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

Who it is for

Notaries commissioned through the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Commissions Section, mobile notaries and signing agents working in Massachusetts who want Massachusetts'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 Massachusetts notary, or you only need to read the wording: it's public law and free on our Massachusetts 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: M.G.L. c.222, § 15 (Massachusetts General Court). No association templates or vendor forms.
• Every core act has an official Massachusetts form, each cited. Checked November 2026.
• The wording is public law and free on our Massachusetts page; the pack is the fill-in files, the chart and the checklist.

What is inside

• Which certificate do I use? (Massachusetts). One page: each Massachusetts notarial act, when it's used and where its wording comes from: acknowledgment (individual) (M.G.L. c.222, § 15(b)); acknowledgment (representative capacity) (M.G.L. c.222, § 15(b)); jurat (verification on oath or affirmation) (M.G.L. c.222, § 15(c)); signature witnessing (M.G.L. c.222, § 15(d)); copy certification (M.G.L. c.222, § 15(e)).
• Massachusetts certificate wording reference. Every form word for word with its source and check date. The acknowledgment reads "On this ____ day of ___________, 20__, before me, the undersigned notary public, ________________________ (name of document signer) personally appeared, proved to me through satisfactory evidence of identification, which were ..." and the jurat "On this ____ day of ___________, 20__, before me, the undersigned notary public, ________________________ (name of document signer) personally appeared, proved to me through satisfactory evidence of identification, which were ..." Then what a Massachusetts certificate must contain: Section 15 lists the acts a Massachusetts notary may perform: acknowledgments, oaths and affirmations, jurats, signature witnessings, copy certifications, witness summonses and subpoenas, and witnessing the opening of a bank safe, vault or box; each model certificate records the date, the signer's name, the satisfactory evidence of identification used, and your official signature and seal; Section 15 also covers a signature by mark, signing for a principal who can't sign, and using other forms required by court rules or other laws.
• Fill-in certificates (Word and PDF). Five certificates, one per page, for the acknowledgment (individual), acknowledgment (representative capacity), jurat (verification on oath or affirmation), signature witnessing and copy certification, with blanks for the venue, date, names and your signature, seal and commission details. Remote acts: The § 15 model certificates have no remote sentence. No official remote sentence found in the sources we read; check with the Secretary of the Commonwealth's Commissions Section before a remote act.
• Common-mistakes checklist. Five mistakes from M.G.L. c.222, § 15 (Massachusetts General Court), among them: leaving the identification blank: every model certificate names the evidence of identification you relied on; using the acknowledgment when the signer must sign in your presence and swear to the contents (a jurat); using signature witnessing for a sworn statement; witnessing involves no oath. Plus a before-you-sign check.