A notary’s oath of office is given by a public official that state law designates for the job, most often a judge, a court or county clerk, or an already-commissioned notary public. The exact list varies by state, but the purpose is the same everywhere: an independent official solemnizes the oath so the new notary is legally bound to perform their duties honestly and impartially. If the wrong person administers it, or no one does, the commission itself can be called into question.
Officials Authorized To Administer the Oath
Every state’s commissioning statute names the officials who can administer a notary’s oath of office. The categories that appear most often are:
- Court clerks and county clerks. In a majority of states, the clerk’s office handles the oath as part of the filing process. The new notary appears at the office, takes the oath, and files the paperwork in a single visit.
- Judges. Judges at various court levels are generally authorized to administer oaths of office, including notary oaths.
- Currently commissioned notaries public. Many states let an existing notary administer the oath to a new applicant, which helps when the applicant cannot easily travel to a courthouse.
- Other designated officials. Some jurisdictions add mayors, justices of the peace, or staff in the secretary of state’s office to the list.
Who counts as the “right” official in your case depends on the statute where you are being commissioned. The secretary of state’s website, or whichever office processes notary applications in your state, will spell out the authorized categories.
You Cannot Swear Yourself In
One rule is essentially universal: a notary applicant cannot administer their own oath. The oath has to be solemnized by an independent official, which is the whole reason state law names specific categories of people to do it. A self-administered oath has no legal effect, and any notarial acts performed under one could be challenged as unauthorized.
When the Oath Happens
The oath fits into a sequence. The applicant submits an application to the secretary of state or a county clerk, pays the filing fee, and completes any required training or exam. Once the application is approved, and before (or at the time) the commission certificate is issued, the applicant appears before one of the authorized officials, takes the oath, and signs the oath form. That signed form becomes part of the official record.
Some states administer the oath verbally in person; others accept a written form signed under penalty of perjury. A false statement in the oath or on the application can lead to denial or revocation of the commission, and in some states to criminal perjury charges.
Filing the Oath and Bond After You Take It
Taking the oath in front of the right official is not the end of the process. In most states, the signed oath has to be filed with the county clerk’s office where the notary lives or works. Around 29 states and the District of Columbia also require a surety bond, with required amounts ranging from $500 to $25,000 depending on the state.
The oath and bond typically have to be filed within a strict deadline, often 30 days from the start of the commission term. Miss that window and many states treat the commission as void from the beginning, which means starting the application over. This is why the oath step matters so much in practice: a correctly administered oath that is never filed on time is almost as bad as no oath at all.
Who Administers the Oath at Renewal
Notary commissions typically run four to ten years, with four-year terms the most common. At renewal, most states require the notary to take the oath of office again before an authorized official, drawn from the same categories listed above. Some states also require updated training. Continuing to notarize after a commission has lapsed creates the same legal problems as never having been properly commissioned.
Military and Consular Notaries Don’t Take a State Oath
Two groups hold notarial authority without going through a state commissioning process, so the “who administers the oath” question works differently for them.
Certain military personnel hold notarial powers directly under federal law. The statute grants “the general powers of a notary public and of a consul of the United States” to judge advocates, civilian legal assistance attorneys, adjutants and personnel adjutants, civilian paralegals at military legal assistance offices, and other service members designated by military regulations.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1044a – Authority to Act as Notary Their authority comes from the statute and their military position, not from an oath before a county clerk. Service branches generally require designated personnel to complete internal training and sign a duties acknowledgment, but that is a military process rather than a state oath.
U.S. consular officers abroad also hold notarial powers under federal law and are required to perform notarial acts for U.S. citizens overseas where the host country allows it. Certain designated Department of State employees may perform notarial services as well, though with narrower authority: they cannot authenticate documents or take testimony in criminal proceedings.2eCFR. eCFR Title 22 Part 92 – Notarial and Related Services Like military notaries, consular officers derive their authority from federal appointment, not from a state oath of office.
What Happens if the Oath Is Missing or Defective
A notary who performs official acts without having properly taken and filed the oath is, legally speaking, acting without authority.3Legal Information Institute. Notary Public Documents notarized under those circumstances may be challenged in court, and the parties who relied on them can face delays and costs to re-execute everything with a properly commissioned notary. The notary can face disciplinary action, commission revocation, civil liability, and in some states criminal penalties for performing unauthorized notarial acts. The same risk applies when the oath was administered on time but the signed form and bond were not filed by the deadline, because many states treat the commission as void from the start in that situation.
The safest approach is simple. Confirm with your state’s commissioning office which officials are authorized to administer your oath, appear before one of them, sign the oath form, and file it (with your bond, if required) within the deadline your state sets.