Any legal adult who meets their state’s residency, background, and bonding requirements can be a notary public, but a commission alone does not answer the practical question of who can sign as a notary on a given document. Even a fully commissioned notary is barred from notarizing their own documents, documents in which they have a financial stake, and in many states, documents signed by close relatives. The signer also has to be physically in front of them, or in front of them through an approved live video platform where remote notarization is allowed.
Baseline Eligibility to Become a Notary
Nearly every state requires applicants to be at least 18 years old and a legal resident of the state where they plan to serve. Some states extend eligibility to non-residents who are regularly employed in the state. The ability to read and write in English is a common prerequisite, though a handful of states don’t explicitly require it.
The typical path starts with an application and a filing fee. Many states also require an approved education course and a written exam before issuing a commission. A surety bond is required in most states. The bond doesn’t protect the notary; it protects the public. If the notary makes an error or commits misconduct that causes someone financial harm, the bonding company pays the injured party up to the bond amount. Required bond amounts run from $500 to $25,000 depending on the state.
Add up the training, exam fee, bond, seal or stamp, journal, and application, and total startup costs generally fall between $100 and $600. States with mandatory education and live-scan background checks sit at the higher end.
Who Cannot Get Commissioned
A felony conviction is the most common disqualifier. Many states impose an outright ban on anyone with an unresolved felony. Others allow applicants to reapply after a waiting period, often five to ten years from the completion of the sentence, including probation or parole. Some states require full restoration of civil rights before an application will be considered. Crimes involving dishonesty, fraud, or forgery carry the most weight, because they cut directly against the trust the role is built on.
Several other situations will block an application:
- A previous notary commission that was revoked for misconduct. Most states will deny a new application outright or impose a lengthy waiting period.
- A finding of misconduct in another licensed profession, particularly one involving dishonesty.
- Failing to disclose past arrests or convictions on the application, even if the charges were dismissed. Omissions are often grounds for immediate denial.
Commissions Expire
A notary commission is not permanent. Most states issue commissions lasting four to ten years, with four- and five-year terms being the most common. Renewal typically mirrors the original application, with updated background checks and a new bond. Notarizing a document after your commission has lapsed is treated as an unauthorized notarial act, so an expired notary cannot sign anything until renewal clears.
Who a Commissioned Notary Cannot Sign For
Getting commissioned is only half the picture. A web of rules governs which notarizations a notary can actually perform, and the overriding principle is impartiality: a notary has to be a neutral, disinterested witness.
Themselves or Anyone They Benefit From
A notary cannot handle any transaction where they have a direct financial or beneficial interest beyond the standard notarization fee. You cannot notarize a document in which you are a named party, whether as a buyer, seller, lender, borrower, or beneficiary. The rule reaches past being named in the document. If you stand to earn a commission, bonus, or referral fee tied to whether the transaction closes, you have a financial interest and must decline.
One carve-out trips people up: your regular salary as an employee does not count as a disqualifying financial interest. An employee who happens to be a notary can generally notarize documents for their employer’s business, as long as the notary isn’t personally benefiting from the specific transaction and isn’t a party to the document.
Close Family Members
Some states flatly prohibit notarizing for certain family members, including spouses, parents, children, and siblings. Even in states without an explicit prohibition, notarizing for a close relative is widely considered a serious conflict of interest. If the document is later challenged, a notarization performed by a family member invites questions about whether the notary was truly impartial. The safest practice is to decline and send the signer to someone else.
Signers in Another State
A notary commission is valid only in the state that issued it. Notarizing a document outside the commissioning state is unauthorized. Some states further restrict notarial acts to specific counties, though most grant statewide authority.
The Signer Has to Be Present
For traditional, in-person notarizations, the signer must physically appear before the notary at the time of signing. This is the foundational requirement of every notarial act. You cannot notarize a document that was signed earlier and brought in, and you cannot notarize for someone who calls on the phone or sends a representative. The signer has to be in the room.
Once the signer is in front of you, you need to confirm their identity. The standard method is a current, government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license, state ID card, passport, or military identification. The ID should include a photograph, a signature, and a physical description. If the signer lacks acceptable identification, most states allow a credible witness who personally knows the signer to vouch for their identity under oath. This is an exception, not a convenience, and the witness cannot be a party to the document.
Beyond identity, the notary must also assess whether the signer appears willing and aware. If someone seems confused about the document, appears to be under duress, or shows signs of incapacity, the notary should refuse to proceed. Erring on the side of caution is always the right call.
Remote Online Notarization
The physical-presence requirement has a growing exception. As of early 2026, roughly 45 states and the District of Columbia have enacted permanent laws allowing remote online notarization, commonly called RON. Under RON, the signer appears before the notary through a live audio-video connection rather than in person. The session is recorded and retained, and the notary verifies the signer’s identity using at least two distinct digital identity-proofing methods, such as knowledge-based authentication questions and credential analysis.
If you plan to perform remote notarizations, check whether your state requires a separate RON endorsement or additional training beyond your standard commission. Most states that allow RON also require the notary to use an approved technology platform and to store the audio-video recordings for a set number of years.
What a Notary Cannot Do Even With a Valid Commission
A notary public is not a lawyer and cannot perform any activity that constitutes the practice of law. The line is sharper than many notaries realize, and it is where notaries who serve immigrant communities most often get into trouble.
Activities that cross the line include:
- Drafting or preparing legal documents. A notary can notarize a signature on a document, but cannot write or fill out the document for the signer. Helping someone choose the right form or wording for a power of attorney, deed, or will is legal work.
- Giving legal advice. Telling a signer which type of notarial certificate to use, explaining the legal consequences of a document, or recommending a course of action all count as legal advice.
- Representing someone in court or legal proceedings, including questioning witnesses in depositions.
- Immigration assistance. Notaries cannot counsel customers about immigration filings, even if the notary speaks the customer’s language. In many Latin American countries, a “notario público” is a high-ranking legal professional, and some unscrupulous notaries in the United States exploit the confusion.
Several states require non-attorney notaries who advertise in a language other than English to include a disclaimer stating that they are not licensed attorneys and cannot provide legal advice. Violating unauthorized-practice-of-law rules can result in criminal charges, civil liability, and revocation of the commission.
What Happens If a Notary Signs When They Shouldn’t
An improper notarization can unravel the underlying transaction entirely. If a court finds the notarization defective, the notarial act may be invalidated, and that can take the whole document down with it. A deed that transferred property, a power of attorney that authorized medical decisions, a will that distributed an estate — any of these can be rendered legally ineffective if the notarization fails.
The notary personally faces several layers of exposure. The state can suspend or permanently revoke the commission. Civil liability follows if the error caused financial harm; the injured party can sue the notary directly, and if a surety bond is in place, the bonding company may pay the claim and then seek reimbursement from the notary. Knowingly performing a fraudulent notarization escalates to criminal territory. Penalties range from misdemeanor charges with fines of a few thousand dollars to felony charges carrying prison time, particularly when the fraud involves real estate transactions or elder abuse.
Statutes of limitations vary by state, but many set the clock running from the date of the notarial act rather than the date the error was discovered. Someone might not realize they were harmed for years, and the window may already be closing by the time they do.