that he/she is well acquainted with the handwriting of such public officer

English translation: the clerk is certifying that he/she is familiar with the notary public's signature

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English term or phrase:	that he/she is well acquainted with the handwriting of such public officer
Selected answer:	the clerk is certifying that he/she is familiar with the notary public's signature
Entered by:	Alessandra Meregaglia

12:02 Oct 29, 2023

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Law/Patents - Law: Patents, Trademarks, Copyright

English term or phrase: that he/she is well acquainted with the handwriting of such public officer

I, XXX, Clerk of the County of XXX, and Clerk of the Supreme Court in and for said county, the same being a court of record having a seal, DO HEREBY CERTIFY THAT XXX
whose name is subscribed to the annexed original instrument has been commissioned and qualified as a NOTARY PUBLIC and has filed his/her original signature in this office and that he/she was at the time of taking such proof of acknowledgement or oath duly authorized by the laws of the State of XXX to take the same: that he/she is well acquainted with the handwriting of such public officer or has compared the signature on the certificate of proof or acknowledgement or oath with the original signature filed in his/her office by such public officer and he/she believes that the signature on the original instrument is genuine.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and my official seal this...

My doubt is about a change of person/subject in the middle of the CERTIFICATION. In the first line the Clerk says "I...." talking in 1st person in singular while after the ":" he/she seems swapping into the 3rd person in singular "that he/she is well acquainted with the handwriting of such public officer".

Have I properly understood that there's no change of subject? Who actually is "he/she is well acquainted with..."? The Clerk or the Notary? Thank you for your help

Alessandra Meregaglia KudoZ activity Questions: 939 (6 open) (17 without valid answers) (155 closed without grading) Answers: 527 Italy
Local time: 15:06

Explanation

Explanation:
Yes, there is indeed a switch from the first person to the third person in the middle of the certification. This seems to be pretty common in legal documents, at least in the state of New York (your document was definitely issued in NYS). However, I also have hundreds of documents in my database where it says, "I am well acquainted", e.g. , "I, Timothy C. Idoni, Clerk of the County of Westchester and Clerk of the Supreme Court and County Court in and for said County [yada yada yada]...., and that I am well acquainted with the handwriting of such Notary Public, or having compared the signature of said Notary Public on the annexed instrument with such Notary Public’s autograph signature deposited in my office, and believe that the signature on the annexed instrument is genuine."

So, in short, the clerk is certifying that he/she is familiar with the notary public's signature.

The switch from I to he/she might be intended to maintain an unbiased or neutral tone.

Selected response from:

Darius Saczuk
United States
Local time: 09:06

Grading comment

4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

3 +3

Explanation

Darius Saczuk

... he/she is the Notary

Clauwolf

4 +1

It is confusing but decipherable...

Jennifer Levey

Answers

31 mins confidence:

... he/she is the Notary

Explanation:
:)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 34 mins (2023-10-29 12:36:43 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

It is a declaration of the Clerk

Clauwolf
Local time: 10:06
Does not meet criteria
Native speaker of:

Portuguese

36 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

Explanation

Darius Saczuk
United States
Local time: 09:06
Meets criteria
Native speaker of:

Polish,

English
PRO pts in category: 4

2 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

It is confusing but decipherable...

Explanation:
'he/she' is being used willy-nilly to refer to both the Clerk and the Notary

The "Clerk of the County of XXX, and Clerk of the Supreme Court" is certifying two things:

First, "that XXX (is) a NOTARY PUBLIC and has filed his/her original signature (= a specimen signature provided by the Notary to the Clerk when the Notary took up office) in this (=the Clerk's) office and that he/she (= the Clerk) was at the time of taking such proof of acknowledgement or oath duly authorized by the laws of the State of XXX to take the same"

Second, "he/she (= the Clerk who is signing this present statement) is well acquainted with the handwriting of such public officer (= the Notary) or has compared the signature on the certificate of proof or acknowledgement or oath with the original signature filed in his/her (= the Clerk's) office by such public officer (= the Notary) and he/she (= the Clerk, again!) believes that the signature on the original instrument (= the Notary's signature) is genuine."

after which the Clerk states: "IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I (= the Clerk) have hereunto set my hand and my official seal this..."

Jennifer Levey
Chile
Local time: 09:06
Meets criteria
Native speaker of:

English

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that he/she is well acquainted with the handwriting of such public officer

English translation: the clerk is certifying that he/she is familiar with the notary public's signature

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