The Utah Notary Public Exam

Section 46-1-3(6) of the Utah Code requires each applicant to take an exam approved by the Lieutenant Governor and submit it to a testing center the Lieutenant Governor designates for scoring; that center then issues a written pass or fail acknowledgment. In practice the test is built into the online application at notaryapplication.utah.gov, and you take it before paying. There is no separate vendor to register with and no appointment to book.

The official study guide describes the exam this way. Ten of the 35 multiple-choice questions are worth four points each and the other 25 are worth one point each, for 65 points in total. The pass mark is 61. Do the arithmetic: missing a single four-point question leaves you at exactly 61, and missing one four-pointer plus any one-pointer means a fail. Missing up to four one-point questions is survivable. The guide labels its top-ten list of notary mistakes as preparation for the four-point fundamental questions, which tells you where the heavy points sit.

The Notary Office pages do not say whether the test is timed or open book, so do not plan on either. Because the new application went live in September 2026, confirm the format on screen when you begin.

You pay after taking the test: $95, made up of a $55 application fee and a $40 test fee, both nonrefundable. Results display once payment clears. A failed attempt can be retaken for $40 each time, but that discounted price lasts only 30 days from your first test date; after 30 days you pay the full $95 again. Passing the test is only one step, since you still must complete the background check and upload a bond and oath.

The study guide's top-ten mistakes are the best predictor of what the heavy questions test. In summary form:

S.B. 139, effective May 6, 2026, amended the Notaries Public Reform Act, and the Notary Office summarized the main changes: identification must now be unexpired; a credible witness who personally knows the signer can vouch for identity even if the notary does not know the witness, provided the witness shows ID; there is a formal journal inspection process; and unauthorized use or possession of a notary's seal or journal is now a crime. Most significantly, anyone commissioned on or after that date must keep a physical journal.

The 2022 study guide still describes the older rules, and its subsection numbers no longer match the current code. The definition of satisfactory evidence, for example, is now section 46-1-2(25). Read the current Title 46, Chapter 1 from the Utah Legislature's site and the Notary Office's 2026 journal supplement next to the guide, and when they disagree, follow the statute.

Confusing the acts is second on the study guide's list, and scenario questions often turn on it. The definitions in section 46-1-2 give three tests. In a jurat, the signer is identified, swears or affirms that the document is truthful, and signs in front of you. In an acknowledgment, the signer is identified and admits in your presence to having signed voluntarily; the signature may already be on the page when they arrive, but they still have to appear. In a signature witnessing, the signer is identified and signs in front of you, with no oath at all.

A quick way to sort a question: if the facts mention an oath, it is a jurat; if the document was signed earlier, it can only be an acknowledgment; if the signing happens in front of you without an oath, it is a signature witnessing. All three require personal appearance and satisfactory evidence of identity.

Beyond the fundamentals, expect questions on the five notarial acts a Utah notary may perform and their definitions, the sample certificate wording in section 46-1-6.5, the oath a signer takes before a jurat, the seal specifications in section 46-1-16, the fee caps in section 46-1-12, the disqualifications in section 46-1-7, the impartiality duty, the rule against endorsing products, the notice required when advertising in a language other than English, and the bond and liability provisions.

Start with the study guide's opening pages, which cover the process, the scoring and the ten fundamentals. Then read Title 46, Chapter 1 in full, marking every place the 2026 amendments changed what the guide says. Finish by answering practice questions until the distinctions between the acts and the identification rules are automatic.

For that last stage, NotaryPrepHQ offers a Utah practice bank written from the state's notary law and study guide, a diagnostic to find weak areas, drills with an explanation after each answer, and timed practice exams with a readiness score. It is one-time purchase exam practice with lifetime access and a 30-day money-back guarantee; it makes no pass guarantee.