What is a Venue in a Notary Certificate?

Venue is a word more commonly used in England or India. The only situation I hear it used commonly in an American context is in the Notary world. The venue is a section of any type of notary certificate. Notary certificates might include Notary Acknowledgment Certificates, Notary Jurat Certificates, and there are a few other less common or antiquated types of certificates as well.

Here is a sample Venue:

State of California
County of _____________

The name of the county is typically left blank, and up to the notary to fill in. Some lenders pre-fill the name of the county. That can sometimes be a problem if the notary is not going to sign in that particular county. Sometimes signings are moved to alternate locations in other counties.

One bizarre and interesting case happened to me many years ago, where the notary certificate represented a husband and wife signing the same document, on the same day (you can’t use the same certificate if they signed on different days), a few hours apart, but in neighboring counties. I got the husband’s signature, drove an hour, got the wife’s signature, and then made my way to Fedex-Kinkos to drop off the package.

A venue simply means a place, or more specifically, a place where an event is to take place, such as a party, a meeting, or a notary act! To my knowledge, a venue be printed on all notary certificates in all states. The only types of notary acts that don’t use a venue would include Oaths and Affirmations (if done as separate notary acts) since they don’t have any paperwork (unless they are part of a Jurat, or swearing in witnesses, etc.)

You might also like:

One signing; Two venues?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=17047

Venues explained in the 30 point course
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14514

Index of posts about certificates
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20268

Are you practicing law by drawing a signature line?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21033

What is a Jurat?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=6937