Definition
Of, pertaining to, or performed by a notary public in an official capacity. The term describes acts, instruments, seals, attestations, and certifications that carry the authority and authentication of a notary. Something described as notarial derives its legal weight from the notary's official character — the office itself, not merely the individual.
In practice, "notarial" functions as an adjective modifying specific legal concepts: a notarial act is a formal act performed within the scope of notarial authority; a notarial seal is the stamp or embossed mark that evidences the notary's official identity; notarial evidence refers to authenticated testimony or certification produced by a notary; and a notarial certificate is the written statement by which a notary attests to what occurred before them.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): Pertaining to a notary or notaries; written or executed by a notary.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): Of or pertaining to a notary; done or taken by a notary; as, a notarial seal; notarial evidence or attestation.
In everyday usage and legal usage, "notarial" means roughly the same thing — connected to a notary's function. The distinction worth noting for researchers is that in legal contexts, "notarial" carries a formal weight that common usage underplays. A notarial act is not merely something a notary happened to do; it is an act performed within the scope of official authority, subject to specific formal requirements, and carrying presumptive evidentiary status. The word signals legal regularity and authenticity, not just participation by a person who holds a notarial commission.
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers working in the Law Mind corpus will encounter "notarial" primarily as a modifier in documents dealing with authentication, evidence, and cross-border legal transactions. Several navigational points deserve attention.
First, the weight of notarial acts varies sharply by jurisdiction and era. In civil law systems — and in historical sources reflecting continental European practice — notarial acts carry far greater evidentiary force than in common law jurisdictions. In the civil law tradition, a notarial act of a public notary can itself constitute proof of a transaction without separate litigation. English and American sources treat notarial attestation more modestly, typically as authentication for use abroad rather than as substantive proof domestically.
Second, when reading historical sources, particularly those dealing with commercial law and international trade, "notarial protest" is a term of art that will appear frequently. A notarial protest is a formal notarial act used to preserve rights on dishonored bills of exchange and promissory notes. Researchers should not conflate this with the broader concept of notarial acts generally.
Third, the Rapalje & Lawrence entry for "notarial" pivots immediately into a full definition of "notary public" and references legalization — a signal that in research practice, the term rarely stands alone. Understanding what a notarial act is requires understanding the office of the notary and, for documents crossing borders, the authentication chain that follows (notarial certification → legalization → consular certification, or in modern practice, apostille).
Fourth, the formalities required to constitute a valid notarial act have changed over time and differ by state. Early American sources often describe requirements borrowed from English ecclesiastical and civil law practice. Modern Uniform Law Commission instruments, including the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, have standardized many elements, but historical corpus materials predate this uniformity entirely.
Historical Dictionary Support
The historical dictionaries treat "notarial" consistently but with varying depth. Black's (1st Ed.) offers only the spare phrase "taken by a notary." The second edition of Black's expands meaningfully, adding the key functional elements: performed in an official capacity, belonging to a notary, and evidencing official character — with the notarial seal as the paradigmatic example. Burrill similarly focuses on the official character of the act: "belonging to a notary; made or done by a notary." Rapalje & Lawrence, characteristically, uses the definition as an entry point into the substantive law of notaries public.
What the historical dictionaries do not address is the doctrinal distinction — significant in evidentiary law — between an act that is merely performed by someone who holds a notarial commission and an act performed within the scope and formalities of that office. This distinction matters when parties challenge whether a document was properly authenticated versus merely signed in front of a notary. Researchers working with authentication disputes will need to go beyond these dictionary sources to treatises and court decisions on notarial regularity.
Jurisdictional Note
The authority, formalities, and evidentiary effect of notarial acts differ substantially between common law and civil law jurisdictions, and within the United States, between states. Louisiana, with its civil law heritage, gives notarial acts a distinctive authenticating force not recognized in other states. Internationally, the Hague Apostille Convention (1961) has altered the authentication chain for notarial documents crossing signatory-nation borders, replacing full legalization with a single apostille certificate.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
See Law Mind Encyclopedia: Notary Public; Authentication and Acknowledgment; Bills of Exchange and Negotiable Instruments (for notarial protest).