Mississippi Jurat Certificate Form: Wording, Signature Comparison and Stamp Order
This content is educational and informational, not legal advice. Requirements reflect the Revised Mississippi Law on Notarial Acts and the Secretary of State's rules in Title 1, Part 5 of the Mississippi Administrative Code, but the law can change. Confirm current requirements with the Mississippi Secretary of State before relying on this.
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Fillable Mississippi jurat certificate
Enter the county, the date, and the signer, choose whether they swore or affirmed, and the certificate updates live with Mississippi wording and the stamp block in the required order.
What is the Mississippi jurat wording?
Mississippi uses the sworn-and-subscribed formula, with the stamp block carrying six items in a fixed order.
State of Mississippi
County of ______
Sworn to and subscribed before me on ____________ (date) by ____________ (name of individual).
Signature of notary public
State of Mississippi
____________, Notary Public
____________ County
My commission expires: ______
Commission number: ______
Must a Mississippi notary compare signatures?
Yes, and this is the rule that sets Mississippi apart. In taking a verification on oath or affirmation, the notary public shall compare the signature on the statement verified to the signature of the individual on the identification presented. Most states stop at checking that the photo matches the face and the name matches the document; Mississippi asks the notary to look at two signatures side by side. It is a real fraud check, and it means a signer whose licence signature looks nothing like their document signature should expect questions.
Can a Mississippi document be signed after the oath?
No. The rule states that a document containing a statement being verified shall be signed in the notary public's presence, and may not be signed subsequent to the verification on oath or affirmation. That closes a gap other states leave open, where a signer might sign the last page after the notary has already completed the certificate. In Mississippi the sequence is fixed: appear, be identified, sign in front of the notary, take the oath, and then the certificate is completed. The notary must also require the individual to voluntarily swear or affirm, under penalty of perjury, that the statements in the document are true.
| Duty | What Mississippi requires |
|---|---|
| Appearance | The individual appears personally before the notary |
| Identity | Personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence |
| Signature | Made in the notary's presence, never afterwards |
| Comparison | Signature on the document compared to the one on the identification |
| Oath | Voluntary, under penalty of perjury, that the statements are true |
How does Mississippi distinguish an oath from an affirmation?
By a single test written into the definitions. An oath is a vow of truthfulness or fidelity on penalty of perjury made while invoking God or using any form of the word "swear." An affirmation is the same vow, made on personal honor, without invoking God and without using any form of that word. Both are legally equivalent. The precision is useful in practice: if you say "do you swear," you have administered an oath, and if the signer objects on conscience grounds you simply rephrase without the word and without the deity.
What must a Mississippi notary stamp show?
Six items, and the rule specifies the order: "State of Mississippi," the notary's name exactly as it appears on the commission, the words "Notary Public," the name of the county in which the notary maintains an office, the current commission expiration date, and the commission identification number assigned by the Secretary of State. Words may not be abbreviated except for name suffixes, and the stamp must not contain the Mississippi state seal. The stamp goes near the notary's signature on the certificate, and it may never be placed over a signature or over any writing in the certificate.
What are the Mississippi signature and journal rules?
The signature has to be legible. Mississippi requires a legible, recognizable handwritten signature that can be attributed to the notary by anyone examining or authenticating it, and if the notary's preferred signature is not legible, they must also print their name legibly immediately adjacent to it. The journal is completed at the time of notarization, not later, and it must itself contain a statement that, in the event of the death of the notary, the journal will be delivered or mailed to the circuit clerk of the notary's county of residence. That last requirement is unusual and worth checking on any journal you buy off the shelf.
Mississippi jurat: frequently asked questions
- Must a Mississippi notary compare signatures?
- Yes. In taking a verification on oath or affirmation, the notary must compare the signature on the statement verified to the signature on the identification presented.
- Can a Mississippi document be signed after the oath?
- No. The document must be signed in the notary's presence and may not be signed subsequent to the verification on oath or affirmation.
- How does Mississippi distinguish an oath from an affirmation?
- An oath invokes God or uses some form of the word "swear." An affirmation is the same vow made on personal honor, without invoking God and without using that word.
- What must a Mississippi notary stamp show?
- Six items in order: "State of Mississippi," the notary's name, "Notary Public," the county of the office, the expiration date and the commission identification number.
- What happens to a Mississippi notary journal on death?
- The journal itself must state that, on the death of the notary, it will be delivered or mailed to the circuit clerk of the notary's county of residence.
Published June 13, 2026 by the Trámites Notariales US editorial team. Sources: Mississippi Administrative Code Title 1, Part 5, rules 5-1.2, 5-3.1, 5-4.1, 5-6.2, 5-6.3 and 5-7.4, adopted under the Revised Mississippi Law on Notarial Acts, Mississippi Code section 25-34-51 et seq. Confirm current requirements before relying on this.