True or false? The limits of a notary's duty to check what a document says

The short answer

A notary does not guarantee that what a document says is true. The notary answers for the act: who appeared, who signed, swore or declared, when, where, and whether they did so freely. The person signing answers for the contents.

The line has two firm edges, though. A notary who knows a statement is false cannot certify it. And a notary faced with suspicious circumstances must refuse to act.

What the law asks of the notary

For statutory declarations, section 4 of the Statutory Declarations Act, 1971 (Act 389) is brief:

“Every magistrate, notary public, commissioner for oaths and any other person authorised by law to administer an oath may take and receive the statutory declaration of any person voluntarily making it before him, and shall certify it under his signature.”Act 389, section 4

The duty is to take and receive the declaration of a person voluntarily making it, and to certify it. Nothing in the section asks the notary to investigate the facts declared.

For oaths and affidavits, the statement the notary must get exactly right is the notary's own:

“Every Commissioner for Oaths or Notary Public before whom any oath or affidavit is taken or made shall state truly in the jurat or attestation at what place and on what date it is taken or made.”Oaths Act, 1972 (NRCD 6), section 6

The leading English text, Brooke's Notary, defines a notarial act as one “certifying the due execution in his presence of a deed, contract or other writing, or verifying some fact or thing done in his presence or of which the notary has certain knowledge”. The notary certifies what the notary saw or knows, not what someone else asserts.

Where the duty stops, and where it does not

Two provisions of the Notaries Public Act, 1960 (Act 26) mark the edges.

“In all cases where the circumstances appear to the notary suspicious and not warranting the notarial act demanded, the notary shall refuse to act.”Act 26, section 6(1)

Section 7 then requires the notary to “mark upon the document in respect of which the notarial act is demanded his refusal, together with his signature and the date of the refusal”. A person aggrieved by a refusal may apply to the High Court for an order calling on the notary to act (section 6(2)).

“Any notary public or other person who willfully certifies or propounds any false statement or document, or who fraudulently, and with intent to deceive conceals, withholds, or perverts any fact or document pertinent to the subject of a notarial act is guilty of a misdemeanor.”Act 26, section 8

Note the words willfully and with intent to deceive. The offence is aimed at the notary who knows, not the notary who was deceived despite proper checks. Read together, sections 6 and 8 set the rule: no duty to investigate, but no licence to look away.

The Judiciary repeats this at swearing-in ceremonies. The Chief Justice has reminded new notaries of section 8 and urged them “not to notarise a signature of a person who had not appeared before them”. At an earlier ceremony, the Judicial Secretary reported complaints from foreign missions and national security about lawyers who notarised documents they had not prepared themselves, and a Justice of the Supreme Court warned that “Failure to exercise due diligence, care and skills may lead to unpleasant consequence”.

Who answers for the truth

The person making the statement.

“Any person who makes a statutory declaration which he knows to be false in a material particular, or who makes a declaration false in a material particular, reckless whether it be true or not, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.”Act 389, section 5

For sworn statements, the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) goes further. Under section 211, a person is guilty of perjury if, in a statement “made or verified by him upon oath before any Court, or public officer”, he states anything “which he knows to be false in a material particular, or which he has not reason to believe to be true”. Perjury is a second degree felony (section 210), and section 212 adds that a person can commit it “by swearing that he believes a thing which he does not in fact believe”.

For court affidavits, Order 20 rule 8(1) of the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004 (C.I. 47) places the burden on the deponent: “An affidavit shall contain only facts that the deponent can prove”, unless the Rules allow statements of information or belief.

How the courts treat what was declared

Ghanaian courts have made clear that a notary's certificate does not turn a statement into proof. In In re Ashalley Botwe Lands; Adjetey Agbosu v Kotey [2003-2004] SCGLR 420, the Supreme Court said:

“Generally, statutory declarations per se, are self-serving documents and so of no probative value where the facts contained in them are challenged or disputed.”Agbosu v Kotey, Supreme Court

The Court also rejected the view that, once the Lands Commission had accepted a declaration's contents as true, the courts could not question them. In Mondial Veneer (Gh) Ltd v Amuah Gyebu XV [2011] 1 SCGLR 466, the Supreme Court called a self-serving statutory declaration “definitely the most unreliable mode of proving ownership”. The certificate proves that the declaration was made. Whether its contents are true is decided on the evidence.

The notary's own statements, by contrast, are tested strictly. In Kanyeh and Another v Owusu and Another [2024] GHAHC 322, the High Court at Hohoe dealt with affidavits sworn in Accra but endorsed by the Registrar of the High Court, Hohoe, acting as Commissioner for Oaths. The court held that the Commissioner “did not state the truth as the said deponent did not sign the affidavit before the Commissioner for Oaths in Hohoe”, found a breach of section 6 of NRCD 6, and struck the affidavits out as incompetent. The court never reached the facts deposed to. The officer's certificate was enough to sink them.

The Evidence Act, 1975 (NRCD 323) reflects the same split. A writing with a notary's certificate of acknowledgement is “presumed to be authentic” (section 158), and a notary's seal is presumed genuine (section 159(g)). Those presumptions go to whether the document is genuine and was duly executed. They do not make its contents true.

Scenarios

1. Facts only the declarant can know. A declaration that the declarant is single, has lost a document, or has never used another name. The notary cannot check this and is not required to. The notary confirms identity, makes sure the declarant understands the declaration, and takes it. If it is false, the declarant answers for it under section 5 of Act 389.
2. The documents contradict the declaration. The ID shows a different date of birth or spelling. The notary asks. A sensible explanation is fine, and sometimes explaining the discrepancy is the very purpose of the declaration. An unexplained conflict is a suspicious circumstance under section 6(1).
3. The notary knows it is false. The declarant says they have never married, and the notary attended their wedding. The notary now has certain knowledge, to borrow Brooke's phrase. Certifying would risk the offence in section 8. The notary refuses and marks the refusal under section 7.
4. The declarant admits it is not true. “It is just a formality the embassy needs.” That ends the matter. The notary refuses.
5. “One and the same person”. A declaration that two names belong to one person. The notary checks that the person present matches the ID produced. That the two names truly belong to one person rests on the declarant's word and supporting documents.
6. Land. A statutory declaration of ownership, boundaries or a customary grant. The notary may take it, but does not verify title. The client should know that in Agbosu the Supreme Court held that such a declaration does not by itself confer title, whether registered or not.
7. Certified true copies. The notary compares the copy with the original produced and certifies that they match. Practice guidance describes this as “a visual comparison of the original documents with the copies”. The notary does not certify that the original is genuine, which is why some certificates need verification by the issuer before legalisation. An original that looks altered is a suspicious circumstance.
8. No original. The client has only a photocopy or a scan. The notary cannot certify it as a true copy of an original the notary has not seen.
9. Contracts and agreements. When witnessing signatures, the notary certifies execution: who signed, and when. The notary does not certify that the terms are fair, lawful or enforceable. A document plainly designed for an unlawful purpose, however, is a suspicious circumstance.
10. Powers of attorney. The notary confirms the donor's identity and that the donor signed freely. Whether the donor owns the land or controls the account the power covers is not something the notary certifies.
11. Signing for a company. The notary looks for evidence of authority, such as a board resolution, and checks that it is consistent on its face. The notary does not audit whether the board meeting took place. A resolution that is incomplete or inconsistent with the document is a reason to ask.
12. The signer does not understand. The signer cannot read the language of the document, or seems confused. This is not about truth but about a declaration made knowingly and voluntarily. An interpreter may help. If understanding cannot be established, the notary does not proceed.
13. Pressure from someone else. A relative does all the talking, or the signer seems coached or afraid. If it is doubtful that the person is acting freely, the notary refuses.
14. The signer is not there. A pre-signed document brought in by a messenger, or a request to “just stamp it”. Without personal appearance there is nothing for the notary to certify.
15. Backdating, or a different place. A request to date the jurat earlier, or to record a place other than where the oath was taken. This is the one statement the notary fully vouches for. NRCD 6 requires it to be stated “truly”, and Kanyeh shows the cost of getting it wrong.
16. Blank spaces. A document with gaps “to be filled in later”. The notary is not checking the contents, but cannot certify a document whose contents are not yet fixed. Blanks are completed or struck through before signing.
17. A hearsay affidavit for court. The deponent swears to things learned from others. Under Order 20 rule 8(2) of C.I. 47, statements of information or belief are permitted in interlocutory proceedings, with “the source of the information and the grounds of the belief”. Compliance is for the deponent and counsel, and ultimately the court. The notary administers the oath.
18. When a higher standard is set. In 2018, the Chief Justice was reported as telling commissioners for oaths in the national identification exercise not to swear in anyone “that they have not seen in person or whose claims they cannot verify”. Where a statute or a specific exercise demands more, that standard applies.

For those appearing before a notary

• Read what you sign. Its truth is your responsibility, and the penalties for a false declaration or a false oath fall on you.
• Bring documents that support what you declare. They help the notary act, and they help the receiving institution believe you.
• Expect questions. A notary who asks about a discrepancy is doing what the law requires, not doubting you personally.
• Do not ask for a different date or place, or for a stamp on a document you signed elsewhere. The answer will be no.
• A notarised statement is not proof. If the facts are challenged, you will still need evidence.

For notaries

• Check the person, the presence and the free will. Leave the truth to the declarant, unless you know, or have good reason to suspect, otherwise.
• Read the document before you act. You are not verifying it, but you cannot ignore what is on its face.
• When in doubt, refuse, and mark the refusal on the document with your signature and the date, as section 7 requires.
• Make your own certificate exact. The place, the date and the act performed must all be true.
• Keep a register of every notarial act. New notaries have been urged to do so from the Bench, and it is your best evidence of what you did.

This article is general information about the law and practice in Ghana as at October 2026. It is not legal advice. For advice on a particular matter, please consult a lawyer.