ATTESTATION
The act of attending the execution of a document
and bearing witness to its authenticity, by signing
one’s name to it to affirm that it is genuine. The
certification by a custodian of records that a copy
of an original document is a true copy that is
demonstrated by his or her signature on a certifi-
cate.
An attestation is a declaration by a witness
that an instrument has been executed in his or
her presence according to the formalities
required by law. It is not the same as an
ACKNOWLEDGMENT, a statement by the maker
of a document that verifies its authenticity.
An attestation clause is frequently found in
legal documents that must be witnessed if they
are to be valid, for example, a will or a deed. It
states that the instrument has been completed in
the manner required by law in the presence of
the witness who places his or her signature in
