Maryland Notarial Certificate Wording Pack: Official Forms, Fill-In Certificates and a Mistakes Checklist

Who it is for

Notaries commissioned through the Maryland Secretary of State, notary division, mobile notaries and signing agents working in Maryland who want Maryland's own certificate wording on hand, ready to fill in when a document arrives without a certificate.

Not the right fit if

You aren't a Maryland notary, or you only need to read the wording: it's public law and free on our Maryland certificate wording page. This pack doesn't decide which certificate a document needs or replace advice from an attorney.

Why it is different

• Only official sources: Md. Code, State Government § 18-216 (Maryland General Assembly); Notary FAQ, Maryland Secretary of State. No association templates or vendor forms.
• Every core act has an official Maryland form, each cited. Checked November 2026.
• The wording is public law and free on our Maryland page; the pack is the fill-in files, the chart and the checklist.

What is inside

• Which certificate do I use? (Maryland). One page: each Maryland notarial act, when it's used and where its wording comes from: acknowledgment (individual) (Md. State Gov't § 18-216(b)); acknowledgment (representative capacity) (Md. State Gov't § 18-216(c)); jurat (verification on oath or affirmation) (Md. State Gov't § 18-216(d)); signature witnessing (Md. State Gov't § 18-216(e)); copy certification (Md. State Gov't § 18-216(f)); paper copy of an electronic record (Md. State Gov't § 18-216(g)).
• Maryland certificate wording reference. Every form word for word with its source and check date. The acknowledgment reads "This record was acknowledged before me on the ... day of ..., 20... by ..." and the jurat "Signed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on the ... day of ..., 20... by ..." Then what a Maryland certificate must contain: the short forms are sufficient when completed with the information § 18-215(a) requires and, where § 18-215(b) requires it, with your official stamp affixed or embossed; A certificate is required for every notarial act. List Maryland as the state and the county where you are physically located when notarizing, which may differ from your commission county, and include your expiration date; Maryland issues no commission number; if a certificate asks for a notary ID number, the Secretary of State says to write n/a.
• Fill-in certificates (Word and PDF). Six certificates, one per page, for the acknowledgment (individual), acknowledgment (representative capacity), jurat (verification on oath or affirmation), signature witnessing, copy certification and paper copy of an electronic record, with blanks for the venue, date, names and your signature, seal and commission details. Remote acts: Section 18-216 has no separate remote sentence, and the Secretary of State's FAQ gives none; it says your journal must show whether the signer appeared in person or remotely by communication technology. No official remote sentence found in the sources we read; check with the Maryland Secretary of State.
• Common-mistakes checklist. Six mistakes from Notary FAQ, Maryland Secretary of State, among them: editing the document body or pre-printed certificate text; you may only correct a pre-printed state and county; writing your commission county in the venue instead of the county where you are physically located; using a seal with a wrong expiration date. Plus a before-you-sign check.