and other sworn statements use it. | Secretary of State sample: jurat |
| Certified copy of a non-recordable document | You certify that a copy is a true copy of an original presented to you, only for documents your state lets notaries copy (vital records and recorded documents are usually excluded). | Secretary of State sample |
| Ordinary certificate of acknowledgment | The same act as the short acknowledgment, in the longer form the state also prints. | Secretary of State sample |
| Acknowledgment by an attorney-in-fact | An attorney in fact signs for the principal. | Secretary of State sample: short form B |
| Acknowledgment by a public officer, trustee or other representative | A public officer, trustee or personal representative signs in that role. | Secretary of State sample: short form F |
| Signature witnessing | You watch the signer sign and confirm who they are. There is no oath, and the signer does not need to state that the contents are true. | No official form found |
Texas certificate wording
Acknowledgment (individual) Official sample
The signer declares that the signature on the document is theirs and that they signed willingly. No oath is given. Deeds, powers of attorney and many contracts use it.
State of Texas
County of __________
This instrument was acknowledged before me on (date) by (name or names of person or persons acknowledging).
(Personalized Seal) ____________________ Notary Public's Signature
Acknowledgment by a corporation Official sample
Like an acknowledgment, but the signer signs for someone else: a company, a trust, a partnership, or a principal under a power of attorney. The certificate names the capacity and the party represented.
State of Texas
County of __________
This instrument was acknowledged before me on (date) by (name of officer), (title of officer) of (name of corporation acknowledging), a (state of incorporation) corporation, on behalf of said corporation.
(Personalized Seal) ____________________ Notary Public's Signature
Jurat (verification on oath or affirmation) Official sample
The signer swears or affirms that the statements in the document are true, and signs in front of you. Affidavits and other sworn statements use it.
State of Texas
County of __________
Sworn to and subscribed before me on the ____ day of ________, (year), by (name of signer).
(Personalized Seal) ____________________ Notary Public's Signature
Certified copy of a non-recordable document Official sample
You certify that a copy is a true copy of an original presented to you, only for documents your state lets notaries copy (vital records and recorded documents are usually excluded).
CERTIFIED COPY OF A NON-RECORDABLE DOCUMENT
State of Texas
County of __________
On this ____ day of ________, (year), I certify that the preceding or attached document, is a true, exact, complete, and unaltered copy made by me of (description of document), presented to me by the document's custodian, __________, and that, to the best of my knowledge, the photocopied document is neither a public record nor a publicly recordable document, certified copies of which are available from an official source other than a notary.
(Personalized Seal) ____________________ Notary Public's Signature
Other Texas forms
Ordinary certificate of acknowledgment Official sample
The same act as the short acknowledgment, in the longer form the state also prints.
State of Texas
County of __________
Before me, (insert the name and character of the officer), on this day personally appeared __________, known to me (or proved to me on the oath of __________ or through (description of identity card or other document)) to be the person whose name is subscribed to the foregoing instrument and acknowledged to me that he executed the same for the purposes and consideration therein expressed.
Given under my hand and seal of office this ____ day of ________, (year).
(Personalized Seal) ____________________ Notary Public's Signature
Acknowledgment by an attorney-in-fact Official sample
An attorney in fact signs for the principal.
State of Texas
County of __________
This instrument was acknowledged before me on (date) by (name of attorney-in-fact) as attorney-in-fact on behalf of (name of principal).
(Personalized Seal) ____________________ Notary Public's Signature
Acknowledgment by a public officer, trustee or other representative Official sample
A public officer, trustee or personal representative signs in that role.
State of Texas
County of __________
This instrument was acknowledged before me on (date) by (name of representative) as (title of representative) of (name of entity or person represented).
(Personalized Seal) ____________________ Notary Public's Signature
No official Texas form found
- Signature witnessing. The Secretary of State's samples have no signature-witnessing certificate; the closest is the certificate of proof by a witness (a subscribing witness swears they saw the grantor sign). Check with the Texas Secretary of State.
Remote and electronic acts in Texas
The Secretary of State's sample forms we read have no online notarization certificate sentence. No official remote sentence found in the sources we read; check with the Texas Secretary of State before an online act. (Sample Notarial Certificates (Texas Secretary of State, edinfo sample forms), checked November 7, 2026)
What a Texas certificate must contain
- The seal (Personalized Seal) shows Notary Public, State of Texas around a five-pointed star, your name and your commission expiration date; notaries commissioned or recommissioned on or after January 1, 2016 also show their Secretary of State ID number. (Sample Notarial Certificates (Texas Secretary of State, edinfo sample forms))
- Every sample has the State of Texas / County of venue, the act's wording, your signature and your seal. (Sample Notarial Certificates (Texas Secretary of State, edinfo sample forms))
Common Texas certificate mistakes
Our plain-English summary of what the official sources warn about; the source follows each one.
- Certifying a copy of a public record or a publicly recordable document (such as a recorded deed or a vital record); the Secretary of State's form is only for non-recordable documents. (Sample Notarial Certificates (Texas Secretary of State, edinfo sample forms))
- Using a seal without your Secretary of State ID number if you were commissioned on or after January 1, 2016. (Sample Notarial Certificates (Texas Secretary of State, edinfo sample forms))
- Using a jurat (sworn to and subscribed) without giving an oath. (Sample Notarial Certificates (Texas Secretary of State, edinfo sample forms))
- On an entity acknowledgment, leaving out the officer's title or the state of incorporation. (Sample Notarial Certificates (Texas Secretary of State, edinfo sample forms))
The Texas certificate wording pack
$15 one time. The wording on this page is public law and stays free here; the pack is the fill-in files and the organizing.
- A one-page "which certificate do I use?" chart for Texas: each act, when it's used and the official sample it comes from.
- The Texas wording reference: every form on this page with its source, plus what a Texas certificate must contain (venue, seal, commission details).
- Fill-in certificates in Word, one per page, with matching PDFs, so you can attach a loose certificate when a document needs one.
- A common-mistakes checklist from the official sources: four items for Texas, each with its source.
See the Texas certificate wording pack
Sources
- Sample Notarial Certificates (Texas Secretary of State, edinfo sample forms) (checked November 7, 2026)
General information, not legal advice; we are not lawyers. Notaries follow their own state's law and the official handbook, and the receiving office decides what it accepts, so nothing here guarantees a document will be accepted. The Texas Secretary of State, notary public unit has the final word on Texas practice.
Texas certificate questions
What is the Texas acknowledgment certificate wording?
The official sample (Secretary of State sample: short form A) reads: "State of Texas County of __________ This instrument was acknowledged before me on (date) by (name or names of person or persons acknowledging)." It closes with (Personalized Seal) Notary Public's Signature.
What is the Texas jurat wording?
The official sample (Secretary of State sample: jurat) reads: "State of Texas County of __________ Sworn to and subscribed before me on the ____ day of ________, (year), by (name of signer)." Use it only when you give the signer an oath or affirmation and they sign in front of you.
Can a Texas notary certify a copy?
Yes, within limits. The official sample (Secretary of State sample) reads: "CERTIFIED COPY OF A NON-RECORDABLE DOCUMENT State of Texas County of __________ On this ____ day of ________, (year), I certify that the preceding or attached document, is a true, exact, complete, and unaltered copy made by me of (description of document), presented to me by the document's custodian, __________, and that, to the best of my knowledge, the photocopied document is neither a public record nor a publicly recordable document, certified copies of which are available from an official source other than a notary."
What else must a Texas notarial certificate show?
The seal (Personalized Seal) shows Notary Public, State of Texas around a five-pointed star, your name and your commission expiration date; notaries commissioned or recommissioned on or after January 1, 2016 also show their Secretary of State ID number. Every sample has the State of Texas / County of venue, the act's wording, your signature and your seal.
Is there a Texas remote notarization statement?
The Secretary of State's sample forms we read have no online notarization certificate sentence. No official remote sentence found in the sources we read; check with the Texas Secretary of State before an online act.
Who decides which Texas certificate to use?
The person asking for the notarization, or whoever drafted the document, tells you which notarial act they need; a notary who isn't an attorney shouldn't choose it for them. If a document has no certificate, follow the Texas Secretary of State, notary public unit's guidance. We are not lawyers, and nothing here promises that a receiving office will accept a document.
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