ACKNOWLEDGMENT

acknowledgment.  1.  A  recognition  of  something  as  being  factual.  2.  An  acceptance  of

responsibility.  3.  The  act  of  making  it  known  that  one  has  received  something.  4.  A  formal

declaration  made  in  the  presence  of  an  authorized  officer,  such  as  a  notary  public,  by  someone

who  signs a  document and  confirms  that  the  signature  is authentic.  •  In  most states, the  officer

certifies that  (1)  he  or  she  personally  knows the  document signer  or  has  established  the  signer’s

identity through satisfactory evidence, (2) the signer appeared before the officer on the date and in

the place (usu. the county) indicated, and (3) the signer acknowledged signing the document freely.

Cf. VERIFI-CATION(1). [Cases: Acknowledgment    1. C.J.S. Acknowledgments §§ 2–4.]

“An acknowledgment is a verification of the fact of execution, but is not a verification of the

contents  of  the  instrument  executed;  in  other  words,  an  acknowledgment  is  the  method  of

authenticating  an  instrument  by  showing  it  was  the  act  of  the  person  executing  it,  while  a

verification is a sworn statement as to the truth of the facts stated within an instrument.” 1A C.J.S.

Acknowledgments § 2 (1985).

5.  The  officer’s  certificate  that  is  affixed  to  the  document.  —  Also  termed  (in  sense  5)

certificate of acknowl-edgment; (loosely) verification. See PROOF OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 6.

A father’s public recognition of a child as his own. — Also termed acknowledgment of paternity.

formal acknowledgment. 1. A father’s recognition of a child as his own by a formal, written

declaration that meets a state’s requirements for execution, typically by signing in the presence of

two witnesses. • In Louisiana law, this recognition may also be made by a mother. La. Civ. Code

art. 203.  2.  A  father’s  recognition  of  a  child  as  his  own  in the  child’s  registry  of  birth  or  at  the

child’s baptism. • In this sense, a formal acknowledgment typically occurs when a man signs the

birth certificate or baptismal certificate as the father or announces at the baptismal service that he

is the father. The fact that a man is named as the father on a certificate of birth or baptism is not a

formal acknowledgment unless the father signs the document.

informal  acknowledgment.A  father’s  recognition  of  a  child  as  his  own  not  by  a  written

declaration but by receiving the child into his family or supporting the child and otherwise treating

the child as his own offspring. [Blacks Law 8th]