Sample Form
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
[PROVINCE/CITY/MUNICIPALITY] ) S.S.
COPY CERTIFICATION
I, [NAME OF NOTARY PUBLIC], Notary Public for and in [PLACE OF COMMISSION],
do hereby certify that on [DATE], at [PLACE OF NOTARIZATION], [NAME OF PERSON
PRESENTING ORIGINAL DOCUMENT], who was identified by me through [COMPETENT
EVIDENCE OF IDENTITY, INCLUDING TYPE OF ID, ID NUMBER, DATE AND PLACE OF ISSUE,
OR OTHER DETAILS], presented to me the original of the following document:
Title/Description : [TITLE OR DESCRIPTION OF DOCUMENT]
Date : [DATE OF DOCUMENT]
Parties/Issuer : [PARTIES, ISSUER, OR OTHER IDENTIFYING DETAILS]
Number of Pages : [NUMBER OF PAGES]
I further certify that the document presented to me is neither a vital record,
public record, nor publicly recordable document; that the copy attached hereto
was made by me or under my direct supervision from the original document; that I
compared the attached copy with the original; and that I found the attached copy
to be accurate, complete, and a true reproduction of the original document
presented to me.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my notarial seal on
[DATE] at [CITY/MUNICIPALITY], Philippines.
[SIGNATURE OF NOTARY PUBLIC]
[NAME OF NOTARY PUBLIC]
Notary Public for [PLACE]
Until [EXPIRY DATE OF COMMISSION]
Commission No. [COMMISSION NUMBER]
Roll of Attorneys No. [ROLL NUMBER]
PTR No. [PTR NUMBER]; [DATE]; [PLACE]
IBP No. [IBP NUMBER]; [DATE]; [PLACE]
MCLE Compliance No. [MCLE NUMBER]
Office Address: [OFFICE ADDRESS]
Doc. No. [DOCUMENT NUMBER];
Page No. [PAGE NUMBER];
Book No. [BOOK NUMBER];
Series of [YEAR].
Nature of Copy Certification
Copy certification is a notarial act by which a commissioned notary public certifies that a copy is an accurate and complete reproduction of an original document presented to the notary. Its subject is the correspondence between the copy and the original, not the truth, legality, enforceability, authorship, or official character of the original document.
The act is narrow but important. A copy certification tells the reader that, at the time of notarization, the notary personally dealt with an original document and a copy, compared them, and found the copy to be true, correct, and complete. It does not say that the original was validly issued, that every statement in it is true, or that the person presenting it had lawful authority over it.
Under the Rules on Notarial Practice, copy certification is distinct from an acknowledgment, a jurat, an oath, or signature witnessing. In an acknowledgment, the notary confirms the voluntary execution of a signed instrument. In a jurat, the notary administers an oath or affirmation and confirms that the affiant signed the statement in the notary's presence. In copy certification, the notary's direct act is comparison of documents.
Documents Proper for Copy Certification
The proper subject of copy certification is generally a private or non-recordable document whose original is presented to the notary and whose copy can be compared by the notary. The original must be complete enough to permit meaningful comparison. A notary should not certify a copy when only another copy, a scanned image, a photograph, or an uncertified reproduction is presented as the supposed original.
The Rules on Notarial Practice restrict copy certification of vital records, public records, and publicly recordable documents. For these documents, the certification must ordinarily come from the official custodian or the public office legally charged with keeping the record. A notary public cannot replace the civil registrar, clerk of court, register of deeds, government agency, or other authorized records custodian by placing a notarial seal on a reproduction.
A document is treated as a public record when it is kept by a public office as part of its official functions and the law provides a regular method for obtaining an official certified copy. A document is publicly recordable when law contemplates its filing, recording, or registration in a public registry to affect rights, notice, status, or priority. The reason for the restriction is institutional: the authenticity and completeness of public records are certified by the custodian, not by a private notarial office.
When a person needs a certified copy of a public record, the proper legal route is to request it from the authorized office. When a private custodian needs to attest to a copy of a private record, the custodian may execute a certification or affidavit, and the notary may notarize that signed statement through the proper notarial act. In that situation, the notary certifies the appearance, signature, acknowledgment, or oath of the custodian, not the official status of the underlying record.
Essential Requisites
- Competent notary. The notary must have a current commission and must act within the territorial jurisdiction of that commission. The notary's seal is not portable authority to perform notarial acts outside the place where the commission operates.
- Proper venue. The notarial act must be performed in the place stated in the certificate and within the jurisdiction where the notary is authorized to act. The venue is a statement of where the notarial act occurred, not where the document was made or where the parties reside.
- Personal appearance of the requesting person. The person requesting the act should personally appear before the notary, be identified through competent evidence of identity when required, and sign the notarial register. Copy certification is not a mail-in or purely clerical service.
- Presentation of the original. The notary must be shown the original document to be copied. Without the original, there is no reliable object of comparison and no proper basis for a notarial certificate of copy accuracy.
- Copying or supervised copying. The notary should make the copy or supervise its making. This protects against substitution, omitted pages, altered attachments, and selective reproduction.
- Personal comparison. The notary must compare the copy with the original and determine that the copy is accurate and complete. The duty is personal; it cannot be delegated to office staff as a mere photocopying task.
- Proper notarial certificate. The certificate must state the notarial act performed and should identify the document, the number of pages, the fact of comparison, and the conclusion that the copy is true, correct, and complete.
- Notarial register entry. The act must be entered in the notarial register with the details required by the rules, including the type of notarial act, date, parties or requester, identification details when applicable, fee, and document particulars.
Contents of the Certificate
A copy certification certificate should be precise because the wording defines the legal effect of the act. It should identify the original document by title or sufficient description, state the number of pages copied, and state that the attached or accompanying copy was compared with the original presented to the notary.
The certificate should avoid language that converts the act into an acknowledgment, jurat, authentication of an official record, or legal opinion. Phrases such as subscribed and sworn to belong to a jurat, not to a pure copy certification. Phrases such as duly issued by, valid and subsisting, or authentic public record may exceed what the notary actually verified.
The notarial certificate should contain the venue, date, name of the requester, description of the document, certification of true and complete copy, notary's signature, notarial seal, commission details, and notarial register reference. The register reference is commonly expressed through the document number, page number, book number, and series year of the notarial register.
| Certificate Item | Function |
|---|---|
| Venue and date | Shows where and when the notarial act was performed. |
| Requester identification | Connects the act to the person who appeared before the notary and requested certification. |
| Document description | Prevents uncertainty over which original was presented and which copy was certified. |
| Number of pages | Reduces the risk of later insertion, removal, or substitution of pages. |
| Statement of comparison | Shows that the notary personally compared the copy with the original. |
| Statement of accuracy and completeness | States the operative certification and limits it to copy conformity. |
| Seal, signature, and commission details | Establishes that the act was performed by a commissioned notary acting officially. |
| Register reference | Links the certificate to the notarial register entry for later verification. |
Effect of Copy Certification
A properly notarized copy certification is a public document as to the notarial certificate itself. It carries the usual evidentiary weight of a notarized act and enjoys a presumption of regularity, but that presumption concerns the performance of the notarial act and the facts certified by the notary within the notary's authority.
The certification does not transform the underlying private document into a public document for all purposes. If the original was a private letter, private record, diploma, contract copy, or other non-public document, the notarial certificate does not independently prove that the original's contents are true or that the original was validly executed by persons who did not appear before the notary.
The certification also does not cure defects in the original. A forged, void, falsified, incomplete, expired, or altered original remains legally vulnerable even if a copy accurately reproduces it. The notary's certificate proves conformity of copy to original, not substantive legality.
In litigation, copy certification must be read with the rules on documentary evidence. When the contents of a document are the subject of inquiry, the original document rule generally requires production of the original, subject to recognized exceptions. A notarized copy certification may help show that a copy corresponds to an original once properly offered, but it does not automatically satisfy every evidentiary requirement for admissibility, relevance, authenticity, or best evidence.
For public records, the more appropriate evidentiary document is the certified copy issued by the lawful public custodian. Such an official certified copy carries evidentiary significance because the law entrusts the custodian with keeping and certifying the record. A notarial copy certification should not be used as a substitute for that official certification.
Comparison With Related Notarial Acts
| Act | What the Notary Verifies | What It Does Not Verify |
|---|---|---|
| Copy certification | The copy accurately and completely reproduces the original presented. | The original is genuine, valid, truthful, enforceable, or officially issued. |
| Acknowledgment | The appearing person is identified and acknowledges voluntary execution of the instrument. | The truth of every statement in the instrument. |
| Jurat | The affiant personally appeared, signed, and swore to or affirmed the statement before the notary. | The objective truth of the sworn facts. |
| Signature witnessing | The person identified by the notary signed in the notary's presence. | The legal validity or sufficiency of the signed document. |
| Official custodian certification | The copy is issued from or conforms to a record kept by the public office or authorized custodian. | Matters outside the custodian's records or statutory authority. |
Limits on the Notary's Role
A notary public is not a document examiner, issuing agency, public registrar, translator, legal adviser, or guarantor of authenticity. The notary should not certify facts that require investigation outside the comparison of the original and the copy. If the certificate states more than the notary personally verified, the notarial act becomes misleading.
The notary should refuse copy certification when the document is a vital record, public record, or publicly recordable document; when the supposed original is absent; when the copy is incomplete or selectively reproduced; when the document contains blank spaces or apparent alterations material to the certification; when the requested certificate contains false or excessive statements; or when the notary has a disqualifying personal, financial, or beneficial interest.
The notary should also refuse when the person requesting the act cannot be properly identified, appears to be acting under coercion in a context where personal participation matters, or appears to be using the certification to mislead another person or office. The notarial seal is an instrument of public trust, and the notary is expected to prevent, not facilitate, documentary deception.
If the original is in a language or script unfamiliar to the notary, the notary may be able to compare visual reproduction but should not certify translation, meaning, legal effect, or accuracy of contents. A copy certification is not a translator's certificate. If translation is needed, the translator's certification or affidavit should be separately handled through the appropriate notarial act.
Handling Multi-Page and Attached Documents
For multi-page documents, the notary should ensure that every page of the copy corresponds to the original and that attachments referred to in the original are copied if the certification is meant to cover them. The certificate should state the total number of pages and should make clear whether annexes, exhibits, or attachments are included.
Pages should be secured in a manner that discourages later substitution. The notary may mark, initial, stamp, or otherwise connect the pages to the certificate according to office practice and the requirements of the rules. The practical objective is traceability: a reader should be able to tell which pages were covered by the notarial act.
If only an excerpt is certified, the certificate must not imply that the copy is a complete copy of the entire original. The certificate should describe the copy as an excerpt or partial reproduction and should identify the portion copied. A statement that a partial copy is a complete copy of the original is false even if the pages reproduced are accurate.
Relation to Private Custodian Certifications
Private institutions often issue certified copies of their own records through an officer, registrar, corporate secretary, records manager, or authorized custodian. The officer's certification derives its force from the officer's position and the institution's records system. If notarized, the notarial act usually concerns the officer's signature, oath, or acknowledgment, not an independent official finding by the notary that the institutional record is genuine.
This distinction matters because it assigns responsibility correctly. The private custodian is responsible for the truth of the custodian's certification and the integrity of the institutional record. The notary is responsible for the notarial act actually performed: identity, appearance, acknowledgment, oath, or other authorized notarial act.
Where a private custodian's certification is used, the certificate should not be worded as if the notary personally searched institutional files or verified corporate, academic, medical, employment, or financial records. The notary should avoid official-sounding language that suggests authority the notary does not possess.
Ethical and Disciplinary Consequences
Notarization is not a mechanical accommodation. A notary public performs a public function, and careless certification can enable fraud, impersonation, evidence manipulation, and misuse of official-looking documents. Because notarized documents are relied upon by courts, agencies, businesses, and private persons, the notary's duty is stricter than ordinary clerical convenience.
A false or irregular copy certification may expose the notary to revocation of commission, disqualification from notarial practice, administrative discipline as a lawyer when applicable, civil liability, and criminal liability if the act participates in falsification, fraud, perjury, or other unlawful conduct. The person procuring or using a false certification may likewise incur liability depending on the surrounding facts.
The safest professional practice is to keep the certificate exact, keep the comparison personal, keep the register complete, and keep the notarial act within the limits of the notary's authority. Copy certification is valuable precisely because it is modest: it is reliable when it says only what the notary can truthfully know from the act performed.