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Application Procedures
Step 1: You are required to complete an Application to Qualify and an Examination Registration Forms
The Application to Qualify form must be completed and notarized, then you can apply to take the state notary examination by filing out the Examination Registration Form. The Application to Qualify and Examination Registration Form must be approved by the office of the Secretary of State. The deadline to get your Application to Qualify and Examination Registration Form to the office of the Secretary of State is 45 days prior to the exam. You can mail both forms to the office of the Secretary of State with the application fee of $25.00 (separate fee) and examination fee of $75.00 (separate fee) payable to the Secretary of State. This application and exam fee is non-refundable and non-transferable. The mailing address for these items follows.
Louisiana Secretary of State
Notary Division
PO Box 94125
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9125
Step 2: Prepare for and take the Louisiana Notary Public Examination
The Louisiana Notary Public Examination Official Study Guide is available for purchase at a cost of $90.00. Order forms are accepted by mail, fax or email. Forms of payment accepted are check, money order or credit card. Complete and send the Notary Public Study Guide Order Form according to the instructions provided. The book will be sent by the United States Postal Service.
Pursuant to Act 423 of the 2006 Regular Louisiana Legislative Session, the notary examination will be administered by the Secretary of State on the first Saturday in June and December.
New Notary Package
Our New Notary Package DOES NOT include your required 5 year $10,000 Louisiana Notary Errors and Omissions insurance policy. The State of Louisiana requires you to purchase your notary E&O insurance policy, which you will need to send along with your notary application.
Step 3: Order your supplies from The Notary's Store
Louisiana requires all notaries public to purchase either a $10,000 surety bond or $10,000 errors and omissions insurance. before being commissioned. There is however no legal requirement to purchase and use a Louisiana notary seal or to maintain a journal of notarial acts (except for Orleans Parish). It is generally recommended that one make use of these items both for the sake of convenience, and in the case of a journal, evidence of a notarial act that is ever called into question.
Please visit The Notary's Store, you will be entering the Louisiana section for your notary supplies. We offer a New Notary Supply Package DOES NOT include your 5 year $10,000 Louisiana Notary Errors and Omissions insurance policy. To order, enter the required information and scroll down through the page to locate the notary packages, or you can purchase your notary supplies separately. Then follow the instructions through checkout. Louisiana law does not require a notary to own and use a notary seal/stamp, but most notaries public do as a matter of convenience. The State of Louisiana does however prescribe the format of a notary seal/stamp, and the Louisiana Notary Seal/Stamp available from The Notary's Store meets these requirements. There is also no requirement that notaries maintain a journal of their notarial acts (except in Orleans Parish). However, it is the very strong recommendation of the Office of the Secretary of the State that you do so. The journal is a record of the notarial acts performed and could be vital in protecting the notary from possible liability. The Louisiana Notary Journal is an excellent journal, was specifically designed for use by notaries public and contains many elements not available in other journals, and is available at The Notary's Store.
Step 4: Check the Notary Filings Requirement Chart and collect the items necessary for appointment
In order to be commissioned by the Secretary of State on behalf of the Governor, the following documents are required.
- Two original Oath of Office, properly executed. Send one (1) to the Secretary of State and file one (1) with the your parish Clerk of Court within one month after the oath is administered.
- ATTORNEY'S ONLY to provide an original certificate of good standing from the Louisiana Supreme Court issued within the past 30 days.
- Official Signature page, properly executed.
- $10,000 Notary Bond, or $10,000 Errors and Omissions Insurance Policy, or Personal Surety. Attorneys do not have to file a notary bond.
- $35 commission filing fee - check or money order (payable to the Secretary of State).
See Notary Filing Requirements for instructions and more information regarding these documents and where they need to be mailed or filed.
Step 5: Check the Notary Database for your information and begin your duties as a Louisiana Notary Public
Once you have completed the above steps you will need to periodically check the official notary database until you see that you are listed as an active notary public. You do not need to wait for your commission information to arrive in the mail; you may start on your commission date, which can be obtained from the Notary Database.
RECIPROCAL PARISHES
IMPORTANT!
A Louisiana notary's commission does not expire until his or her death, but Louisiana law does require you as a non-attorney notary to renew your errors and omissions or bond policy every 5 years.
Notary Errors and Omissions policies, Surety Bonds and Personal Surety Bonds are required by law to be in the amount of $10,000. See Title 35:191 A.(3)(c) Personal Surety Bonds expire upon cancellation or death of the surety. You need to send the following to the Secretary of State.
- $10,000 Errors and Omissions insurance policy, Surety Bond or Personal Surety Bond that has been signed by your parish Clerk of Court.
- A $20.00 bond filing fee is payable to the Secretary of State by either check or money order.
- All non-attorney notaries shall file their new errors and omissions policy or surety bond with the Secretary of State.
Suspension for Expired Bonds or Errors & Omissions Policy
The commission of any non-attorney notary who fails to renew his bond or fails to timely file his renewed bond or evidence of current errors and omissions policy shall be automatically suspended and the notary shall have no authority to exercise any of the duties or functions of a notary public until the required bond or errors and omissions policy is in effect and properly filed with the Secretary of State.
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