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

Who it is for

Notaries commissioned through the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, notary commissions, mobile notaries and signing agents working in Virginia who want Virginia's own certificate wording on hand, ready to fill in when a document arrives without a certificate or for a remote act.

Not the right fit if

You aren't a Virginia notary, or you only need to read the wording: it's public law and free on our Virginia 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: A Handbook for Virginia Notaries Public, revised July 1, 2026 (Secretary of the Commonwealth). No association templates or vendor forms.
• Where Virginia has no official form (representative acknowledgment, signature witnessing), the pack says so instead of inventing wording. Checked November 2026.
• The wording is public law and free on our Virginia page; the pack is the fill-in files, the chart and the checklist.

What is inside

• Which certificate do I use? (Virginia). One page: each Virginia notarial act, when it's used and where its wording comes from: acknowledgment (individual) (Handbook p. 13 (sample)); jurat (verification on oath or affirmation) (Handbook p. 14 (sample)); certified copy of an original (Handbook p. 13 (sample)); electronic notarization (Handbook p. 14 (sample)). Acts with no official form found are marked so: representative acknowledgment, signature witnessing.
• Virginia certificate wording reference. Every form word for word with its source and check date. The acknowledgment reads "The foregoing instrument was acknowledged and signed before me this ____ day of ________, 20_____ by _____________________________________ (Name of person signing acknowledgment)" and the jurat "The foregoing instrument was subscribed and sworn this before me this ____ day of ________, 20_____ by _____________________________________. (Name of person seeking jurat)" Then what a Virginia certificate must contain: every certificate has: a statement of the specific act, the date, the city or county and state where it was performed, your commission expiration date, your original signature (never a stamp, facsimile or photocopy), your notary registration number, and a photographically reproducible seal; if the notarial statement is on a different page from the signature, it must name the signer and the document; Virginia notaries may not certify true copies of birth, death or marriage certificates (only Vital Records may) or of court-issued documents.
• Fill-in certificates (Word and PDF). Four certificates, one per page, for the acknowledgment (individual), jurat (verification on oath or affirmation), certified copy of an original and electronic notarization, with blanks for the venue, date, names and your signature, seal and commission details. Remote acts: add the Handbook p. 14 (sample) statement, "The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me this ____ day of ________, 20_____ by _____________________________________. (Name of person seeking acknowledgement)"
• Common-mistakes checklist. Six mistakes from A Handbook for Virginia Notaries Public, revised July 1, 2026 (Secretary of the Commonwealth), among them: not requiring personal appearance for an acknowledgment; the handbook calls it the most frequent misconduct charge; accepting a signature on the word of a third party; notarizing an incomplete document. Plus a before-you-sign check.