Title 14Coast GuardRelease 119-73

§932 Administration of oaths

Title 14 › Subtitle SUBTITLE I— - ESTABLISHMENT, POWERS, DUTIES, AND ADMINISTRATION › Chapter CHAPTER 9— - ADMINISTRATION › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - MISCELLANEOUS › § 932

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Commandant can allow certain commissioned and warrant officers to act as notaries under rules the Commandant sets. They may give oaths and notarize papers for regular Coast Guard duties (like recruitment oaths, court or board matters, and official documents), during war or national emergencies, and in Alaska or places outside the continental United States where the Coast Guard serves. They must not charge any fee. The officer’s signature and rank count as proof they are authorized.

Full Legal Text

Title 14, §932

Coast Guard — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Such commissioned and warrant officers of the Coast Guard as may be designated by the Commandant may, pursuant to rules prescribed by the Commandant, exercise the general powers of a notary public in the administration of oaths for the following purposes:
(1)execution, acknowledgment, and attestation of instruments and papers, oaths of allegiance in connection with recruiting, oaths in connection with courts and boards, and all other notarial acts in connection with the proper execution of Coast Guard functions;
(2)execution, acknowledgment, and attestation of instruments and papers, and all other notarial acts in time of war or national emergency; and
(3)execution, acknowledgment, and attestation of instruments and papers, and all other notarial acts in Alaska and places beyond the continental limits of the United States where the Coast Guard is serving.
(b)No fee of any character shall be charged by any commissioned or warrant officer for performing notarial acts. The signature and indication of grade of any commissioned or warrant officer performing any notarial act shall be prima facie evidence of his authority.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on title 14, U.S.C., 1946 ed., §§ 26, 27 (Apr. 16, 1908, ch. 145, § 12, 35 Stat. 63; June 5, 1920, ch. 235, § 1, 41 Stat. 880). Said sections are rewritten, the provisions concerning oaths being broadened to conform more closely to law applicable to officers of the Navy (see title 34, U.S.C., 1946 ed., § 217a). 81st Congress,

House Report No. 557

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Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Pub. L. 115–282 renumbered section 636 of this title as this section.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

14 U.S.C. § 932

Title 14Coast Guard

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73