California Notary Journal Requirements: Thumbprints, Storage, and Penalties

California notary journal requirements are set by Government Code sections 8206 and 8209, and they govern every notarial act you perform: you keep one active sequential journal, record a complete separate entry for each act, collect a thumbprint for real property documents and powers of attorney, secure the journal under your exclusive control, and turn it over to the county clerk within 30 days when your commission ends.¹ Mistakes here are one of the fastest routes to discipline from the Secretary of State, and some are misdemeanors.

What Every Journal Entry Must Contain

Each notarial act gets its own full line item. If you notarize ten signatures in a single loan package, you make ten complete entries. Hash marks, ditto marks, arrows, and diagonal lines spanning multiple entries all violate the law.²

Every entry must include:

The date and time you performed the act, not when the signer arrived.
The type of notarization: acknowledgment, jurat, oath, or other specific official act, rather than a generic word like “notarized.”
The character of the document, described specifically (“deed of trust,” “power of attorney”). “Loan docs” does not satisfy the requirement. If the document is in a language you cannot read, record that fact.²
A statement of the satisfactory evidence you relied on to identify the signer.
If identification was a paper ID, the document type, issuing agency, serial or identifying number, and date of issue or expiration.¹
The signer’s signature. The person whose signature you are notarizing signs the journal for every single line item.
The fee you charged, including zero. Travel fees are listed separately from the notarial fee.

Fees are capped, and the amount recorded has to be accurate because overcharging is an independent basis for discipline. The ceiling is $15 per signature for an acknowledgment or jurat, and $30 for deposition-related services plus $7 each for the oath and the certificate.³

When You Must Capture a Thumbprint

A right thumbprint goes in the journal whenever you notarize a deed, quitclaim deed, deed of trust, any other document affecting real property, or a power of attorney.⁴ If the right thumb is unavailable, use the left. If neither thumb works, use any available finger and note which one.

Two documents are exempt: a trustee’s deed resulting from a foreclosure, and a deed of reconveyance. If the signer is physically unable to provide any print, write a brief explanation of the condition in the entry. You do not need a medical diagnosis, just enough to show why no print was possible.

Credible Witness Entries

When a signer lacks acceptable ID and a credible witness vouches for them instead, your entry has to carry extra information, and the exact details depend on how many witnesses you use.

With one credible witness who is personally known to you, the entry must contain either the witness’s signature or the full details of the witness’s identification document, including the type, issuing agency, serial number, and date of issue or expiration. One or the other is enough.⁴

With two credible witnesses who establish identity through their own IDs, the entry must include both witnesses’ signatures and the full identification details for each witness’s ID.⁴ In either scenario, note that the signer’s identity was established through satisfactory evidence. Incomplete witness entries are easy to make and nearly impossible to fix after the appointment ends.

Storing and Controlling the Journal

California permits only one active journal at a time, no matter how many types of documents you handle or how many employers you serve. Store it in a locked and secured area such as a lock box or locked desk drawer, under your direct and exclusive control.¹ No one else gets access. Not your employer, not a coworker, not anyone.

The journal is your personal property by statute even when your employer paid for it, and your employer cannot require you to turn it over or let others page through it.¹ If anyone inspects or copies entries, you must be physically present the whole time. Poor security is on its own grounds for suspension or revocation.

Responding to Copy Requests from the Public

Any member of the public can request a copy of a specific line item in writing. The request has to identify the transaction by the parties involved, the type of document, and the month and year of the notarization.¹ You may charge up to $0.30 per page.

You have 15 business days to respond, either by producing the copy or by confirming no matching entry exists. The statute recognizes a narrow defense for delays caused by unavoidable personal or business circumstances, but that is not something to plan around. Requests from law enforcement or the Secretary of State run on different rules and generally demand quicker compliance. Ignoring a valid public request is itself a disciplinary matter.

Lost, Stolen, or Damaged Journals

If your active journal is lost, stolen, damaged, or otherwise unusable, notify the Secretary of State immediately. The notice must go by certified mail, registered mail, or another physical delivery method that generates a receipt. Email alone does not qualify.¹

The report must list the date range of the entries in the missing journal, your commission number, and your commission expiration date. If it was stolen, attach a copy of the police report.⁵ After you report, if someone later requests a copy of an entry that was in the missing journal, you still have to respond and explain that the entry is unavailable because the journal was lost or stolen. Silence is not an option just because the record is gone.

Surrendering the Journal When Your Commission Ends

When your commission expires, you resign, or you are removed from office, deliver all notarial journals, records, and papers to the county clerk’s office where your current oath of office is on file. You have 30 days from the date the commission becomes invalid.⁶ If you are reappointed inside that 30-day window, you still deposit the completed prior journal and open a new one for the new commission.

If a notary dies, the personal representative of the estate must notify the Secretary of State promptly and deliver the journal and other notarial papers to the county clerk.⁶ Mention this to a family member or executor so the duty does not slip.

Penalties for Journal Violations

Consequences scale with the violation. Failing to secure the journal, refusing to provide copies, or making incomplete entries can trigger disciplinary proceedings and potentially suspension or revocation of your commission.¹

The stakes rise when you leave office. Willfully failing or refusing to deliver your journal to the county clerk within the 30-day window is a misdemeanor, and you also become personally liable for damages to anyone harmed by the failure.⁶ Personal liability applies even if you simply forgot, though the misdemeanor charge itself requires willful conduct.

A Note on Electronic Journals

Everything above applies to the paper sequential journal used for in-person notarizations. California enacted remote online notarization through SB 696, but the full online notarization system becomes operative only when the Secretary of State finishes the technology infrastructure or by January 1, 2030, whichever comes first.⁷ Until then, the paper journal remains the standard, and the electronic journal rules for remote acts (encrypted storage, multifactor authentication, immediate backups, monthly deposit to a registered depository if the platform does not provide custodial storage) attach only to notaries once remote online notarization is live.

1
California Legislative Information. California Government Code GOV 8206
2
California Secretary of State. Notary News
3
California Legislative Information. California Government Code GOV 8211
4
California Secretary of State. 2025 California Notary Public Handbook
5
California Secretary of State. Duplicate Seal Authorization Request – Report Lost or Stolen Seal and Journal
6
California Legislative Information. California Government Code GOV 8209
7
California Secretary of State. Customer Alerts