Frequently Asked Questions for Notaries Public

If you meet the eligibility requirements, submit the following to the secretary of state:

1. Completed Form 2301 (available from the secretary of state, county clerk, or your insurance agency or surety company);
2. Proof of a $10,000 surety bond; and
3. Filing fee of $21.

To renew your commission, submit the following to the secretary of state no earlier than 90 days before the expiration of your commission:

1. Completed Form 2301 (available from the secretary of state, county clerk, or your insurance agency or surety company);
2. Proof of a $10,000 surety bond; and
3. Filing fee of $21.

Yes. A notary public may change the name on his or her commission by sending the secretary of state a name change application (Form 2305), his or her certificate of commission, a rider or endorsement from the insurance agency or surety showing the name change, and a $20 filing fee.

Yes. A Texas notary public is required to maintain a record book. This record book must be maintained whether or not any fees are charged for your notary public service. The following information must be included in the record book:

1. the date of each instrument notarized;
2. the date of the notarization;
3. the name of the signer, grantor, or maker;
4. the signer's, grantor's, or maker's residence or alleged residence;
5. whether the signer, grantor, or maker is personally known by the notary public, was identified by an identification card issued by a United States federal or state governmental agency or a passport issued by the United States, or was introduced to the notary public and, if introduced, the name and residence or alleged residence of the individual introducing the signer, grantor, or maker;
6. if the instrument is proved by a witness, the residence of the witness, whether the witness is personally known by the notary public or was introduced to the notary public and, if introduced, the name and residence of the individual introducing the witness;
7. the name and residence of the grantee;
8. if land is conveyed or charged by the instrument, the name of the original grantee and the county where the land is located; and
9. a brief description of the instrument.

Tex. Gov't Code §406.014

The person for whom a notarization is performed is not required to sign the record book.

A notary should not record any identification number that was assigned by a governmental agency or by the United States to the signer, grantor or maker on an identification card, driver's license, social security card or passport; or any other number that could be used to identify the signer, grantor or maker of the document. 1 TAC §87.40. However, a notary is not prohibited from recording a number related to the residence or alleged residence of the signer, grantor or maker of the document or the instrument.

Yes. The entries in a notary's record book are public information and a notary is required to provide a certified copy of the record book to any person who requests, and pays the fees for, the copies. Tex. Gov't Code §406.014(b), (c). Although not required, the secretary of state suggests that you make all requests in writing, by sending a certified letter to the notary's address. Making your request in this manner provides evidence of the request. Should a notary fail to respond or provide copies, you may file a complaint with this Office and include the evidence of the request as supporting documentation.

The employer is not the owner of a notary's record book or seal, even if the employer paid for the materials. Tex. Atty. Gen. Op. GA-0723. A Texas notary public is required by law to maintain a record book containing information on every notarization performed and is required to authenticate every official act with the seal of office. The record book is public information and a notary is required to produce copies of the book upon request. Therefore, the book and seal should remain in the possession of the notary at all times.

Similarly the secretary of state issues a commission to the individual notary public for a four-year term, without regard to who paid the application or bond fees. As a result, an employer may not retain the commission of an employee.

If your employer retains your seal, record book or commission when you leave your job, you should provide your employer a copy of Texas Attorney General Opinion GA-0723. If after receiving a copy of the opinion, your employer still will not let you take your notary book or seal with you, you should make a copy of the pages of the record book so that you can produce them upon request. You should also obtain a new seal and start a new record book for future notarizations. If your employer will not release your commission, you may contact the secretary of state's office for a duplicate copy of the commission.

Yes. A notary public shall provide a seal of office that clearly shows, when embossed, stamped, or printed on a document, the words "Notary Public, State of Texas" around a star of five points, the notary public's name, and the date the notary public's commission expires. Notaries public commissioned for the first time on or after January 1, 2016, and notaries public renewing their commissions on or after that date must have their notary ID number on their seal of office. See Section 406.013 of the Texas Government Code as amended by HB 1683 (PDF). The notary public shall authenticate all official acts with the seal of office.

An online notary public must replace an electronic seal or digital certificate that is expired or no longer valid. The notary public shall provide a copy of the new seal or certificate to the secretary of state within 10 days of the replacement.

A notary is required to keep, in a safe and secure manner, copies of the records of notarizations performed for the longer of: 1) the term of the commission in which the notarization occurred; or 2) three years following the date of notarization. 1 TAC §87.54. The best practice, however, would be for the notary to permanently maintain copies of the records.

When the commission of a notary public expires, or the individual otherwise ceases to be a notary public, the notary seal should be destroyed to prevent possible misuse by another individual.

There is no specific prohibition against notarizing a spouse's or relative's signature or notarizing for a spouse's business. However, notarizations should not be performed by a notary public who is a party to the instrument or financially or beneficially interested in the transaction. The facts in each situation will determine whether the notary's action was proper.

Yes. In fact, there are statutes that specifically permit such notarizations. For example, §121.002 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code authorizes an employee of a corporation to take an acknowledgment of a written instrument in which the corporation has an interest. In addition, §199.002 of the Texas Finance Code specifies that a notary public is not disqualified from performing a notarization of a document, solely because of the notary public's ownership of stock or participation in or employment by a state trust company that has an interest in the underlying transaction.

No. The Texas Attorney General's office issued a letter opinion in 1988 indicating that a notary public who is employed by a governmental body may refuse to take acknowledgements for the general public and must refuse when doing so would interfere with the employee's discharge of his or her duties as a public employee. Tex. Atty. Gen. Op. LO-88-34.

No. Birth certificates and marriage licenses are publically recordable documents. Recordable documents are recorded with some specific governmental entity, such as the secretary of state's office, a court of law, a county clerk, or the Bureau of Vital Statistics. A certified copy of a recordable document may be obtained by contacting the recording entity. A notary cannot make certified copies of recordable documents.

A notary may, however, make a certified copy of a non-recordable document. A non-recordable document is one that cannot be recorded with any type of governmental entity. For instance, a letter is not recorded with anyone, but there are times the sender of the letter would like to maintain a certified copy of that letter for his or her file.

No. The person for whom a notarization is performed must personally appear before the notary public at the time the notarization is performed.

Yes. A notary public has statewide jurisdiction and may perform notarial acts in any county in the state of Texas.

No. A notary public who is not an attorney should only complete a notarial certificate which is already on the document, or type or attach a certificate of the maker's choosing. If a notary public were presented with a document that did not contain a certificate and decided which certificate to attach, that notary public would be "practicing law." Instead, the notary may allow the person for whom the notarization is performed to choose among the sample certificates provided to the notary with the notary’s commission. The notarial certificate must be in English.

Regardless of which notarial certificate is used and however it is worded, the notary public has a duty to make sure that the information contained in the notarial certificate is a true and accurate reflection of the notarization which the notary performs.

Yes, but you must include notice containing the following statement with the advertisement:

"I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY LICENSED TO PRACTICE LAW IN TEXAS AND MAY NOT GIVE LEGAL ADVICE OR ACCEPT FEES FOR LEGAL ADVICE."

In addition to containing the above statement, the notice must be conspicuous, be in both English and the language of the advertisement, and must include the fees that a notary public may charge.

Use of the phrase "notario publico" is prohibited.

Texas Government Code §406.024 specifies the maximum fees for an official act performed by a notary public. A lesser fee is allowed or no fee at all may be charged. Excessive fees are grounds for disciplinary action.

Texas Government Code §406.024 specifies that the notary public or the notary’s employer may charge the specified fees.

Please visit our Request a Universal Apostille information to learn more about this process.

You may obtain an official certificate or apostille on a document notarized by a Texas notary public from the Authentications Unit of the secretary of state. Detailed information pertaining to the procedure for requesting certificates or apostilles may be found on our web site.

The Texas secretary of state cannot provide certification for notaries commissioned outside the state of Texas.

Every commissioned notary public has a duty to safeguard his/her notary materials. However, if your notary seal or record book has been misplaced or lost, send a letter to this office detailing the circumstances in which the materials went missing, the last time you used it, and any other relevant information. If any of your notary materials have been stolen, you should file a report with your local law enforcement office and enclose a copy of that report with your letter to this office. Send the letter to the Notary Public Unit, P.O. Box 13375, Austin, Texas 78711-3375 or by email.

Remember that you have a duty to record every notarial act in your record book. Therefore, if your notary record book is lost or stolen, you must get a new book before you resume providing notarial services. Similarly, you must get a new seal if your seal is lost or stolen, as notaries are required to affix their seals to all official acts they perform.

A notary must sign the notarial certificate using the same name that is listed on the commission issued by the secretary of state. However, as long as the name matches, the signature of the notary may be printed, written, typed, stamped, etc.

The individual signing the document may sign in whatever manner he/she chooses. The name or manner of signing used by the signor is not the responsibility of the notary public. However, the notary public does have a responsibility to make sure that the information contained in the notarial certificate is accurate. For example if John Doe appears before a notary public and signs the instrument with an "X" the notary public should still state in the notarial certificate that John Doe personally appeared on a given date.

Any Texas notary may perform an electronic notarization. An electronic notarization must meet all of the requirements of any other notarization, such as the requirement that the signer personally appear before the notary to acknowledge the document. In addition, the notary's electronic seal must reproduce the required elements of the notary seal.

In addition, the Texas Uniform Electronic Transaction Act ("TUETA") applies to transactions that the parties agree to conduct electronically. TUETA includes a section providing for an electronic notarization:

§322.011. NOTARIZATION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT. If a law requires a signature or record to be notarized, acknowledged, verified, or made under oath, the requirement is satisfied if the electronic signature of the person authorized to perform those acts, together with all other information required to be included by other applicable law, is attached to or logically associated with the signature or record.

Texas law does not authorize notaries public to certify an I-9 Form, and the Form itself does not contain a notarial certificate. Therefore, notaries should not notarize an I-9 Form. However, it is permissible for a notary public who is an employee of a business to assist that business in filling out the Form - as long as that work is not performed in the employee's capacity as a notary public, and as long as the employee does not place their notary seal on the document.

Yes. The Texas Attorney General’s office has issued an opinion supporting the authority of a private employer to limit or prohibit the notarial activities of its employees during work hours. Tex. Atty. Gen. Op. GA-0723.

Maybe not. Texas notaries have statewide jurisdiction. Gov't Code § 406.003. Accordingly, a Texas notary does not appear to be authorized to take an oath or acknowledgement, or perform any other notarial act, on a federal enclave or an Indian reservation. See Tex. Atty. Gen. Op. JC-0390 (2001) (finding that engineers practicing on a federal enclave are not required to be licensed in Texas). Some, but not all military bases are federal enclaves. To find out if a particular military base is a federal enclave, start your search by emailing us to find out if we have record of a deed of cession. If we do not have a deed of cession, it does not necessarily mean it does not exist. You should consult your private attorney to determine whether the property in question was ceded.

No. The Governor's temporary suspension of section 121.006(c)(1) of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code relating to the acknowledgment of real-estate instruments and temporary suspension of certain statutes relating to the execution of a self-proved will, a durable power of attorney, a medical power of attorney, a directive to physician, or an oath of an executor, administrator, or guardian, were terminated effective 12:01 a.m. on September 1, 2021.