A signer comes to a notary with a document she already signed at home before the appointment. She wants an acknowledgment. May the notary proceed?

AI Explanation

Acknowledgment does not require signing in notary's presence. For an acknowledgment, the signer must personally appear before the notary and acknowledge that they executed the document — but the document may have been signed prior to appearing. This distinguishes acknowledgments from jurats, which require the signer to sign in the notary's presence. Civil Code section 1189 and the handbook both confirm that a pre-signed document may receive an acknowledgment.