No, notaries do not keep copies of the notarized documents they handle. A notary’s job is to verify the signer’s identity and witness the signature, not to archive the deed, contract, or power of attorney itself. What the notary does keep is a journal entry recording that the notarization happened, and the document itself lives with whoever recorded it, drafted it, or received it after signing.
Why the Notary Doesn’t Hold Onto the Document
The notary’s involvement starts and ends with the signing. They confirm who the signer is, watch the signature go on the page, and apply their seal. They have no duty to read the document, evaluate the deal, or store the paperwork afterward.
Keeping copies would also be a problem. Notaries handle deeds, loan packages, medical directives, and powers of attorney packed with sensitive personal and financial details. Storing all of it would turn every notary’s filing cabinet into a target for identity theft, and the volume alone makes it unworkable. A busy notary may handle dozens of signings in a single day.
Some notaries photocopy a signature page for their own protection, but no state requires them to retain the full document. The record-keeping job is done through the notary journal instead.
What Notaries Do Keep: The Journal
The journal is a running log of every notarization the notary performs. It isn’t an archive of documents; it’s a transaction record that proves the notarization took place, who appeared, and how their identity was checked.
A majority of states now require a journal, and the number has grown over time. Even where it isn’t mandated, professional organizations and training programs treat it as standard practice, because the journal is the notary’s main defense if a signing is ever challenged.
Journals come in two forms. Paper journals are typically bound with numbered pages so entries can’t be pulled or reordered. Electronic journals must use tamper-evident formats that prevent backdating or alteration.
What a Journal Entry Contains
The Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, adopted in some form by a growing number of states, sets out what should appear in each entry. Requirements vary by state, but a standard entry includes:
- The date and time of the notarization.
- The type of notarial act performed, such as an acknowledgment, jurat, or oath.
- A description of the document, such as a deed of trust or power of attorney.
- The full legal name and address of each signer.
- How the signer’s identity was verified. If the notary personally knew the signer, the entry notes that. Otherwise it records the type of ID presented, the issuing authority, and the expiration date.
- The fee charged for the service.
When a signer can’t produce ID, some states allow a “credible witness” who personally knows the signer to vouch for identity. The journal then records the witness’s name and signature, and the witness may need to show ID as well.
A handful of states require a thumbprint in the journal for high-stakes documents like real property transfers and powers of attorney. This is not universal. Only one state currently mandates thumbprints for those transactions.
Journals should not contain full Social Security numbers, complete driver’s license numbers, or other highly sensitive identifiers. Some states expressly forbid recording them. Where partial numbers are allowed, only the last four digits of a license or passport number may appear.
Remote Online Notarization Is Different
Notarizations performed over video call carry heavier documentation requirements. Most states that authorize remote online notarization require the notary to make an audio and video recording of the entire session, capturing the identity verification, the conversation, and the signing itself. That is substantially more documentation than a traditional in-person notarization produces, though the notary still doesn’t keep the underlying document.
Retention periods for these recordings generally run from five to ten years, depending on the state. The model legislation recommends ten years. Recordings have to be stored securely against tampering, unauthorized access, and data loss, and notaries can designate a third-party repository or their employer as the custodian, since encrypted redundant storage isn’t something most individuals can maintain on their own.
How to Request a Journal Entry From the Notary
If what you actually need is proof that a notarization took place, the journal entry is the record to ask for. In most states, someone who was part of the transaction can request a copy of their own entry. The request usually has to be in writing and specific enough for the notary to find it: names of the parties, type of document, and approximate date.
The notary provides only the requested entry and covers or redacts unrelated entries on the same page to protect other signers’ information.
Access rules beyond that vary. A few states allow open public inspection of notary journals. Others treat journal contents as exempt from public records laws unless a subpoena or court order forces disclosure. Some draw a line between journals kept by private notaries and journals kept by notaries who are public employees, with broader disclosure required in the latter case. Law enforcement generally has wider access, and a peace officer investigating potential fraud can typically demand to inspect the journal.
How to Get a Copy of the Notarized Document Itself
The document doesn’t come from the notary, so tracking it down means going to whoever ended up with it after signing. Where to look depends on what kind of document it was.
- Recorded documents such as deeds, mortgages, and liens are filed with the county recorder’s office after notarization. You can request a certified copy from the recorder, usually for a per-page fee plus a certification charge.
- Contracts and loan documents stay with the title company, lender, attorney, or other entity that handled the transaction. Start with whoever organized the signing.
- Estate planning documents like wills, trusts, and powers of attorney are usually kept by the attorney who drafted them. If a will has been filed for probate, the court clerk can provide a copy.
- Notarized documents submitted in a lawsuit become part of the court record and can be obtained from the clerk of court.
The journal entry the notary can supply won’t include the document’s text, but it will confirm the date, the signer, and how identity was verified. When the document itself exists and the fight is over whether the notarization was valid, the journal entry is often the piece of evidence that matters most.
Notarized Copy vs. Certified Copy
One point worth clearing up: a notarized copy is not the same as a certified copy from a government office. Notaries in most states cannot make certified copies of vital records such as birth certificates, death certificates, or marriage certificates. Those have to come from the issuing agency. Some states do allow notaries to certify copies of other kinds of documents, but the rules vary widely, so if you need a certified copy of a vital record, go to the agency that issued it rather than a notary.