How long you need to keep a notary journal depends on the state that commissioned you, but most states set the window between seven and ten years. Some measure that period from the date of your last entry, some from the date your commission ends, and a few tie it to your commission term plus a shorter buffer. If your state doesn’t require a journal at all, the standard professional recommendation is still at least ten years from your last entry.
The Three Retention Patterns States Use
There is no federal rule on notary journals. Every retention requirement comes from your commissioning state, and the requirements fall into three recognizable patterns.
The first pattern measures from the date of your last notarization recorded in the journal. Ten years is the common benchmark here. The second measures from the date your commission expires or you stop serving as a notary, usually requiring seven years from that point. The third ties retention to your commission term plus an additional buffer, sometimes as short as three years after the notarization date or the end of the commission, whichever is longer.
Roughly half of all states explicitly require notaries to keep a journal. The rest either make it optional or say nothing. About 28 states have adopted some version of the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, which generally follows the ten-year-from-last-entry approach, though states modify the uniform language when they enact it. Check your own statute rather than relying on the pattern alone.
If your state doesn’t mandate a journal, keeping one is still widely considered the single best thing you can do to protect yourself. Ten years from the date of your last entry is the safe default. That window covers most statutes of limitations that could bring a notarization back into question.
Electronic Journals and Remote Notarization Recordings
If you perform electronic or remote online notarizations, your retention obligation includes more than a written log. Most states that authorize remote online notarization require you to keep an audio-video recording of each session along with the standard journal entry. These recordings must generally be stored in a tamper-evident electronic format that prevents alteration.
Retention periods for recordings typically run five to ten years, depending on the state. Some states apply the same window to recordings and journal entries; others set separate timelines. Because state remote notarization statutes keep changing, this is one area where checking the current rule matters more than almost any other part of notary practice.
Electronic journals also face security requirements that paper journals don’t. Expect rules on password protection, encrypted storage, and backups. If you switch electronic journal providers, confirm you can still open and produce the older records for the full retention period. A journal you can’t open is as useless as one you threw away.
What to Do When Your Commission Ends
When your commission expires, is revoked, or you resign, your state will require one of two things. Either you keep the journal yourself for the full retention period, or you deposit it with a designated government office. States split roughly evenly between these two approaches.
States that require deposit typically direct the journal to the county clerk, county recorder, recorder of deeds, or Secretary of State. Deadlines run from 30 to 90 days after your commission ends. Missing the deadline can bring fines, and some states treat it as grounds for denying a future commission if you reapply later.
States that let you keep the journal still impose obligations. You must store it securely, you must be able to produce it if a court orders you to, and you typically must notify the Secretary of State where the journal is being kept. Some states let you leave the journal with a former employer if that is where the notarizations happened, as long as you report the arrangement to the commissioning authority.
One point worth flagging if you’re leaving a job: your journal belongs to you, not your employer, even if every entry in it is work-related. Your commission is personal, and the retention duty travels with you.
If the Journal Is Lost or Stolen
A missing journal doesn’t reset the retention clock, and it doesn’t excuse you from reporting. Most states require written notice to your commissioning authority, with typical deadlines around 10 to 15 days from when you discover the loss. Waiting longer can bring fines, suspension, or revocation.
Your report should include your name as it appears on your commission, your commission number, your expiration date, the time period the missing journal covered, and a description of how the loss or theft happened. If the journal was stolen, file a police report and include a copy. Even where a report isn’t required, filing one creates a paper trail that protects you if entries later turn up in fraudulent transactions.
Start a new journal immediately. Don’t try to reconstruct missing entries from memory or other records, since fabricated entries carry their own legal risks. Note on the first page of the new journal that it replaces a lost or stolen one, and reference the date you reported the loss.
If a Notary Dies or Becomes Incapacitated
If a notary dies or becomes permanently unable to serve, the journal becomes the responsibility of the family, executor, or personal representative. Most states require delivery of the journal, seal, and other official materials to a designated office, usually within 30 to 90 days. Common destinations are the county clerk, recorder of deeds, county recorder, or Secretary of State.
Families who don’t know about this obligation sometimes discard journals along with other personal papers, which creates real problems years later when someone needs to verify a notarization. If you’re an active notary, leave written instructions. A note taped inside the front cover of the journal with the name and address of the office where it should be sent is enough.
Disposing of the Journal After the Retention Period
Once you’ve held the journal for the full period your state requires, you can destroy it. Not a day earlier. Premature disposal can violate state law and leaves you unable to defend a notarization if it’s later challenged. When you’re unsure whether the clock has run, hold the journal longer.
Never put a notary journal in the trash. Journals contain names, addresses, signatures, identification details, and sometimes partial Social Security numbers. Some states fine improper disposal at $500 or more. Even where no specific fine applies, dumpster disposal invites identity theft and liability.
The only acceptable method is secure destruction that makes the information unrecoverable. Cross-cut shredding works well for paper journals. Incineration is another option if you have safe access to it. For electronic journals, use a certified data-destruction service or software that overwrites the storage media; deleting files or reformatting a drive leaves the data recoverable with basic tools. Document the date and method of destruction for your own records.