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Secretary of the Commonwealth Candi Mundon King

Notary Commissions

Notaries Public in Virginia

The Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth is responsible for the commissioning of Notaries Public in Virginia, pursuant to Section 47.1-8 of the Code of Virginia. At any given time, approximately 120,000 Virginians are commissioned as a Notary Public.

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Become a Notary or Renew My Commission

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Verify or Search for a Current Notary by name or Notary ID

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Learn About Becoming an Electronic Notary

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Notary Reference Guide One Pager

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Notary Resources

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Handbook

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Code of Virginia Document

Code of Virginia

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New Notary Laws Effective July 1, 2024

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Guidelines

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Frequently Asked Questions

The application fee to become or renew a notary commission is $45 (non-refundable). The fee may be paid online by credit card at the time the application is created or it can paid by check or money order and mailed to our office with the notarized application. If paying by check or money order, please make payment payable to Treasurer of Virginia.

If your last application for notary was issued prior to 2010, we may no longer have a record of it. You can mark that you are a new notary on your application. A number will be assigned to you when you pick the commission up from the court.

If the commission was issued during or after 2010, you can look up your number on our website under the "Verify/Search for Notary Commission Information" tab.

Our office does not issue duplicate certificates or copies of certificates. They are a one-time issue when you pick your commission up from the court.

If you need to verify your notary commission, it can be done on our website https://notary.solutions.virginia.gov/

If you are having trouble linking your notary management account, please review your commission information on our website under the "Verify/Search for Notary Commission Information" tab. The name must be formatted exactly like the commissioned name. This includes any punctuation after initials or suffixes. If you have tried with correct formatting of your name, please email our office at notary@governor.virginia.gov and include your full commissioned name and date of birth.

Please refer to the Name Change section of the current Virginia Notary Public Handbook for information on how to change your commissioned name.

The only way to change the name on your commission is to reapply under your new name.  Your notary stamp/seal must match the name as you are commissioned. You are welcome to continue using your current commission. You can then sign your current name but must include "I was commissioned as …" on all documents you notarize.

You may log into your account to locate the status of your notary application. If you have any questions about the status, please email our office at notary@governor.virginia.gov with your full commissioned name and registration number.

Our office does not issue notary supplies (stamp/seal). Please do an internet search to locate notary a supply company to assist with ordering notary supplies.

A Virginia notary’s seal must be photographically reproducible and contain the name of the notary exactly as it appears on the notary’s commission, the words “Notary Public” and “Commonwealth of Virginia.” Stamps/seals must be ordered through an outside vendor. All information on stamp/seal must be accurate.

Prior to mailing in your notarized application, you may handwrite any necessary changes on the application. We will make updates when we review your application for approval.

Review all applications thoroughly prior to mailing. We cannot make a correction to a name or court once it has been received by our office. To make changes after received by our office, you will need to create and submit a new application and application fee to have a new commission sent to the court.

If you have picked up your commission and it still shows in “pending oath” status, it means the court has not entered your oath date. Please allow the court 2-3 weeks to update the record on their end. If more than a month has passed, please contact the court and have them enter your notary oath date in the system.

By law, you must claim your commission at the court within 60 days after it is issued. If you fail to do so, you must submit a new application and application fee to have a new commission sent to the court. Failure to receive notice will not permit you to receive a commission after the 60 day period has expired.

Please log into your notary management account to update your contact information: https://notary.solutions.virginia.gov/

Please send us an email to notary@governor.virginia.gov indicating that you would like your commission resigned. Be sure to include in the body of the email or attach a typed letter that has your name, notary registration number, and the date that you would like for your commission to be resigned.

As the notary, you may dispose of your notary stamp at your discretion. We would recommend rendering it unusable prior to disposing of it so that it cannot be used in a fraudulent manner.

A notary must be:

  • at least eighteen years old,
  • must be a legal resident of the United States,
  • must be able to read and write the English language.

No person who has ever been convicted of a felony under the laws of the United States or this Commonwealth, or the laws of any other state, shall qualify to be appointed and commissioned as a notary public unless such person has been pardoned for such felony or has had his rights restored.

Non-residents of Virginia may be appointed as notaries if they are primarily employed in the state and perform notary services in connection with their employment. A non-resident notary who ceases to be regularly employed in Virginia must surrender his or her commission.

It usually takes 2-3 weeks for us to receive and process an application. Once processed, your commission will be sent to the selected circuit court. Our office will also send you notification at your preferred method of contact listed on your application. Please be sure to check your spam/junk mail if you have selected email.

You may log into your account to locate the status of your notary application. If you have any questions about the status, please email our office at notary@governor.virginia.gov with your full commissioned name and registration number.

Your notary application must be notarized by a traditional Virginia Notary Public. It cannot be notarized by an electronic notary.

For more information contact:

Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth
P.O. Box 1795
Richmond, Virginia 23218-1795
(804) 692-2536
(804) 371-0017 (fax)
notary@governor.virginia.gov