Florida Notary Search: Verify Commissions and Seals

To look up a Florida notary, use the free Florida notary search run by the Department of State’s Division of Corporations at notaries.dos.fl.gov.¹ The database lets you find a nearby notary by zip code or confirm that a specific person’s commission is active by searching their name, Notary ID, or commission number. It is the only authoritative source; third-party notary directories pull data from various places and can be out of date.²

How to Run the Search

The search form accepts five fields: Notary ID, Last Name, First Name, Commission Number, and Zip Code. You can use one or combine several to narrow the results.¹

If you just need a notary near you, enter your zip code. The results list every commissioned notary whose records include that location, with each person’s name, commission number, and expiration date. From there you can call to arrange an acknowledgment, oath, or affirmation. The database won’t tell you which notaries are mobile or what languages they speak, so a quick follow-up call or web search on the name is usually the next step.

If someone has already notarized a document for you, or you are about to sit down with a specific notary, searching by commission number is the most precise approach. The commission number is printed on the notary’s rubber stamp seal. Searching by exact first and last name or by Notary ID also works.

What the Results Mean

The status field is the piece of information that matters most. Florida notary commissions last four years from the date of appointment,³ and the record shows where a given commission stands:

Active. The commission is current and in good standing. This is the only status under which a notary may lawfully perform notarial acts.
Expired. The four-year term has ended. A notary who knowingly continues performing notarial acts after expiration commits a second-degree misdemeanor.⁴
Suspended or Revoked. The Governor has removed the notary’s authority. Grounds include fraud, false statements on the application, unauthorized practice of law, charging excessive fees, failing to maintain the required surety bond, and official misconduct.⁵

If a search returns anything other than Active, don’t use that notary. For a document that was notarized in the past, compare the notarization date to the commission expiration date in the record to confirm the notary’s authority was in effect on the day they performed the act.

Cross-Checking the Seal

Every notarized paper document in Florida must bear a rubber stamp seal in photographically reproducible black ink. By statute, the seal has to show four things:⁴

The words “Notary Public-State of Florida”
The notary’s name
The commission expiration date
The commission number

Take the commission number and name off the seal and run them through the database. The two should match a real, active commission. An impression-only embosser is allowed as a supplement but cannot substitute for the rubber stamp, so a document bearing only an embossed seal may not meet statutory requirements.

Remote Online Notaries Have a Separate Search

A traditional commission only authorizes in-person acts. To notarize over a video call, a Florida notary must separately register as a Remote Online Notary Public with the Division of Corporations, complete an approved education course, and contract with technology vendors for identity verification and session recording.⁶

The standard notary search will confirm the underlying commission, but it will not tell you whether a notary is approved for remote sessions. For that, use the separate Remote Online Notary search, which accepts name, commission number, or Notary ID.⁷ The RON registration expires at the same time as the base commission; when one lapses, so does the other.

Before You Go: ID and Fees

Once you have found an active notary, two things decide whether the appointment actually works: the identification you bring and what you agree to pay.

Florida law requires the notary to verify your identity using a document that is current or was issued within the past five years and bears a serial or identifying number. Accepted forms include:⁴

A Florida driver license or state ID card
A driver license or state ID from another U.S. state, territory, Canada, or Mexico
A U.S. passport
A foreign passport stamped by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
A U.S. military ID card
A Veterans Affairs health ID card
An ID card issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

A credit card, employee badge, or student ID will not work, and neither will an expired document older than five years. Bring something from the list to avoid a wasted trip.

On price, Florida caps the notarial fee at $10 per act for in-person services and $25 per act for remote online notarizations.⁴⁸ Charging more is grounds for suspension of the commission.⁵ Travel fees for mobile notaries are not regulated, so a mobile signing quoted at $75 is typically $10 for the notarization plus $65 to come to you. Ask for the travel charge upfront and kept separate from the per-act fee.

If Something’s Wrong

If a notary overcharges you, notarizes without properly checking your ID, or acts in a way that seems fraudulent, you can file a complaint with the Executive Office of the Governor’s Notary Section, which investigates and recommends discipline.⁹ Complaints can be sent to P.O. Box 6327, Tallahassee, FL 32314, emailed to notary@eog.myflorida.com, or phoned in at (850) 717-9310.

Every Florida notary is also required to maintain a $7,500 surety bond payable to anyone harmed by a breach of the notary’s duties.⁵ If notary misconduct causes you financial damage, the bond is a potential avenue for recovery. More serious violations carry criminal consequences on top of discipline: falsely certifying an acknowledgment or fraudulently making a notarial certificate is a third-degree felony, as is using a commission under a false name.¹⁰

1
Florida Department of State. Notary Search
2
Florida Department of State. Notaries – Division of Corporations – Florida Department of State
3
Florida Senate. Florida Code 117.01 – Notary Public
4
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Section 117.05 – Use of Notary Commission, Unlawful Use, Notary Fee, Seal, Duties
5
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Section 117.01 – Appointment, Application, Suspension, Revocation
6
Division of Corporations – Florida Department of State. Remote Online Notary Public (RON)
7
Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations. Notary Public – Remote Online Notaries
8
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Section 117.275 – Online Notarization Fees
9
Executive Office of the Governor. Notary
10
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Chapter 117 – Notaries Public