The Nevada Notary Exam and Mandatory Training

NRS 240.018 authorizes the Secretary of State to provide courses of study for the mandatory training of notaries public. Every such course must contain at least three hours of instruction and an examination relating to the functions and duties of notaries. The course may be given in person or online, either by the Secretary of State or by a vendor the Secretary of State has approved, and it must follow the regulations adopted under NRS 240.017.

Because the exam is part of the course, passing it is how you earn the certificate of successful completion that NRS 240.030 requires you to submit with your application.

Subsection 3 of NRS 240.018 names three groups:

Under NAC 240.270 the Secretary of State will provide at least one course of study per month and may authorize qualified third parties to provide the course subject to terms the Secretary of State sets. Only a course provided by the Secretary of State or an approved vendor meets the statute, so a general notary class from an unapproved source will not produce a usable certificate.

The Secretary of State may charge a reasonable enrollment fee, and the money goes into the Notary Public Training Account created by NRS 240.018(4). The statute does not fix the amount.

Completing the course produces a certificate of successful completion that must carry a validation stamp from the Secretary of State. NAC 240.270(2) makes the certificate valid for 90 days after it is issued, and you must include it with your application. If the certificate expires before you file, expect to take the course again.

Renewing notaries face the same course and exam every cycle. Your four-year appointment runs from the effective date of your bond (NRS 240.020 and 240.030), so schedule the renewal course close enough to the end of your term that the 90-day certificate is still valid when the renewal application goes in, while leaving time for the new bond to be filed with the county clerk.

That short window means the order of steps matters. It helps to line up the bond and county filing in advance so the complete application can go in soon after you pass.

The statute describes the exam's subject only as the functions and duties of notaries public. Neither NRS 240 nor NAC 240 publishes a content outline, item count or passing score. In practice, the duties a Nevada notary must perform come from Chapter 240 itself, so study these areas section by section:

Registering as an electronic notary adds a second requirement. NRS 240.195 lets the Secretary of State require an additional course on electronic notarization, taken online, lasting no more than three hours including an examination at the end, and covering notarial law and ethics, technology and procedures. It applies at first registration and at each renewal of the electronic registration. NAC 240.648 requires proof that you completed it no earlier than 90 days before you submit your registration.

Neither the statute nor the regulations spell out retake limits, waiting periods or accommodations for the course exam. Those are set by the Secretary of State or the approved provider, so ask before you enroll.

Preparation pays off even though the exam comes right after instruction. Read the fee table in NRS 240.100 until you can recite the amounts, learn the journal elements in NRS 240.120, and memorize who counts as a relative under NRS 240.065, since those details are easy to confuse. Also learn the oath wording NRS 240.1655 prescribes for a jurat, which asks whether the statements in the document are true, and the separate wording for swearing in a credible witness, which asks whether the witness personally knows the signer. That practice sits alongside the mandatory course, never in place of it, and no provider can promise a pass.