Acknowledgment vs. Jurat
They are two different notarial acts, not two names for the same stamp.
Acknowledgment
In common U.S. notary practice, an acknowledgment focuses on the signer acknowledging that the document was executed by that signer. The applicable state certificate records the notary’s acknowledgment act. State law determines the details, including appearance, identification, and certificate wording.
Jurat
A jurat generally involves the signer making an oath or affirmation about the truth of a statement and signing in the notary’s presence under the applicable procedure. The oath or affirmation is the feature that most clearly separates a jurat from an acknowledgment.
The notary certificate matters
The certificate wording identifies the act the notary is performing. A seal by itself does not explain whether the act was an acknowledgment, jurat, copy certification, or something else. If a completed document has a notarial certificate, reading that certificate is often more informative than simply asking whether the document was “notarized.”
State law determines the available acts and certificate wording
Notarial practice in the United States is primarily state or territorial. NASS maintains links to state notary authorities, while state commissioning offices publish their own certificate forms and instructions. California and Texas, for example, publish state-specific information illustrating how certificate language is tied to the act performed.
Remote notarization preserves the act-specific certificate
Electronic and remote procedures can change the medium of appearance, signature, seal, and record retention. They do not erase the difference between an acknowledgment and a jurat. The electronic notarial certificate still represents a particular authorized act.