Minnesota Jurat Certificate Form: Wording and the Identical Name Rule

This content is educational and informational, not legal advice. Requirements reflect Minnesota Statutes chapters 358 and 359, but the law can change. Confirm current requirements with the Minnesota Secretary of State before relying on this.

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Fillable Minnesota jurat certificate

Enter the county, the date, and the signer, and the certificate updates live with the Minnesota short form. If the officer is on active military duty, switch on the rank field, which is why the form says "Title (and Rank)."

What is the Minnesota jurat wording?

The short form in section 358.66 is compact, and the block beneath it carries the stamp and the title of office.

Must a Minnesota notary's name match everywhere?

Yes, and Minnesota states it plainly: the notary's name as it appears on the official notarial stamp, on any jurat or certificate of acknowledgment, and in the notary's commission must be identical. Three places, one name. That is why a notary who marries, divorces, or simply starts signing a shortened version creates a defect that a recorder can catch months later. If your name changes, update the commission and order a new stamp before you notarize again, rather than adjusting how you sign.

Why does the Minnesota form say "Title (and Rank)"?

Because of a provision most notaries never need. If the notarial officer is a commissioned officer on active duty in the military service of the United States, the certificate must also include that officer's rank. Military officers can perform notarial acts for service members and their families, and Minnesota wants the rank on the page so the authority can be traced. For an ordinary notary public the parenthesis stays empty and the line simply reads "Notary Public." Seeing "and Rank" on a Minnesota form is not an error in the template.

Does a Minnesota certificate have to be in English?

Yes. A certificate of a notarial act is sufficient if it is in English, meets the statutory content requirements, and follows the short form in section 358.66. The requirement attaches to the certificate, not to the document, so a contract written in Spanish, Hmong, or Somali can still be notarized with an English certificate attached to it. Minnesota also requires the act to be evidenced by a certificate that is physically or electronically signed and dated in a manner that attributes the signature to the notary public.

What signatures does a Minnesota notary file?

Two, which is unusual. When the commission is recorded with the local registrar of the notary's county of residence, it goes in together with a signature that matches the first, middle, and last name as listed on the commission and shown on the notarial stamp, and separately a sample signature in the style in which the notary will actually execute notarial acts. The state is acknowledging that people sign their full legal name differently from how they sign day to day, and it wants both on file. A non-resident notary records the commission in the Minnesota county they designate.

How does a Minnesota jurat differ from an acknowledgment?

The acknowledgment short form in the same section reads "This instrument was acknowledged before me on (date) by (name)," while the jurat reads "Signed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me." The difference in the sentence reflects a difference in the act: a jurat requires you to sign in the notary's presence and swear or affirm that the contents are true, and an acknowledgment does not. The signature block underneath, with the stamp, title, and expiration, is the same for both.

Published June 13, 2026 by the Trámites Notariales US editorial team. Sources: Minnesota Statutes sections 358.65 and 358.66, and sections 359.03 and 359.061 (Office of the Revisor of Statutes). Confirm current requirements before relying on this.