NYS Notary Terms and their correct definations
Acknowledgment – answer A formal declaration before a duly authorized officer by a
person who has executed an instrument; verifying the identity of the person before you
is the person named in the document
Administrator – answer A person appointed by the court to manage the estate of a
deceased person who left no will
Affiant – answer The person who makes and subscribes his signature to an affidavit
Affidavit – answer A signed statement, duly sworn to, by the maker, before a NP or
other officer authorized to administer oaths
Affirmation – answer A solemn declaration made by persons who conscientiously
decline taking an oath
Apostile – answer Dept of State authentication attached to a notarized and county-
certified document for possible international use
Attest – answer To witness the execution of a written instrument
Attestation Clause – answer The clause wherein the witnesses certify that the
instrument has been executed before them (usually at the end of a will)
Authentication – answer This county clerk's certificate authenticates or verifies the
authority of the NP to act as such
Bill of Sale – answer A written instrument given to pss title of personal property from
vendor to vendee
Certified Copy – answer A copy of a public record signed and certified as a true copy by
the public official having custody of the original
Chattel – answer Personal property (ie: household goods or fixtures)
Chattel Paper – answer Writing which evidence both an obligation to pay and a security
interest in a lease or specific goods
Codicil – answer An instrument made subsequent to a will, and modifying it in some
respects
Consideration – answer Anything of value given to induce entering into a contract (ie:
money, personal services, love, etc.)
Contempt of Court – answer Behavior disrespectful of the authority of a court which
disrupts the execution of court orders
, NYS Notary Terms and their correct definations
Contract – answer An agreement between competent parties to do, or not to do, certain
things for a legal consideration
Conveyance – answer Every instrument, in writing, except a will, by which an estate or
interest in real property is created, transferred, assigned or surrendered (aka a deed)
County Clerk's Certificate – answer See "authentication" (aka a notarial)
Deponent – answer One who makes oath to a written statement (aka an affiant)
Deposition – answer Testimony of a witness taken out of court or other hearing
proceeding, under oath or by affirmation
Duress – answer Unlawful constraint exercised upon a person whereby he is forced to
do some act against his will
Escrow – answer The placing of an instrument in the hands of a person as a depository
who on the happening of a designated event, is to deliver the instrument to a third
person
Executor – answer One named in a will to carry out the provisions of the will
Ex Parte – answer A hearing or examination in the presence of, or on papers filed by,
one party and in the absence of the other (from one side only)
Felony – answer Crime punishable by death or imprisonment
Guardian – answer A person in charge of a minor's person or property
Judgment – answer Decree of a court declaring that one individual is indebted to
another and fixing the amount of indebtedness
Jurat – answer Part of an affidavit where the NP certifies that it was sworn to before him
Laches – answer The delay or negligence in asserting one's legal rights
Lease – answer A contract whereby, for a consideration, one who is entitled to the
possession of real property transfers such right to another for life, for a term or at will
Lien – answer A legal right or claim upon a specific property which attaches to the
property until a debt is satisfied
Litigation – answer The act of carrying on a lawsuit
Misdemeanor – answer Any crime other than a felony
Acknowledgment – answer A formal declaration before a duly authorized officer by a
person who has executed an instrument; verifying the identity of the person before you
is the person named in the document
Administrator – answer A person appointed by the court to manage the estate of a
deceased person who left no will
Affiant – answer The person who makes and subscribes his signature to an affidavit
Affidavit – answer A signed statement, duly sworn to, by the maker, before a NP or
other officer authorized to administer oaths
Affirmation – answer A solemn declaration made by persons who conscientiously
decline taking an oath
Apostile – answer Dept of State authentication attached to a notarized and county-
certified document for possible international use
Attest – answer To witness the execution of a written instrument
Attestation Clause – answer The clause wherein the witnesses certify that the
instrument has been executed before them (usually at the end of a will)
Authentication – answer This county clerk's certificate authenticates or verifies the
authority of the NP to act as such
Bill of Sale – answer A written instrument given to pss title of personal property from
vendor to vendee
Certified Copy – answer A copy of a public record signed and certified as a true copy by
the public official having custody of the original
Chattel – answer Personal property (ie: household goods or fixtures)
Chattel Paper – answer Writing which evidence both an obligation to pay and a security
interest in a lease or specific goods
Codicil – answer An instrument made subsequent to a will, and modifying it in some
respects
Consideration – answer Anything of value given to induce entering into a contract (ie:
money, personal services, love, etc.)
Contempt of Court – answer Behavior disrespectful of the authority of a court which
disrupts the execution of court orders
, NYS Notary Terms and their correct definations
Contract – answer An agreement between competent parties to do, or not to do, certain
things for a legal consideration
Conveyance – answer Every instrument, in writing, except a will, by which an estate or
interest in real property is created, transferred, assigned or surrendered (aka a deed)
County Clerk's Certificate – answer See "authentication" (aka a notarial)
Deponent – answer One who makes oath to a written statement (aka an affiant)
Deposition – answer Testimony of a witness taken out of court or other hearing
proceeding, under oath or by affirmation
Duress – answer Unlawful constraint exercised upon a person whereby he is forced to
do some act against his will
Escrow – answer The placing of an instrument in the hands of a person as a depository
who on the happening of a designated event, is to deliver the instrument to a third
person
Executor – answer One named in a will to carry out the provisions of the will
Ex Parte – answer A hearing or examination in the presence of, or on papers filed by,
one party and in the absence of the other (from one side only)
Felony – answer Crime punishable by death or imprisonment
Guardian – answer A person in charge of a minor's person or property
Judgment – answer Decree of a court declaring that one individual is indebted to
another and fixing the amount of indebtedness
Jurat – answer Part of an affidavit where the NP certifies that it was sworn to before him
Laches – answer The delay or negligence in asserting one's legal rights
Lease – answer A contract whereby, for a consideration, one who is entitled to the
possession of real property transfers such right to another for life, for a term or at will
Lien – answer A legal right or claim upon a specific property which attaches to the
property until a debt is satisfied
Litigation – answer The act of carrying on a lawsuit
Misdemeanor – answer Any crime other than a felony
