Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 121.005 · Chapter 121. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND PROOFS OF WRITTEN INSTRUMENTS
PROOF OF IDENTITY OF ACKNOWLEDGING PERSON.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) An officer may not take the acknowledgment of a written instrument unless the officer knows or has satisfactory evidence that the acknowledging person is the person who executed the instrument and is described in it. An officer may accept, as satisfactory evidence of the identity of an acknowledging person, only:
(1) the oath of a credible witness who:
(A) is personally known to the officer; or
(B) provides the officer with a current identification card or other document issued by the federal government or any state government that contains the photograph and signature of the witness;
(2) a current identification card or other document issued by the federal government or any state government that contains the photograph and signature of the acknowledging person; or
(3) with respect to a deed or other instrument relating to a residential real estate transaction, a current passport issued by a foreign country.
(b) Except in a short form certificate of acknowledgment authorized by Section 121.008, the officer must note in the certificate of acknowledgment that:
(1) he personally knows the acknowledging person; or
(2) evidence of a witness or an identification card or other document was used to identify the acknowledging person.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 90, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Amended by:
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1242 (S.B. 1320), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2011.
Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1095 (H.B. 4202), Sec. 1, eff. June 20, 2025.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.121.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 7cfb0e4fc4be22b372a9907390c7c941977c336afbd83225d6107c9259636258
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
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Civil Practice and Remedies Code
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