How to Become a Notary Public in Missouri

Section 486.605 RSMo lists the requirements. You must be at least 18, live or have a regular place of work or business in Missouri, reside legally in the United States, read and write English, and pass the Secretary's examination. A permanent resident alien sends a copy of the green card with the application.

A non-resident may qualify by working in Missouri and using the seal in that job; the commission is tied to the county of employment, and the applicant appoints the Secretary as agent to receive legal papers. The Secretary may deny an application for a felony, or any offense involving dishonesty or moral turpitude, within the past five years, a false statement on the application, a civil finding of deceit, or recent discipline of a notary commission or professional license.

Section 486.630 requires every applicant to attest to reading the Missouri Notary Public Handbook or receiving training prescribed by the Secretary, and to score 80 percent or better on an exam the Secretary administers. You can take the online training course through your account on the Secretary's notary site, or fill out the Written Notary Training Course (Form Comm. 59) and attach it to a paper application. The companion Missouri exam guide covers both formats.

The Secretary's training is the only route to the commission. NotaryPrepHQ is a separate practice option with Missouri questions drawn from Chapter 486 and the handbook, if you want more repetition before you start.

Apply online, or mail a paper application to the Commissions Division, P.O. Box 784, Jefferson City, MO 65102. The fee is $25, made up of a $15 commission fee and a $10 technology fee under Section 28.160. Online card payments add $1.25 and eCheck adds $0.50.

The form instructions say to enter your name exactly as you want it on the commission: your full last name is required, while first and middle names may be initials. Answer the nine yes-or-no qualification questions carefully, and sign the declaration under penalty of perjury that you understand the duties explained in the handbook. If the application is accepted, the Secretary mails a commission letter to your home and sends the commission to your county clerk.

Section 486.615 requires a $10,000 bond executed by a licensed Missouri surety for a four-year term that matches the commission dates exactly. Local insurance agents, banks and bonding companies sell them. The Secretary's pages point out that an errors and omissions policy is optional and never replaces the bond, which protects the public rather than you.

Within 60 days of the commission issue date, go in person to the county clerk (in the City of St. Louis, the circuit clerk) with your commission letter, bond, photo ID and the clerk's small fee. The clerk administers the oath, and you sign your official signature exactly as the commission shows it. Then mail the oath and bond to the Secretary, postmarked no more than seven days after the oath (Section 486.620).

Miss the 60-day window and the clerk marks the commission as not qualified and returns it to the Secretary, and you may have to start over. Under Section 486.615, the commission is not effective until the oath and bond have been presented to the clerk.

The state does not issue seals. Seal vendors must register with the Secretary and confirm your standing before selling you one, and they may make only one seal per commission (Section 486.735). You need a new seal with each new commission because the expiration date changes. You also need a permanently bound journal with numbered pages before your first notarization; the Missouri rules guide explains what goes in it.

After the oath, the clerk hands you the commission certificate. It shows your exact official name as a notary, your commission number, the beginning and expiration dates, and the date the Secretary issued it; keep it somewhere safe for the full term.

A notary commissioned as a non-resident who moves into Missouri can be recommissioned as a resident right away by returning the non-resident certificate with a request to cancel it, a new resident application, proof of training and the $25 fee.

A commission lasts four years and lets you notarize anywhere in Missouri, but only in Missouri (Section 486.610); non-resident notaries act only in the course of their employment. Within 10 days of changing your residence, business or mailing address, or your name, notify the Secretary in writing with a $5 fee, and tell your surety.

Commissions do not renew themselves. The reappointment page says to take the training no earlier than six weeks before your current commission expires, then submit a full new application, buy a new bond and qualify at the county clerk again (Section 486.625).