Very similar to a Notary Public, one main purpose of a Commissioner for Oaths is to ensure the authenticity of a person signing on a document.
This is commonly completed by reviewing the person's identity documents, comparing these to the person, witnessing the person sign a document, then comparing the signature in the document to the identification.
In this process, however, the Commissioner for Oaths needs to follow through on additional actions, depending on the documents provided and the intent of the document.
For example, if the document is a Statutory Declaration, then the Commissioner for Oaths may be administering an oath or an affirmation.
This includes confirming the person's willingness to sign the document and ensuring they are aware of the contents of the document.
If they are administering an oath or an affirmation, then the person signing needs to declare the oath or the affirmation at the time of signing, where they attest that they, to the best of their ability, understand and believe the contents to be true, for example.
Each document varies, so a Commissioner for Oaths needs to be familiar with a variety of documents and how to administer these.
Notary Publics and Commissioner for Oaths appear to be very similar to each other. Many of the acts they perform are the same. So, why does Alberta have two different positions for these similar actions?
For one, a Notary Public is recognized internationally. Some countries require additional certification to verify the Notary Public is official in Canada, otherwise, they will accept the actions a Notary Public take on a document from Alberta.
Commissioner for Oaths are not recognized in other countries. Even those countries that also have a Commissioner for Oaths position, they will not accept an Alberta Commissioner for a document signed in Alberta.
There are a few differences between a Commissioner for Oaths and a Notary Public:
So, if Commissioner for Oaths are limited to documents for Alberta, what can they do?
The most common documents are Affidavits or Statutory Declarations. This can cover a wide scope of situations, as these are commonly used in Court.
Divorce applications have many documents that fit this category - Affidavit of Applicant, Affidavit of Service, Affidavit of Execution - to name a few.
Translators are often required to swear under oath on an Affidavit of Translation, to attest they know the language they translated and the translation shown in the Affidavit is a true and correct version in English.
Licensing requirements for certain education institutions require the applicant for the professional license to swear on a Statutory Declaration, where they attest to the truthfulness of the applicant's information.
There are many examples and situations where a Commissioner for Oaths is required to administer an oath or affirmation in Alberta. If you have a document that is asking for a Commissioner, or you are not sure, please contact us here and we can provide an assessment for you.