Editing Acknowledgment (law) (section)

In [[law]], an '''acknowledgment''' is a declaration or avowal of one's own act, used to authenticate [[legal instrument]]s, which may give the instrument legal validity, and works to prevent the recording of false instruments or fraudulent executions. Acknowledgment involves a public official, frequently a [[notary public]]. The party executing the legal instrument orally declares that the instrument is his or her act or deed, and the official prepares a certificate attesting to the declaration.<ref>{{cite book|last=Grossman|first=Elanor L.|title=American Jurisprudence|date=February 2013|publisher=West|edition=2nd|volume=1|at=§ 1|chapter=Acknowledgments|id=1 [[Am. Jur. 2d]] ''Acknowledgments'' § 1–2}}</ref>

Acknowledgments are distinct from ''[[Jurat (clause)|jurat]]s'', ''[[verification (law)|verification]]s'', and ''attestations''. A jurat differs from an acknowledgment in that a jurat lacks the statement that the instrument is the act or deed of the party executing it. A verification is distinct in that it seeks to verify the factual contents of the instrument, rather than the instrument itself. Finally, an attestation occurs where a third person gives his or her name as a witness to the actual execution of an instrument.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kennel|first=John R.|title=Corpus Juris Secundum|date=March 2013|publisher=West|volume=1|chapter=Acknowledgments|at=§ 1|id=1 [[C.J.S.]] ''Acknowledgments'' § 1}}</ref> Normally, acknowledgments only serve [[evidence|evidentiary]] purposes, but some jurisdictions have made acknowledgment a requirement for [[Recording (real estate)|recording]] of instruments.<ref>{{harv|Kennel|2013|at=§ 2}}</ref>