South Dakota acknowledgment certificates: which statutory form to use

Acknowledgment versus verification

Before choosing a form, confirm the document actually calls for an acknowledgment. SDCL 18-1-1.1 defines two different acts that people often blur together:

• Acknowledgment: "a declaration by a person before a notarial officer that the person has signed a document for the purpose stated in the document," and, for a representative, that they signed with proper authority on behalf of the person named.
• Verification on oath or affirmation: "a declaration, made by a person on oath or affirmation before a notarial officer, that a statement in a document is true." This is what most people call a jurat, and it is typical of affidavits.

Deeds, mortgages, powers of attorney and most recordable instruments use an acknowledgment. Affidavits and sworn statements use a verification. If a document already carries pre-printed certificate wording, that wording tells you which act the drafter wants; a notary should not swap one for the other on their own judgment. The rest of this page is about acknowledgments.

Two chapters, one requirement: "substantially in the form"

South Dakota has two sets of acknowledgment forms, enacted decades apart:

• Chapter 18-4, Acknowledgment and Proof of Instruments, dating from the 1877 civil code. SDCL 18-4-11 requires a certificate "substantially in the forms prescribed in §§ 18-4-12 to 18-4-15."
• Chapter 18-5, the Uniform Acknowledgment Act of 1941. SDCL 18-5-1 says an instrument may be acknowledged either in the manner already provided by state law or as provided by this chapter, and SDCL 18-5-7 requires a certificate "substantially in one of the forms in §§ 18-5-8 to 18-5-12."

Either set satisfies the law. In practice the Chapter 18-5 forms are the more complete ones, because they name the date, the officer and the purpose, and they end with the witness clause and seal. "Substantially" means the elements must be there; it does not require identical punctuation. What fails is a certificate that drops a required element, most often the capacity in which a representative signed.

Picking the form: who is signing, and as what?

Ask one question: is the person signing for themselves, or on behalf of someone or something else? The answer picks the form.

Signer	Statute	What the form must state beyond the basics
Individual signing for themselves	SDCL 18-5-8	Signer is known to you or satisfactorily proven, and acknowledged executing the instrument for its stated purposes
Corporate officer	SDCL 18-5-9	The office held (e.g. president), the corporation's name, that the officer was authorized, and that they signed the corporation's name by themselves as that officer
Attorney-in-fact (agent under a power of attorney)	SDCL 18-5-10	Signer is the attorney in fact for the named principal and executed the instrument as the act of the principal
Public officer, trustee, guardian, conservator or personal representative	SDCL 18-5-11	The governmental unit or capacity, and that they executed the instrument in the capacity stated
Partner	SDCL 18-5-12	Signer is one of the partners of the named partnership, was authorized, and signed the partnership's name as a partner
Remote signer by RON	SDCL 18-4-30	The signer's remote city/state, identity proofing, appearance "not in my physical presence" by a tamper-evident electronic notarization system

SDCL 18-5-6 settles a question that still appears on old forms: a married person acknowledges in the same form as an unmarried person. There is no separate spousal acknowledgment.

Worked examples

A homeowner selling a house. Each owner signs the deed personally. Use the individual form (18-5-8) once for each signer, or a single certificate naming both. Nothing about capacity is needed.

A company selling a lot. The deed is signed "Prairie Holdings, Inc., by Jane Doe, President." The individual form is wrong here: it says Jane executed the deed, not that the corporation did. The corporate form (18-5-9) states that Jane acknowledged herself to be President of Prairie Holdings, Inc., was authorized, and signed the corporation's name by herself as President.

An adult child signing for a parent under a power of attorney. The signature reads "Robert Smith, by Ann Smith, attorney in fact." Use 18-5-10, which names Ann as attorney in fact for Robert and says she executed the instrument as Robert's act.

A personal representative of an estate. Use 18-5-11, filling in the capacity (personal representative of the Estate of ...). The same form covers a trustee signing for a trust, a guardian, a conservator, or a county official signing for the county.

The same deed signed by a remote seller in another state. If you perform it by remote online notarization, the certificate must follow 18-4-30, including the signer's remote location, and you must create and keep the audio-visual recording for ten years under SDCL 18-1-11.3. Our RON guide covers registration of the system you use.

What goes under your signature

SDCL 18-5-13 lists what must follow the acknowledging officer's signature, in order: the officer's name typed or printed legibly (a stamp is fine), the official seal, the title of office, and, for a notary public, the date the commission expires. SDCL 18-1-3.1 separately requires the commission expiration date below the seal, and requires the seal itself to show your name, "South Dakota," "notary public" and a surrounding border.

The statute is explicit about one consequence. A missing typed name "shall not render such instrument invalid, but a recording officer may refuse to accept such instrument for record until such endorsement is made." In practice that means a rejected deed sent back from the register of deeds, a delay at closing, and a trip back to the notary. It is the cheapest error to prevent.

Five errors that send documents back

1. Wrong form for the capacity. The individual form on an officer's or agent's signature.
2. Blank venue. "State of ____ County of ____" left empty. The venue is where the act happened, which for a South Dakota notary acting in person is a South Dakota county.
3. Signer's name mismatch. The certificate names "Bob Smith" while the document is signed "Robert J. Smith." Use the name as signed and as identified.
4. No commission expiration date below the seal, which both 18-1-3.1 and 18-5-13 require.
5. An expired commission. Acting after expiration is a Class 2 misdemeanor under SDCL 18-1-12. The renewal date calculator shows when your 60-day window opens.

Documents acknowledged outside South Dakota are treated separately: under SDCL 18-5-15, an acknowledgment that complies with the law of the state where it was taken, verified by the officer's seal, has the same effect here. You do not need to rewrite another state's certificate to South Dakota wording.

FAQ

Where are South Dakota's acknowledgment certificate forms?

In SDCL 18-5-8 to 18-5-12 (the Uniform Acknowledgment Act, covering individuals, corporations, attorneys-in-fact, public officers and fiduciaries, and partners), in SDCL 18-4-12 to 18-4-15 (an older set of forms), and in SDCL 18-4-30 for remote online notarization.

Does the wording have to match exactly?

No. Both chapters require a certificate "substantially" in the prescribed form. Equivalent wording is acceptable; leaving out an element, such as the capacity in which an officer signed, is the risk.

What must appear under the notary's signature?

Under SDCL 18-5-13: the notary's name typed, stamped or legibly printed, the official seal, the title of office, and the commission expiration date. A missing name does not void the instrument, but a register of deeds may refuse to record it until it is added.

Is an acknowledgment the same as a jurat?

No. An acknowledgment is the signer declaring they signed for the stated purpose. A verification on oath (often called a jurat) is a sworn statement that the contents of a document are true. SDCL 18-1-1.1 defines both separately.

This page summarizes statutes; it is not legal advice. Confirm anything that matters with the Secretary of State or an attorney.