To get a notary job, you first need a notary commission from your state, and then you decide which of three income paths to work: an in-house role at an employer that needs notarizations on staff, independent mobile notary work, or loan signing agent work tied to real estate closings. The commission itself takes roughly four to eight weeks to obtain. What you earn afterward depends almost entirely on which path you build toward, with signing agents typically pulling $75 to $200 per appointment while in-house notaries treat the credential as a resume boost rather than a primary income source.
Getting Commissioned Comes First
No employer will hire you as a notary, and no title company will send you signings, until your state has issued you an active commission. That is the gating step for every path that follows.
Baseline eligibility is consistent across states. You need to be at least 18, a legal resident or employed within the state where you apply, and free of disqualifying criminal history. Most states require U.S. citizenship, though some accept lawful permanent residents. You’ll submit your full legal name, home and business addresses, and disclosure of any previous commissions or name changes.
Many states run a criminal background check. Some use state law enforcement databases; others require an FBI Identity History Summary Check, which uses fingerprints and costs $18.1Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions Felony convictions are the most common disqualifier, especially crimes involving dishonesty like fraud, forgery, embezzlement, or perjury. Many states use “crimes of moral turpitude” as a catch-all that can also reach theft, drug offenses, and arson. Dishonesty-related misdemeanors can trigger a denial too. If you have an expunged or pardoned conviction, check your state’s specific rule, because states differ on whether those count as cleared for notary purposes.
Education and Exam
Roughly 19 jurisdictions (18 states plus the District of Columbia) require education or testing before you apply. Courses run anywhere from three hours to a full day of seven or more, covering your state’s notary statutes, identification procedures, journal-keeping, and the legal consequences of mistakes. You typically take a proctored exam at the end and receive a certificate whose number goes on your application.
The remaining states have no education or testing requirement, meaning you can technically get commissioned with no formal training. Take a course anyway. The first time you face a document you’re not sure you can legally notarize, you’ll want to know the answer, because getting it wrong exposes you personally.
Bond, Application, and Oath
Nearly every state requires a surety bond before your commission activates. Bond amounts run from $500 to $25,000 depending on the state. The bond does not protect you; it protects the public. If you cause someone financial harm through an error or misconduct, the bond pays them, and the bonding company then pursues you for reimbursement. The premium is a small fraction of face value: a $10,000 bond might cost $50 to $100 for the term.
File through your secretary of state’s office. More states now require online submission. Filing fees generally run from around $10 to $50 for a standard commission, with online notary applications sometimes higher. Processing typically takes two to six weeks once the state has a complete application. Missing documents and incomplete background checks are the most common causes of delay.
Approval alone does not always give you authority to notarize. Many states require you to take your commission certificate to a county clerk, sign an oath of office, and have the commission recorded. Some handle the oath through the online application. Until the oath is filed, you cannot legally perform notarial acts.
Commission terms run from four to ten years, with four the most common. Once your commission is official, order your seal (a rubber stamp or embosser bearing your name, “Notary Public,” your state, your commission number, and your expiration date) and set up a journal. Approximately 20 states require a chronological journal of every notarial act; even where it isn’t mandatory, keeping one is the single best thing you can do to protect yourself if a signer later disputes the notarization.
The In-House Notary Job
The most common way people use a notary commission is as an add-on credential inside a job they already have or want. Banks, law firms, insurance companies, title agencies, and corporate legal departments all need staff who can notarize on the spot. Many employers will pay for your commission and supplies or offer a small stipend.
This path doesn’t produce a stand-alone “notary” paycheck. You’re hired for another role (teller, paralegal, legal assistant, escrow clerk, HR coordinator) and the commission makes you more useful. If you’re job hunting in legal support, finance, or real estate, listing an active notary commission on your resume is a low-cost way to move to the top of the pile. It signals reliability and eliminates a small logistical problem for the employer.
The trade-off is income ceiling. Fee caps on notarial acts are set by statute in most states, ranging from as low as $2 per signature to $25 at the high end, with typical caps around $5 to $10. About ten states set no statutory maximum. Either way, an in-house notary rarely charges fees directly; the notarizations are part of the job.
Mobile Notary Work
Mobile notaries travel to signers wherever they are: homes, hospitals, offices, coffee shops. You set your own schedule, supply your own equipment, and charge a travel fee on top of the standard notarization fee. Most states don’t cap travel fees, which is where the actual money on this path lives.
Per-appointment income on routine work is modest, and building a client base takes time. Reliable repeat business tends to come from real estate offices, elder care facilities, and attorney offices once they know you’ll come on short notice. The appeal is flexibility, not volume, and mobile notary work suits people who want part-time or side income rather than a full replacement paycheck.
Notary Signing Agent: The Highest-Paying Path
Signing agents are mobile notaries who specialize in real estate loan closings. You oversee execution of mortgage document packages, sometimes running 100 pages or more, and make sure every signature, initial, and date lands in the right place. Title companies and signing services hire you per appointment. Fees generally run $75 to $200 per signing, depending on whether the work comes through a signing service or directly from an escrow company.
Getting this work requires more than a standard commission. You need training on loan document types, a separate background screening through a vendor the title industry recognizes, and certification through an organization signing services trust. Certification exams typically require a passing score of 80% or higher. Signing services check your background and certification status before assigning work, so skipping this step means fewer jobs and lower pay.
The work is cyclical. When interest rates fall and refinancing surges, signing agents can work seven days a week. When rates climb, volume drops. The signing agents who stay busy through both halves of the cycle diversify: they handle general notary work alongside closings, register with multiple signing services rather than one, and market directly to local title companies instead of waiting for platforms to send them appointments.
Remote Online Notarization
Remote online notarization (RON) lets you notarize for signers who appear on a live video call. As of early 2025, 45 states and the District of Columbia have enacted permanent RON laws, and federal legislation (the SECURE Notarization Act) has been reintroduced in Congress to create nationwide standards but has not been signed into law.2Congress.gov. SECURE Notarization Act of 2025
To perform RON, you generally need to register separately with your state as a remote notary, increase your surety bond (some states require $10,000 for RON versus the standard bond), buy a digital certificate that creates tamper-evident electronic seals, and sign up with an approved technology platform that handles the video connection, identity verification, and document management.
Platform choice matters more than most new notaries realize. Some bring clients to you; others require you to bring your own. Some charge per transaction, others require monthly subscriptions, and the revenue split differs widely. Before you commit, check whether the platform lets you use your own digital certificate (buying a separate one for each platform gets expensive fast), whether you keep control of your journal entries and session recordings, and what anti-fraud technology the provider uses. If you’re building a long-term career rather than adding a credential to a current job, getting set up for RON early positions you in the part of the market that’s still growing.
Protecting the Job Once You Have It
Two rules cause more notaries to lose commissions and face liability than anything else. First, you cannot give legal advice, explain what a document means, help someone decide which documents to sign, or prepare legal documents for others, unless you’re also a licensed attorney. Your role starts and stops at verifying identity and witnessing signatures. A signer with a stack of mortgage papers will ask you what a clause means. A family member will want help filling out a power of attorney. Answering, even casually, even for free, can be the unauthorized practice of law. Penalties include commission revocation, civil liability, and criminal charges depending on the state.
Second, your surety bond does not protect you. If a notarization goes wrong and someone sues, your bond pays the injured party and then the bond company demands reimbursement from you. Errors and omissions (E&O) insurance covers your defense costs and any settlement if someone claims you made an unintentional mistake or files a false claim. No state currently requires E&O by law. If you handle high-value documents like mortgage packages, real estate deeds, or powers of attorney, the risk of suit justifies the premium. Industry groups recommend a minimum $25,000 policy for general notary work, with higher coverage for signing agents.
Renewal is not automatic. Terms run four to ten years, and renewal generally repeats the original process: new application, new bond, new fee, and continuing education where required. Start at least 60 days before expiration. If your commission lapses, any notarizations you perform during the gap are invalid, and you may face penalties for acting without authority. Losing the commission means losing the job feature you built the career on, so treat the renewal calendar as seriously as the original application.