Georgia HB 1292: Notary Training, Application, and Renewal

To become a notary in Georgia, you meet the statutory eligibility requirements, complete a state-approved training course, submit an application with two qualifying endorsers to the Clerk of Superior Court in your county, and appear in person to pay the fee and take the oath of office. Your commission lasts four years.¹ The training piece is newer than most guides suggest: House Bill 1292, passed in 2024, amended O.C.G.A. § 45-17-8 to require education for every applicant, whether it’s your first commission or your fifth renewal.²

Confirm You Qualify

Georgia’s eligibility rules under O.C.G.A. § 45-17-2 are short. You must be at least 18, a U.S. citizen or legal resident, a legal resident of the Georgia county where you’re applying, able to read and write English, and able to provide a working telephone number on the application.³ No diploma or degree is required.

If you live in a state that borders Georgia but work or run a business here, you can still apply. Your application goes through the county where you work rather than a county of residence, and you have to meet the same eligibility requirements Georgia residents do.⁴

Complete the Required Training Course

Every applicant has to finish an approved educational training course before the clerk will process the application. That applies to first-time applicants and to notaries seeking reappointment at the end of a four-year term.²

When you finish the course, print your Certificate of Completion. You’ll bring it to the clerk’s office along with your application. If you’re renewing, the course must be completed within 30 days before your current commission expires, so timing matters.⁵

Fill Out the Application and Line Up Two Endorsers

The application is on the GSCCCA website. You’ll enter your legal name, home address, and phone number. Bordering-state applicants also enter their Georgia business details.

The step people underestimate is the endorser requirement. Georgia requires two endorsers who are unrelated to you, at least 18 years old, residents of your county of application, and who have known you for at least one month. Each one signs a sworn statement affirming you are a person of integrity and good moral character, capable of performing notarial acts.⁶

Family members are out, and endorsers who live elsewhere in Georgia don’t count if they don’t live in your county of application. Line them up before you start the online form.⁵

Visit the Clerk of Superior Court

Take your signed application and your Certificate of Completion to the Clerk of Superior Court in your county of application. Three things happen at this visit: you pay the appointment fee, take the oath of office, and receive your certificate of appointment.⁵

The fee for a new appointment or reappointment runs between $40 and $55, depending on the county. Call your county clerk’s office to confirm the exact amount and accepted payment methods. O.C.G.A. § 45-17-4 governs how that fee is divided between the clerk and the GSCCCA.⁷¹

Your commission runs four years from the date of appointment.¹

Get Your Seal Before You Notarize Anything

You need a seal of office before performing any notarial act. Under O.C.G.A. § 45-17-6, the seal must include your name, the words “Notary Public,” and either the name of your county of appointment along with the state name, or the words “Notary Public, Georgia, State at Large.”⁸

A rubber ink stamp is sufficient. A metal embosser is authorized but not required, and a hand-drawn mark does not qualify. Georgia doesn’t specify an ink color, though black or blue is standard. Office supply stores and notary trade associations sell compliant seals. If you’re renewing and your existing seal’s information matches your new commission exactly, you can keep using it.⁵

Know What You Can Charge

Georgia caps notary fees. Under O.C.G.A. § 45-17-11, you may charge no more than $2 per notarial act. If the signer also needs the notary to appear and certify proof, an additional $2 attendance fee applies, for a maximum of $4 per service.⁹

That’s one of the lowest caps in the country. Most Georgia notaries perform notarizations as part of a broader job rather than as a standalone service, and the math is worth understanding before you count on it as income.

Rules to Know Before Your First Notarization

Keep a Journal

Georgia notaries are required to maintain a journal of notarial acts. Each entry should include the date, time, and location of the notarization along with the type of document presented.¹⁰ Recording extra details protects you if a notarization is challenged later: how you identified the signer, their name and address, and anything unusual about the setting. A signer notarized at a hospital, for instance, might warrant a quick note that they were alert and aware. Finish the journal entry before you hand the document back, because once the signer walks away you have no practical way to complete it.

Don’t Overstate What You Are

O.C.G.A. § 45-17-8.2 prohibits notaries from claiming powers or qualifications the office doesn’t actually carry. This matters most in communities where the Spanish word “notario” describes a licensed legal professional similar to an attorney. A Georgia notary who advertises legal services or implies legal authority is violating the statute and risks losing the commission.¹¹

If you aren’t also a licensed attorney, you cannot pick which document a person needs, advise them on how to fill it out, opine on the legality of a transaction, or choose the type of notarization. When a signer asks those questions, refer them to an attorney or to the agency that will receive the document.

Avoid Conflicts of Interest

You cannot notarize your own signature, and you cannot notarize another person’s signature on any document that names you as a party or gives you a financial or beneficial interest in the transaction. Crossing those lines can void the notarization and expose you to personal liability.

Workplace notarizations get nuanced. If your employer asks you to notarize company documents as part of your job, that’s generally permissible so long as your only stake is your regular salary. A bonus or commission tied to a specific notarization moves you into conflict-of-interest territory.

Renewing After Four Years

Commissions last four years, and you can typically submit a renewal application no more than 30 days before your current term expires. The renewal process mirrors the initial one: complete the training course within that 30-day window, fill out the renewal application, gather your endorser signatures, and visit the clerk’s office to pay the fee and retake the oath.⁵

Some counties allow renewal by mail. Call your county clerk’s office ahead of time to find out. If you let a commission lapse, you start over with a new application rather than a renewal.

Georgia Does Not Authorize Remote Online Notarization

Georgia is one of a small number of states that does not permit Remote Online Notarization, where the signer appears by video rather than in person. Every notarial act performed by a Georgia-commissioned notary still requires the signer to be physically present. The Georgia Department of Revenue has indicated it will accept remote notarizations performed by notaries in states where those acts are legal, but that acceptance does not authorize Georgia notaries to perform them.¹²

1
Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority. General Notary Information
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Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority. Notary Public Education Rules
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Justia. Georgia Code 45-17-2 – Qualifications of Notaries
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FindLaw. Georgia Code Title 45 – 45-17-7
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Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority. Notary Public Application
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Justia. Georgia Code 45-17-2.1 – Application to Be a Notary
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Justia. Georgia Code 45-17-4 – Fees
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Justia. Georgia Code 45-17-6 – Seal of Office
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Justia. Georgia Code 45-17-11 – Fees of Notaries
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Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority. Georgia Notary Law
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Justia. Georgia Code 45-17-8.2 – Misrepresentation Prohibited
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Georgia Department of Revenue. Acceptance of E-Signatures, Remote Notaries, and Electronic Filings