How to Become a Notary Public in Ohio

Ohio Revised Code Section 147.01(B) sets the baseline. You must be at least 18 and a legal resident of Ohio. The one exception to residency is for attorneys admitted to practice in Ohio whose principal place of business or primary practice is in the state. Working in Ohio while living elsewhere does not qualify a non-attorney under Section 147.01(B).

You also cannot have a conviction, guilty plea or no-contest plea to a disqualifying offense as determined under Revised Code Section 9.79, and a person whose commission the Secretary of State previously revoked is ineligible for reappointment (Section 147.01(C)(3)). The Secretary of State's website links to a list of disqualifying offenses; read it before you spend money.

Non-attorney applicants must upload a criminal records check from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. You complete the form and fingerprint impression sheet with an authorized BCI agent and pay BCI's fee directly. The Secretary of State asks that the report list 147.022 as the reason code, and it will not accept a report more than six months old (Revised Code Section 147.022).

The Secretary of State recommends ordering the BCI check before you pay for education and testing, precisely so you learn about any disqualifying offense before spending non-refundable provider fees. Attorneys admitted in Ohio do not submit a BCI report. Peace officers also skip it but upload their Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy certificate instead.

Revised Code Section 147.021 requires an educational program and a test, and the Secretary of State authorizes the entities that deliver them. The current list on ohiosos.gov includes county bar associations, county law libraries, a clerk of courts office and private companies, some in person in a single county and some online. You contact the provider yourself, register, and pay the provider rather than the state.

The fee chart the Secretary of State publishes, which matches Ohio Administrative Code Rule 111:6-1-03, sets these provider fees. Education must be completed within 12 months before you file. When you finish, the provider issues proof of completion, which you upload with your application.

All commission and renewal filings go through the online system at notary.ohiosos.gov; Section 147.01(E) requires electronic submission. You upload the BCI report and the provider's proof of completion. Rule 111:6-1-03 also sets a $15 fee payable to the Secretary of State when the application is filed, separate from what you paid the provider. Double-check that amount on the filing screen, since state fees can be revised by rule.

Once approved, you must personally appear before a notary public or another officer authorized to administer oaths and take the oath of office before performing any notarial act (Section 147.01(G)). House Bill 315, effective April 2025, made the in-person oath mandatory; previously the oath did not have to be administered face to face.

Your status then appears in the Secretary of State's public notary database, which Section 147.051 requires to show whether each notary is currently authorized, whether they may perform online notarizations, and any disciplinary action. Employers and customers use that search to confirm a commission, so make sure the name you file under is the one you intend to sign with.

Revised Code Section 147.04 requires a seal before you start. It shows the Ohio coat of arms inside a circle between three-quarters of an inch and one inch across, surrounded by the words notary public or notarial seal (or similar wording), your name, and State of Ohio. It may ink or emboss. Your name may be left off the seal if you instead print, type or stamp it legibly near your signature on every document.

The Secretary of State's application steps do not include a surety bond, and Ohio law does not require a paper journal for traditional notarizations, although the Secretary of State strongly recommends keeping one. If you later want to notarize online, that requires a separate authorization, covered in our Ohio notary rules guide.

A non-attorney commission lasts five years (Section 147.03). An attorney commissioned in Ohio holds office for as long as the attorney remains an Ohio resident or keeps a principal place of business or primary practice here, stays in good standing with the Ohio Supreme Court, and is not revoked.

Renewal is where many notaries stumble. Under Section 147.031 you may apply beginning three months before your commission expires, with a fresh BCI report and proof of the one-hour renewal course, which cannot be taken more than 12 months before expiration. If your commission expires first, the Secretary of State will not renew it; you must apply for a new commission, which means the full three-hour course and test again. Between renewals, report a legal name or address change within 30 days (Section 147.05). A name change filed through the online amendment form, or a request for a replacement commission certificate, costs $2 under Section 147.371.