Illinois Notary Rules Every New Notary Should Know

Under Section 6-102, whenever you take an acknowledgment, a verification upon oath or affirmation, or witness a signature, you must know from personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence that the person in front of you is the signer. Satisfactory evidence means one of three things:

Section 6-103 says every notarial act is shown by a certificate that you sign and date, naming the jurisdiction where the act took place and carrying your seal. Sign and stamp at the time of the act, in black ink, clearly enough to photocopy. Section 6-105 supplies short forms for an acknowledgment in an individual capacity, an acknowledgment in a representative capacity, a verification upon oath or affirmation, and witnessing or attesting a signature. Each short form starts with the state and county and ends with your signature and seal.

The handbook adds practical points: never stamp over your signature, sign exactly the name on your commission, and for a signature by mark, have two witnesses sign beside the mark. When an act is done by remote audio-video communication, the certificate must say so.

Section 3-107 and rule 176.900 require a journal entry for every notarial act, on paper or electronically, and you may keep more than one journal. Rule 176.910 requires each entry to show the principal's name, any credible witness, anyone who signed for the principal, the document title or description, the date, whether the act was in person, remote or electronic, the fee, and where the notary and principal were. You must not record ID numbers, Social Security numbers, financial account data or biometric identifiers.

The handbook says to keep a paper journal at least seven years after its final entry. Report a lost, stolen or compromised journal to the Secretary within 10 business days. Two narrow exceptions exist: acts on candidates' nominating petitions need no entry, and a notary employed by an attorney or law firm is excused if the firm keeps copies of the notarized documents.

Section 3-104 caps a traditional notarial act at $5 and an electronic notarial act at $25. Charging is optional. Non-attorneys who fill out immigration forms face separate caps, including $10 per form and $75 for a complete application. Every notary must give itemized receipts that show notarial fees apart from other charges, and overcharging is a Class A misdemeanor, rising to a Class 3 felony for a repeat within five years. Since January 1, 2026, no fee may be charged for notarizing the Secretary's Homeless Status Certification form.

Section 6-104 lists what an Illinois notary may not do, including:

The handbook allows notarizing for a spouse or relatives, but never your own signature, even when signing for a corporation. A non-attorney who advertises notary services in another language must post the Act's disclaimer in English and that language, may not translate notary public into a term such as notario, and faces a $1,500 fine per violation, with permanent revocation on a second violation (Section 3-103).

Illinois separates the two. Any commissioned notary may perform a remote notarial act by live audio-video under Section 6-102.5, but the handbook requires the $30,000 bond. The signer must say on camera that they are in Illinois, name the document, and show each page; the session is recorded and kept by the signer for at least three years. The signer sends a copy of the signed document by the next day, and the notary signs it as witness and returns it within 24 hours.

Electronic notarization is a separate commission with its own $25 fee and a platform approved by the Secretary. Identity is proven by personal knowledge, or by credential analysis plus a dynamic knowledge-based authentication quiz (Section 6A-103). You must be in Illinois for every act, but under Section 3-105 an electronic notary may serve signers elsewhere in the United States and, in limited cases, abroad.

A notary and the bond surety are liable for all damages caused by official misconduct, and an employer who consented to the misconduct can be liable too (Sections 7-101 and 7-102). Knowing, willful misconduct is a Class A misdemeanor and reckless or negligent misconduct a Class B misdemeanor (Section 7-105); impersonating a notary is also a Class A misdemeanor. The Secretary may warn, suspend or revoke, and a revoked notary must wait at least five years to reapply and must turn in the seal. Complaints about misconduct go to law enforcement, the Attorney General or a State's Attorney.