Maine Jurat Certificate Form: Wording and the Family Conflict Rule

This content is educational and informational, not legal advice. Requirements reflect Title 4, chapter 39 of the Maine Revised Statutes, the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, but the law can change. Confirm current requirements with the Maine Secretary of State before relying on this.

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Fillable Maine jurat certificate

Enter the county, the date, and the signer, and the certificate updates live with the Maine short form. Copy or print it and attach it to the affidavit; bring the document unsigned.

What is the Maine jurat wording?

Maine's short form is compact, and the statute allows a stamp or a printed name beneath the signature.

Can a Maine notary notarize for a relative?

No, and Maine's list is long. A notarial officer may not perform any notarial act for a person who is the officer's spouse, domestic partner, parent, sibling, or child, nor for an in-law or a step or half relative of the officer. Most states stop at the notary's own signature or a direct financial interest; Maine extends the ban across an entire family tree. In a small community that can mean sending someone down the road to a different notary, which is exactly the impartiality the rule is protecting.

What happens if a Maine notary breaks the conflict rule?

The notarial act is voidable. Maine writes the consequence into the statute rather than leaving parties to argue about the effect afterwards, which is unusually direct. Voidable means the act can be set aside, so a document notarized for a sibling is exposed for as long as anyone cares to challenge it. For the notary, the same conduct is a disciplinary matter. If you are asked to notarize for family, the safe answer is to decline and point them elsewhere.

When did Maine's current notary law take effect?

It applies to notarial acts performed on or after July 1, 2023, when Maine's Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts came into force. Anything performed before that date is judged under the previous rules, which matters when reviewing older documents. The chapter also sets out that where a notarial act relates to a statement made in or a signature executed on a record, the individual making the statement or executing the signature must appear personally before the notarial officer. For a jurat that means both appearing and signing in front of the notary.

Can a Maine notary certify a copy?

Not of public records or vital records. Maine's rules provide that a notarial officer is not authorized to make certified or attested copies of those, and may not certify a copy of any document that states on its face that it is illegal to make copies of it. Birth certificates, marriage records, and court files come from the office that issued them. If someone needs a certified copy of a diploma or a passport, the workable route is a written declaration by the holder that the copy is true, with the notary taking a jurat on that declaration.

What else does Maine's chapter cover?

Protests of negotiable instruments, among other things, and the wording there is worth noticing for anyone dealing with commercial paper: all facts, extracts from documents, and circumstances noted must be signed and sworn to by all the persons appearing to protest. The notarial officer then notes, extends, and records the protest and grants authenticated copies under signature and notarial stamp to those who request and pay for them. It is a rare act in modern practice, but Maine keeps it in the statute.

Published June 13, 2026 by the Trámites Notariales US editorial team. Sources: Maine Revised Statutes Title 4, chapter 39 and section 1917 (PL 2021, c. 651); Code of Maine Rules 29-250, chapter 700, section 8, Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions. Confirm current requirements before relying on this.