The most common notary background check disqualifiers are felony convictions, any crime involving fraud, dishonesty, or deceit, and certain misdemeanors classified as crimes of moral turpitude. Civil fraud judgments, a prior notary commission that was revoked or suspended, and dishonesty on the application itself can also end a candidacy before a single document gets stamped. Notaries are state-commissioned officials, so the exact rules and waiting periods vary, but the patterns across the country line up closely.
Felony Convictions
Nearly every state treats a felony conviction as an automatic or near-automatic bar. The Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, a model statute enacted in over a dozen states, authorizes commissioning officials to deny or revoke a commission for “a conviction of the applicant or notary public of any felony or a crime involving fraud, dishonesty, or deceit.” States that haven’t adopted that model generally reach the same result through their own statutes.
Not every felony carries the same weight on the application. Financial crimes sit at the top of the list because they mirror the exact abuses a corrupt notary could commit:
- Embezzlement
- Forgery
- Identity theft
- Insurance fraud, tax fraud, and real estate fraud
Violent felonies also disqualify in most states, though the reasoning shifts from honesty to general unfitness for public office. Drug felonies may or may not be treated as permanently disqualifying depending on the state, but possession-with-intent and trafficking charges usually are.
Misdemeanors and Crimes of Moral Turpitude
Misdemeanors disqualify when they involve what the law calls moral turpitude, meaning conduct that reflects dishonesty, fraud, or serious disregard for the rights of others. The phrase sounds archaic, but it captures offenses that fall short of a felony while still signaling that an applicant might misuse official authority.
Common misdemeanors that qualify:
- Petty theft and shoplifting
- Writing bad checks
- Misdemeanor fraud, including credit card fraud, welfare fraud, and filing false reports
- Perjury or false statements under oath
- Failure to comply with a court order
A few states draw a line at offense severity. Texas, for example, weighs Class A and Class B misdemeanors but does not count Class C misdemeanors in notary eligibility. The practical point is that a conviction’s size doesn’t save you if the offense involved deception.
DUI and Drug Offenses
A single DUI, standing alone, does not automatically disqualify you in most states. DUI is not typically classified as a crime of moral turpitude because it doesn’t involve dishonesty. It can still cause problems in three situations: when the state treats any criminal conviction as grounds for discretionary denial, when the DUI involved aggravating factors like hit-and-run or fraudulent identification, or when multiple DUI convictions suggest a broader pattern. Felony DUI, which most states reserve for repeat offenders or DUI causing serious injury, triggers the general felony bar.
Simple drug possession misdemeanors sit in similar territory. They are not automatic disqualifiers everywhere, but some states list drug offenses among their moral turpitude examples, and others give the commissioning authority broad discretion to deny anyone whose record raises fitness questions. If you have a DUI or drug conviction in your past, full disclosure with context works better than hoping the record stays buried.
Civil Judgments and Other Non-Criminal Disqualifiers
A clean criminal record isn’t the whole picture. A growing number of states allow their secretary of state to deny or revoke a commission based on an adverse civil judgment for fraud, dishonesty, or deceit. The RULONA model expressly treats “a finding against, or admission of liability by, the applicant or notary public in any legal proceeding or disciplinary action based on the applicant’s or notary public’s fraud, dishonesty, or deceit” as grounds for denial. Arizona, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Missouri, and Pennsylvania have adopted similar provisions.
In those states, you can be disqualified if you lost a civil lawsuit alleging you defrauded a business partner, misrepresented material facts in a real estate deal, or engaged in deceptive trade practices. Fraud is fraud whether a prosecutor or a plaintiff proved it.
Prior Commission Revocations
If a notary commission in any state was revoked, suspended, or conditioned, that history follows you. Under RULONA and most state statutes, prior disciplinary action against a notary commission in another jurisdiction is an independent ground for denying a new one. This blocks the obvious workaround of losing a commission for misconduct and reapplying across state lines.
Other Professional Discipline
Discipline against other professional licenses matters too. If you lost a law license, real estate license, insurance license, or similar credential because of dishonesty or financial misconduct, expect the commissioning body to treat that as strong evidence of unfitness. Even a suspension short of full revocation can trigger extra scrutiny.
Application Dishonesty
Leaving information off the application is often treated more harshly than the underlying offense you tried to hide. RULONA lists “a fraudulent, dishonest, or deceitful misstatement or omission in the application” as a standalone ground for denial, and most states follow the same approach. When a background check turns up a conviction or arrest that the applicant omitted, the commissioning body reads that omission as exactly the kind of dishonesty that disqualifies a notary.
This is where applicants most commonly sink themselves. An old misdemeanor that might not have been disqualifying on its own gets left off the form, and when it surfaces, the authority now has two problems: the original offense and the attempt to conceal it. The second problem is almost always worse.
Expunged, Sealed, and Pardoned Records
An expungement does not make a conviction invisible to the government. Fingerprint-based searches used for notary applications access state and federal law enforcement databases that typically retain the full record. The entry may show as dismissed rather than convicted, but the commissioning authority can still see it and consider the underlying facts.
Several states explicitly require notary applicants to report all convictions, including those that have been expunged, dismissed, or set aside. Leaving an expunged conviction off the form on the theory that it “doesn’t count anymore” can produce a denial for application dishonesty even if the underlying offense wouldn’t have been disqualifying. If the application asks about convictions, assume expunged records are included unless the form specifically says otherwise.
A pardon or certificate of rehabilitation can restore eligibility in many states. The mechanism varies: some states accept a governor’s pardon, others recognize a certificate of good conduct from a parole board, and still others look for a court-issued certificate of rehabilitation. In states that impose an absolute felony bar, a pardon is often the only path back. The rehabilitative relief has to come from an official government source. Completing probation or staying out of trouble isn’t enough on its own to clear a statutory bar.
How Long Offenses Count Against You
States handle time differently. Some impose a fixed waiting period after a conviction before you can apply. Missouri, for example, requires applicants to have no felony or moral turpitude conviction within the preceding five years. Other states set no fixed waiting period but give the commissioning authority discretion to weigh how long ago the offense occurred.
Background screening services used for notary vetting typically cover ten years of federal, state, and county records, though some states limit the search to seven years. For the most serious offenses, especially felony fraud, identity theft, or crimes committed while holding a position of trust, many states impose no time limit at all. A 15-year-old forgery conviction will draw more concern than a 15-year-old bar fight, even though both are old.
What the Background Check Actually Finds
In states that require background checks, the process usually starts with electronic fingerprinting, commonly called Live Scan. Your prints go to both the state’s department of justice and the FBI, which means the search picks up records from every state, not just the one where you’re applying.
The commissioning authority then compares the results against what you reported on your application. Any discrepancy is itself a red flag, regardless of what the underlying record contains. Not every state requires fingerprint-based checks; some rely on name-based searches or self-disclosure with spot verification. If your state doesn’t fingerprint, that doesn’t mean your history is irrelevant. It means the state may discover it through other channels or hold you accountable later if undisclosed offenses surface.
If You’re Denied
A denial isn’t necessarily the end. Most states provide an administrative appeal process. The typical sequence: a written notice explaining the grounds for denial, a written appeal filed within a set deadline (often 30 to 60 days), and either a paper record review or an in-person hearing. Some states decide appeals entirely on the written record unless you request oral argument.
The strongest appeals pair legal compliance with a genuine rehabilitation record. Useful evidence includes:
- Proof the conviction has been fully resolved, with sentencing requirements completed and restitution paid
- Documentation of steady employment
- Community involvement
- Letters from employers or professional references who can speak to your current character
- Any certificates of rehabilitation or pardons you’ve obtained
Commissioning bodies aren’t looking for a perfect record. They’re looking for credible evidence that the conduct behind the conviction doesn’t reflect who you are now. If the administrative appeal fails, many states allow you to petition the state’s trial-level court for judicial review, which usually focuses on whether the commissioning authority acted arbitrarily or applied the wrong legal standard. That makes the administrative record worth building carefully even if you expect to end up in court.