How to Become a Notary Public in California

Government Code section 8201 sets the baseline. You must be at least 18 (the Secretary of State notes there is no statutory upper age limit), be a legal California resident, complete a course of study approved by the Secretary of State, pass the written exam the Secretary of State prescribes, and pass a background check.

Your application must disclose every conviction and any arrest with a trial still pending, including convictions dismissed under Penal Code section 1203.4 or 1203.4a. The Secretary of State treats a failure to disclose as its own reason to recommend denial, separate from whatever the underlying record shows. If you have a question about a past offense, the Secretary of State asks you to call before you sign the application, and its Disciplinary Guidelines list the convictions that most often disqualify applicants.

Every first-time applicant takes a six-hour course from a vendor the Secretary of State has approved under Government Code section 8201.2. The Secretary of State publishes the approved vendor list by county at notaryeducation.sos.ca.gov. A person who has held a California commission before but let it lapse is treated like a new applicant and must take the six-hour course again.

When you finish, the vendor issues a Proof of Completion certificate. For the six-hour course that certificate stays valid for two years from issue; if you have not passed the exam within that window you must retake the course.

NotaryPrepHQ is not one of these vendors. Its practice questions and timed exams are exam review only and do not count as the required course of study.

The Secretary of State contracts with CPS HR Consulting to run the written exam at test centers around the state. You register on the CPS HR website and pick a session from the published schedule. On exam day you hand in your completed notary application with a 2 x 2 inch color passport photo and your Proof of Completion certificate attached, along with a check or money order payable to the Secretary of State.

The official checklist lists the fee as $40 for new applicants and reappointments and $20 for a candidate retaking after a failed attempt. A scaled score of 70 passes. Results arrive by email or mail roughly 15 to 20 business days later, and a passing result sends your application on to the Secretary of State. Our separate California exam guide covers format and scoring in detail.

You do not submit fingerprints until after you pass. Government Code section 8201.1 requires a background check through the California Department of Justice and the FBI, done electronically at a Live Scan site using the Request for Live Scan Service form from the Secretary of State's website.

The deadline matters: fingerprints must be taken within one year of your exam date, or you will have to test again. The Live Scan operator charges a processing fee plus a rolling fee, which varies by location, so call ahead. No commission is issued until the DOJ and FBI reports come back clear or any history is reviewed and found non-disqualifying.

Once your application is approved and the background check clears, the Secretary of State mails a commission packet. It contains the commission certificate, two Notary Public Oath and Certificate of Filing forms, a Certificate of Authorization to Manufacture Notary Public Seals, and the list of authorized seal manufacturers.

You then need three things: a $15,000 surety bond (Government Code section 8212), an official seal made only by an authorized manufacturer (section 8207), and a sequential journal (section 8206). The oath and bond must be filed with the county clerk in the county of your principal place of business within 30 calendar days of the commission's start date under section 8213. The Secretary of State states plainly that this window cannot be extended, even for mail delays, and recommends filing in person. Miss it and the commission never takes effect.

The handbook is clear that the bond is not an insurance policy for you. It gives injured members of the public a limited source of payment, and you remain personally liable for the full amount of damages and may have to repay the surety. Errors and omissions insurance, which protects the notary, is not on the state's list of requirements; whether to buy it is a personal decision.

A California commission runs four years (Government Code section 8204). To stay commissioned without a gap, you take a three-hour refresher course from an approved vendor, pass the exam again, and submit new fingerprints for each term. The refresher only works if you apply before your current commission expires; after expiration you are back to the six-hour course.

CPS HR recommends testing at least six months before your expiration date, and exam results are valid for one year. A reappointment commission is issued no earlier than 30 days before the current one ends.