Georgia Notary Handbook: Training, Application, and Duties

The Georgia Notary Handbook is the practical companion to Georgia’s notary statutes in O.C.G.A. Title 45, Chapter 17, published by the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority (GSCCCA) with the American Society of Notaries.¹ It walks through eligibility, application, seals, authorized acts, fees, and the newer training and journal rules that took effect in 2025. What follows is the working summary a Georgia notary or applicant actually needs.

Who Can Become a Notary in Georgia

Five baseline qualifications apply to every applicant. You must be at least 18, a U.S. citizen or legal resident, a resident of the county where you apply, able to read and write English, and reachable by a working phone number.² The county rule is where people slip up. Your commission is tied to where you live, not where you work.

There is a narrow exception for cross-border employees. If you live in a state that borders Georgia but work or run a business inside the state, you may apply in the Georgia county where you’re employed. The statute names “a state bordering on the State of Georgia,” which covers Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina residents who work in Georgia.³ Nonresidents still have to meet every other qualification and apply through the clerk in the county where they work.

Every first-time applicant also needs two endorsers. They must live in the county of application, be at least 18, be unrelated to the applicant, and have known the applicant for more than 30 days. Each signs an affidavit stating that the applicant is a person of integrity and good moral character and is capable of performing notarial acts.⁴ Line them up before you go to the clerk’s office.

The Training Course You Now Have to Take

As of January 1, 2025, Georgia requires every notary to complete an educational training course on the duties of a notary public. First-time applicants finish it before their initial appointment. Renewing notaries must complete it within 30 days before each renewal. You print the Certificate of Completion and bring it to the clerk with your application.⁵ Many sitting notaries approaching their first post-2025 renewal have no idea this exists.

How the Application Works

Most counties use the GSCCCA web-based application. You enter your information online and print the completed packet. If your county isn’t in the online system, contact the Clerk of Superior Court directly for a paper application.⁶ Either way, the signed application has to be taken in person to the Clerk of Superior Court in your county.

At the counter, you pay the appointment fee, which runs $40 to $55 depending on the county.⁵ The clerk verifies your information, administers the oath of office, and issues your certificate of appointment. That certificate is your proof of authority for a four-year term. You also have to disclose any prior commission denials, revocations, or suspensions and any criminal convictions other than minor traffic violations.⁴ Once your commission is issued, the clerk updates the GSCCCA statewide registry, which is publicly searchable.

Getting Your Seal

You cannot perform a notarial act without a seal. Georgia law requires the seal to include your name, the words “Notary Public,” the state name, and the county of your appointment.⁷ Either a metal embosser or a rubber ink stamp is acceptable. A drawn signature is not. Every official act must carry the seal impression.

Vendors are prohibited from selling a notary seal unless you present the duplicate original of your certificate of appointment, and it is unlawful to order or possess a notary seal if you are not actually commissioned.⁷ If your name changes mid-commission, you’ll need a new seal once the clerk processes the update.

What Georgia Notaries Can Do

Georgia notaries are authorized to perform a specific set of acts:

Witness signatures on deeds, contracts, and other written instruments.
Take acknowledgments, confirming the signer appeared and acknowledged the document as their own act.
Administer oaths and affirmations. Both carry the same legal weight. An oath invokes a higher power; an affirmation is a pledge on the signer’s personal honor. The signer chooses, and you cannot steer them.
Witness affidavits and verifications for court filings and government forms.
Make certified copies, but only of original documents that are not public records and are not available from another official source. You must personally supervise the photocopying.

⁸

The certified-copy power is narrower than most people assume. Birth certificates, court records, and recorded deeds already have an official custodian who issues certified copies, and that agency is the proper source, not you.

What You Cannot Do

Georgia law disqualifies a notary from acting in two situations: when you are a signer of the document being notarized, or when you are a party to the underlying document or transaction.⁸ You also cannot sign a notarial certificate containing a statement you know to be false, perform any act with intent to deceive, or notarize a document without first confirming the signer’s identity through personal knowledge or satisfactory identification.⁹ Violating any of these puts your commission at risk of revocation.

Beyond the statutory bars, refuse the notarization if the signer isn’t physically present, if the document has blank spaces or missing pages, if the signer can’t produce valid identification, or if the signer appears confused, impaired, or under pressure. A notarization you should have refused is far more dangerous to you than one you turned down.

One more warning: do not help fill out forms or explain what a document means. Providing legal advice or drafting legal documents without a law license is the unauthorized practice of law in Georgia, regardless of your notary status. Your role is to witness and authenticate.

How Much You Can Charge

Georgia caps a notary’s fee at $2 for performing the notarial act. If the signer also needs you to appear and provide a certification from the clerk of superior court or the GSCCCA, you may charge an additional $2 for that attendance, for a maximum of $4 per service.¹⁰ Charging more is unlawful. Many notaries who notarize as part of their job charge nothing at all, but the cap governs anyone who does charge.

Keeping a Journal

Starting January 1, 2025, Georgia notaries must maintain a written or electronic journal for notarizations performed at the request of a “self-filer,” meaning an individual member of the public rather than an employer or business directing the notarization. Each entry should include the signer’s name, address, and phone number; the date, time, and location of the notarization; the type and identifying number of the government-issued photo ID presented; the signer’s signature; and the type of document notarized.

Georgia does not currently specify a retention period. Keeping the journal for at least ten years after the last entry is a reasonable safeguard. If you’re ever accused of a faulty notarization, the journal is your best defense. Never use correction fluid. If you make a mistake, draw a single line through it, write the correction above, and initial the change.

Renewing Your Commission

The four-year commission does not renew automatically. You can submit a renewal application no more than 30 days before your current term expires.⁵ The process mirrors the initial application: complete the mandatory training, print the Certificate of Completion, fill out a new application with endorser signatures, take it to the clerk, pay the $40 to $55 fee, and retake the oath. If your existing seal exactly matches your new commission, you can keep using it.

Missing the 30-day window doesn’t cost you eligibility, but if the commission lapses you cannot perform notarial acts until a new one is issued, and any notarizations you perform after expiration are invalid.

Name, Address, and Phone Changes

If your name, address, or phone number changes during your commission, notify the appointing clerk in writing within 30 days. The notice must include both the old and new information and carry your signature. The GSCCCA provides a Contact Information Change Form for this.⁵

A name change adds steps. You’ll provide a new signature sample to the clerk and wait for confirmation, usually an amended certificate of appointment. You also need a new seal bearing the updated name. Only after the clerk has your notice, has issued confirmation, and you have the new seal in hand can you sign officially under the new name.

Errors and Omissions Insurance

Georgia does not require notaries to carry errors and omissions (E&O) insurance, but understand how it differs from a surety bond. A surety bond protects the public. If a signer suffers a loss because of your mistake and the bond pays, the bonding company then comes after you to recoup the money. E&O insurance protects you, covering claims, attorney fees, and court costs from unintentional mistakes or negligence, up to the policy limit.

E&O policies typically cover situations like failing to catch a fake ID, clerical errors on a notarial certificate, and defense costs when you’re named in a lawsuit even if you did nothing wrong. They do not cover intentional misconduct, fraud, criminal acts, or punitive damages. If you notarize regularly, particularly for real estate closings or loan signings, the exposure justifies the cost. Annual premiums vary with coverage limits and volume.

Documents Going Overseas

The GSCCCA handles apostille services for Georgia-notarized documents going to foreign countries. Under the 1961 Hague Convention, an apostille is a standardized authentication certificate that member countries accept in place of the older legalization process. If the destination country is a Hague member, a GSCCCA apostille is enough. If not, the document may need full legalization through the U.S. Department of State.¹¹ The GSCCCA accepts apostille requests by mail or through a third-party courier and offers a pre-payment voucher for credit card transactions.¹²

Remote Online Notarization Is Not Yet Legal

As of early 2026, Georgia has not enacted a remote online notarization (RON) law. Legislation (HB 289) has been introduced in the 2025–2026 session and has received a favorable committee report but has not been signed into law. The bill would allow notarizations via live audio-video technology, require additional coursework and an exam, and direct the GSCCCA to adopt technology standards. Until it passes, every Georgia notarization must take place with the signer physically present before the notary.

1
Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority. General Notary Information
2
Justia. Georgia Code 45-17-2 – Qualifications of Notaries
3
Justia. Georgia Code 45-17-7 – Commissioning of Nonresidents as Notaries Public
4
Justia. Georgia Code 45-17-2.1 – Application to Be a Notary; Endorsements and Declarations
5
Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority. Notary Public Application
6
Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority. Notary Online Application
7
Justia. Georgia Code 45-17-6 – Seal of Office
8
Justia. Georgia Code 45-17-8 – Powers and Duties Generally
9
Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority. Georgia Notary Law
10
Justia. Georgia Code 45-17-11 – Fees of Notaries
11
USAGov. Authenticate an Official Document for Use Outside the U.S.
12
Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority. Authentication Pre-Payment Voucher