American students planning on studying abroad and foreign students who have enrolled in a Montana high school or college will often have to provide copies of certain records as a condition of obtaining a visa or having the credits transfer back to their home country. We urge students (and host families) to be aware of all requirements and to allow plenty of time for obtaining the necessary documents, having the documents notarized or certified and then submitted to this office for the apostille or authentication. Carefully read the general information about obtaining apostilles or authentications in Montana, so you will be familiar with the steps needed to obtain the apostille or authentication certificates on your documents. There are two types of school documents that are routinely required to be submitted for apostille or authentication – transcripts and diplomas. These documents are handled somewhat differently due to their classification as “public” vs “private” records in Montana. A transcript is considered a public record and must be certified by a school official and then the official’s signature can be notarized. An original diploma, on the other hand, can be copied and certified by any notary public. Below is the information applicable to each of these types of documents with illustrations of how the certification/notarization must be done. If you have any questions, please contact the Notary & Certifications Division staff at (406) 444-1877 or [email protected] for more information. School Transcripts State certified copies of school transcripts or grade reports are frequently requested for foreign exchange students. These documents must be properly certified by an authorized school official, such as a principal, registrar, superintendent, etc., and then notarized before you can send them to the Secretary of State’s Office for an apostille or authentication. This can be done using the Certification of School…
Notary
It is the responsibility of the notary to obtain and keep an official seal/stamp upon receiving a new or subsequent commission. The Secretary of State does not provide the seal/stamp. Seal/Stamps may be purchased from most stationery, stamp, or office supply stores. It is the notary’s responsibility to ensure that the seal/stamp is correct and complies with the requirements described below. Do not expect that the retailer or manufacturer knows the requirements. Provide this page to the vendor if there are any questions. The Secretary of State has compiled a list of Recommended Vendors who have agreed to provide only the prescribed types of stamps to Montana notaries. As of October 1, 2013, all Montana notaries are required to have an ink stamp unit, rectangular in shape and approximately 1” x 2 ½” in size, that contains a seal (as described below) and the additional statutorily mandated information: the notary’s printed name; the title, “Notary Public for the State of Montana”; the words, “Residing at” with the name of the city or town where the notary lives; and the notary’s commission expiration date, shown as Month/Day/Four Digit Year. The stamp may be either blue or black ink only. The following is an illustration of the combination seal/stamp unit that is now mandated for Montana notaries: IMPORTANT NOTES: All information as shown above must be included. The commission expiration date must be complete. It is not acceptable to “fill in” the year. If any of the information contained in the seal/stamp changes during the notary’s term of office, the stamp must be replaced. Handwritten corrections are not allowed. The rectangular border is a REQUIRED part of the seal/stamp. Notaries must purchase a new seal/stamp for each term of office. When the seal/stamp is used, the information does not need to be…
Montana law requires notaries public to chronicle all notarial acts in a journal. A notary may keep one or more journals, and the journals may be either a permanent, bound paper journal designed to deter fraud or a permanent, tamper-evident electronic journal. Entries in a journal must be made at the same time as the notarial act. Each journal entry must include: The date and time of the notarization. The type of notarial act. Only seven possibilities exist: taking an acknowledgment (“Acknowledgement”); administering an oath/affirmation (“Oath”); taking a verification on oath/affirmation (“Jurat”); witnessing/attesting a signature (“Signature”); certifying/attesting a copy (“Certification of Copy”); certifying/attesting a transcript of an affidavit or deposition (“Deposition”) and noting a protest of a negotiable instrument (“Protest Instrument”). A description of the document. Typically, this is the date of the document and the type of document such as “contract,” “deed,” “power of attorney,” “affidavit,” etc. If more than one document is being notarized, each document should be described. The type of identification used. If identification is based on personal knowledge, an entry of “P.K.” is acceptable. If identification is based on satisfactory evidence, a brief description of the method of identification used (credible witness or ID document) should be noted, as well as the date of issuance or expiration of any ID document used. The signature, printed name, and address of the person for whom the notarial act was performed. This information should be entered by the person who is requesting the notarization. Exception: Certifying transcripts of depositions and certifying copies do not require the signature of the individual for whom the notarial act is performed. The fee (if any) charged for the notarization. Below are illustrations of two popular types of paper journals – the linear style and the block style – that show how the…
