The Indiana Notary Education Course and Exam

The Secretary of State's office runs the course and exam through INBiz, and the application fee pays for access to both. A passing score is one of the items the rules list as part of a complete application (75 IAC 7-2-1(b)(9)). No private testing vendor is involved, and the INBiz page notes that the office cannot recommend where to obtain training, supplies or bonds. There is no separate exam fee; INBiz says its notary fees include the cost of accessing the required education and exams.

Create or log in to your INBiz account and start a notary application. After you pay the $75 application fee, the education course and exam become available. When you pass, the application goes to the Secretary for a final review that usually takes 5 to 10 business days.

Plan the order of your paperwork. The State Police limited criminal history record must be no more than 30 days old when you submit, and an electronic copy of your bond must reach the Secretary within 30 days of the bond's effective date, so avoid buying either one weeks before you are ready to finish the course.

INBiz stopped supporting Internet Explorer on August 1, 2021, and lists Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari as supported browsers. Use one of them on a reliable connection, and keep your bond certificate, signature sample and background record saved where you can upload them, since the application moves to review as soon as you pass.

The Secretary's public materials do not give the number of questions, a time limit, a passing percentage or a retake policy for the initial exam. Treat figures you see elsewhere as unconfirmed, read the instructions on the INBiz screen before you begin, and direct questions to the Business Services Division at notary@sos.in.gov or 317-234-9768.

The Guide lists the notary statutes as IC 33-42 chapters 9 (notarial acts), 10 (seals), 12 (commission requirements), 13 (discipline), 14 (fees) and 17 (remote notarial acts), alongside 75 IAC 7. The Secretary's continuing education curriculum in 75 IAC 7-2-3(d) is written for renewing notaries, but it is also a useful map of what the office treats as core knowledge:

The Notary Guide's FAQ names the errors it sees most: failing to affix the seal, leaving off the commission expiration date, failing to sign, and omitting names and dates from the certificate. It calls failure to require the signer's personal appearance the most serious error of all, one that can bring civil and criminal liability and cost a notary the commission. Expect questions that test these points, along with scenarios about a boss who pressures you to notarize for someone who never appeared.

Indiana tests notaries again during the term. The Guide describes a continuing education course and exam every two years, taken on INBiz for $50 and about two hours long; IC 33-42-12-2(b) caps the requirement at two hours per two years. The course opens only in the 90 days before its due date, and courses taken outside INBiz are not accepted. Missing the deadline makes the commission expire.

A notary who wants to perform remote notarial acts takes a separate remote notarization course and must pass a remote notarial act examination given by the Secretary, as IC 33-42-17 requires. The application costs $100, and you need at least 90 days left on your commission and a current CE record to apply.

Read the Indiana Notary Public Guide cover to cover, then reread the sections on certificates, identification, conflicts and fees. Build a short list of the numbers that recur: the $25,000 bond, the eight-year term, the $10 fee per signature, the $25 remote fee, ID that may be up to three years expired, the 30-day and 14-day reporting deadlines, and the five-year wait after revocation.

Then learn the elements a certificate must carry under IC 33-42-9-12: the county and state where the signer appeared, your signature as it is on file with the Secretary, your title, your commission expiration date and your county of commission. Questions that show a flawed certificate and ask what is missing are an easy way for an exam to test this.

NotaryPrepHQ offers Indiana topic drills with an explanation after each answer, plus timed practice exams with a readiness score, for anyone who wants practice beyond the Guide.