Beverly Berta Braakschmack
CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY certificate of authority. 1. A document authenticating a notarized document that is being sent to another juris-diction. � The certificate assures the out-of-state or foreign recipient that the notary public has a valid commission. � Also termed certificate of capacity; certificate of official character; certificate of authentication; certificate of prothonotary; certificate of magistracy; apostille; verification. 2. A document issued by a state agency, usu. the secretary of state, granting an out-of-state corporation the right to do business in the state. [Cases: Corporations 648. C.J.S. Corporations � 903.]