Alabama Notary Acknowledgment: Wording & Free Fillable Certificate
This content is educational and informational, not legal advice. The wording below is the statutory Alabama certificate of acknowledgment from section 35-4-29, Code of Alabama; laws change, so confirm the current form with the Alabama Secretary of State or your county probate judge. A notary cannot choose which certificate a signer needs, so this tool fills in the standard statutory wording only.
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Fillable Alabama acknowledgment certificate
Type the details and the statutory wording updates live. This fills the standard section 35-4-29 individual form; it does not choose the notarial act for you. Use Copy to paste it onto a loose certificate, or Print for a clean sheet.
What is the exact Alabama acknowledgment wording?
The Alabama certificate of acknowledgment for an individual follows the form in section 35-4-29, Code of Alabama. The statutory form reads:
State of Alabama
County of ______________
I, ______________ (name and style of officer), hereby certify that ______________ (name of signer) whose name is signed to the foregoing conveyance, and who is known to me, acknowledged before me on this day that, being informed of the contents of the conveyance, he executed the same voluntarily on the day the same bears date.
Given under my hand this ______ day of __________, A.D. 20____.
(Seal) ____________________________________
Notary Public in and for said County in said State
My Commission expires: ______________
For a signer acting for another, the representative form substitutes "whose name as [representative capacity] is signed to the foregoing conveyance" and closes "he, in his capacity as such [officer], executed the same voluntarily."
What must an Alabama acknowledgment include?
Alabama law expects several specific notations in the certificate, and leaving one out is what usually causes a rejection:
| Element | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Venue (State of Alabama, County) | The county where the notarization took place |
| "Name and style of officer" | Identifies the notary and their authority to act |
| Name of the person acknowledging | Identifies whose signature is being acknowledged |
| "Known to me" or identified | The notary confirms identity by personal knowledge or photo ID |
| "Informed of the contents ... voluntarily" | The core of an acknowledgment: a free, knowing signature |
| Signature, seal, and expiration | The notary's signature, official seal, and commission expiration date |
Who commissions the notary behind an Alabama acknowledgment?
In Alabama the notary is appointed and commissioned by the probate judge of their county, not by the Secretary of State, which sets the state apart from most others. The probate judge reports each commission to the Secretary of State, who keeps the public record, but the appointment, bond, and fee questions are handled at the county level. That is why the certificate refers to the notary acting "in and for said County," and why a signer verifying a notary starts with the commissioning county.
When do you use an acknowledgment instead of a jurat in Alabama?
You use an acknowledgment when the signer is confirming they signed the document voluntarily, not swearing that its contents are true. The signer must personally appear and be known to the notary or identified, but for an acknowledgment they do not have to swear an oath. An Alabama jurat, by contrast, has the signer swear the statement is true and sign in the notary's presence. The document or the receiving agency decides which certificate applies, never the notary.
Can a remote notarization be used for an Alabama acknowledgment?
Yes, since Act 2023-548 took effect on September 1, 2023, an Alabama notary may take an acknowledgment remotely by two-way audio-video technology, but with strict conditions. The notary must be physically located in Alabama, must positively identify the signer by personal knowledge or two government-issued IDs, must receive the original wet-signed document for authentication, and must record the session and keep that recording for seven years. Remote acknowledgment cannot be used for absentee ballot applications.
What common mistakes void an Alabama acknowledgment?
The errors that most often invalidate an Alabama acknowledgment are omitting the county or date, forgetting the commission expiration line, using a name that does not match the seal, an illegible seal, and swapping the acknowledgment wording for jurat language when the document called for a free-execution certificate. Because the wording is statutory, copy it exactly, which is why the fillable certificate above keeps the language intact.
Alabama acknowledgment: frequently asked questions
- Where does the Alabama acknowledgment wording come from?
- From section 35-4-29, Code of Alabama, which sets out the substantial forms of acknowledgment used in the state for conveyances and recorded instruments.
- Who appoints an Alabama notary?
- The probate judge of the notary's county appoints and commissions them, then reports the commission to the Secretary of State, who keeps the public record.
- Does the signer have to be known to the notary?
- The signer must be known to the notary or positively identified. Since 2023, identification is by personal knowledge or two government-issued IDs, one showing the face and signature.
- Can an Alabama acknowledgment be done remotely?
- Yes, under Act 2023-548 by audio-video technology, if the notary is in Alabama, receives the wet-signed original, and keeps a recording for seven years.
- What if the document has no notarial wording?
- The notary cannot pick the certificate for you. The signer chooses based on what the receiving agency requires, and the notary then completes the correct statutory certificate.
Published June 13, 2026 by the Trámites Notariales US editorial team. Sources: section 35-4-29, Code of Alabama (Title 35, Chapter 4, Article 2); Alabama Act 2023-548 and the Alabama Secretary of State notary guidance. Confirm the current form with the Alabama Secretary of State or your county probate judge.