To become a notary public in Louisiana, you have to meet the state’s eligibility requirements, pass a pre-assessment and the state notary exam administered through LSU, submit an application and oath to the Secretary of State, and post a $10,000 surety bond or carry equivalent errors and omissions insurance. Licensed Louisiana attorneys skip the exam. Once commissioned, you hold the office for life, but you have to file an annual report and keep your bond current to stay active.
Louisiana is not like other states on this. A notary here can draft and execute authentic acts covering real estate transfers, mortgages, wills, donations, powers of attorney, successions, and business formations, work that in most states only a licensed attorney can do.1Justia. Louisiana Code RS 35:2 – General Powers; Administration of Certain Oaths in Any Parish; True Copies That scope is why qualifying takes real study and why the exam is substantive civil law rather than an ID-check quiz.
Eligibility Requirements
Before you spend anything on study materials, confirm you qualify. You must:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Be a resident citizen or resident alien of Louisiana
- Hold a high school diploma, home-study diploma, or equivalency diploma
- Read, write, and speak English proficiently
- Have no felony conviction, unless pardoned
- Not be under interdiction or mentally incapable of serving
If you want a commission in the parish where you live, you also have to be a registered voter there.2Justia. Louisiana Code RS 35:191 – Appointment; Qualifications; Examination You can hold a commission in one additional parish where you maintain an office, and the voter registration rule applies only to your home parish.
Study for the Exam
The Secretary of State publishes the official study guide, Fundamentals of Louisiana Notarial Law and Practice, and the exam questions come from it. The guide costs $100 and is sold through the Secretary of State’s website.3Louisiana Secretary of State. Prepare for the Notary Exam No prep course is required, but the material is dense. It covers the full range of transactions a Louisiana notary can handle, from conveyances and mortgages to successions and matrimonial agreements. Many candidates, especially those without a legal background, enroll in a private prep course or join a study group.
Take the Pre-Assessment and State Exam
Pre-Assessment
Before you can register for the state exam, you have to complete an online pre-assessment given by the LSU Center for Assessment and Evaluation. It is required, but you only take it once and there is no passing score. Build in about seven days for LSU to grade it and forward your results to the Secretary of State before you register for the main exam.4Louisiana Secretary of State. Become a Louisiana Notary
State Notary Exam
The state exam is given at LSU in Baton Rouge at least twice a year. You register by submitting an Examination Registration Form with a $100 fee.5Louisiana Secretary of State. Notary Exam Schedule The exam is open-book, and you can bring the current edition of the official study guide into the room. Bringing any other reference material, or an outdated edition of the guide, counts as cheating and will get you dismissed. Check the Secretary of State’s website for upcoming dates and registration deadlines.
Apply for Your Commission
Once you pass, you assemble your application for the Secretary of State. The form asks for personal details, contact information, and background disclosures, and you have to attest to your good moral character, integrity, and sober habits. The filing fee is $35, and cash is not accepted.2Justia. Louisiana Code RS 35:191 – Appointment; Qualifications; Examination
Your package also includes a signed Oath of Office and your official notarial signature. After the Secretary of State approves the application and issues your commission, you have 30 days to take your oath and file a duplicate oath with the parish Clerk of Court.6Louisiana Secretary of State. File an Oath of Office
Post Your Bond or Insurance
Unless you are a licensed attorney, you have to post a surety bond of at least $10,000 or carry at least $10,000 in errors and omissions insurance.7Justia. Louisiana Code RS 35:71 – Requirement of Bond or Insurance The bond protects the public if your work causes someone a financial loss. File the bond or proof of insurance with the Secretary of State. The filing fee is $20.8Louisiana Secretary of State. What Do I File?
Your bond runs for five years and has to be renewed before it lapses. If coverage expires and you fail to refile in time, your commission is automatically suspended. You have no authority to notarize anything until coverage is back in force and filed with the Secretary of State.7Justia. Louisiana Code RS 35:71 – Requirement of Bond or Insurance A lapse does not cancel the commission, but anything you notarize during the suspension can be challenged.
Keep Your Commission Active
The commission itself is for life, but keeping it active takes regular filings.9Louisiana Secretary of State. Frequently Asked Questions Non-attorney notaries must file an annual report with the Secretary of State on or before the anniversary date of their commission, completed in full, signed, and submitted with the required fee.
Miss the deadline and the penalties move fast. A late fee of up to $50 kicks in right away. If you still have not filed within 60 days of the due date, your commission is automatically suspended and you lose all authority to act. To get reinstated, you have to file the overdue report and pay all accrued fees and late charges going back up to three years.10Justia. Louisiana Code RS 35:202 – Annual Report; Filing Fee Set a calendar reminder. Automatic suspension is not forgiving.
Where You Can Practice
A non-attorney notary is generally commissioned in one parish, and can hold an additional commission for a second parish where they maintain an office. A notary can also practice in any adjacent parish with a population under 40,000 if they or their employer has an office there, without an additional bond or application.2Justia. Louisiana Code RS 35:191 – Appointment; Qualifications; Examination
The statute also creates several regional parish clusters, including the Baton Rouge, Shreveport-Bossier, and Lake Charles areas, where a notary appointed in any parish in the group can freely practice in all the others with no extra bonding or application. If your work would cross parish lines, check the statute to see whether your area is part of a cluster.
Shortcut for Licensed Attorneys
If you are licensed to practice law in Louisiana, the path is much shorter. Attorneys are exempt from both the pre-assessment and the state notary exam. You still submit an application and obtain a commission, but you skip the study and testing.2Justia. Louisiana Code RS 35:191 – Appointment; Qualifications; Examination Attorney-notaries can also exercise notarial functions in every parish in the state, regardless of where their commission was issued, with no additional bond or application.
Add Remote Online Notarization
Louisiana authorizes remote online notarization (RON), which lets you notarize for signers who appear by live audio-video rather than in person. You must already hold a current Louisiana commission before you can register as a RON notary. From there:
- Complete an online instruction course and quiz through the Secretary of State and keep your certificate of completion.
- Choose a remote notarization technology provider from the Secretary of State’s approved list and set up service directly with them.
- Register through your online notary account, upload your certificate, and pay a one-time $100 filing fee.
The $100 fee covers state registration only; your technology provider charges separately.11Louisiana Secretary of State. Become a RON Notary The same identity verification and impartiality standards that apply to in-person work apply to RON.
What It Costs
The state fees to get commissioned and stay commissioned:
- Official study guide: $100
- Exam registration: $100
- Commission application filing: $35
- Bond filing: $20
- Bond or E&O insurance premium: varies by provider, renewed every five years
- Annual report filing fee: set by the Secretary of State, due each year on your commission anniversary
- RON registration, if you add it: $100 one-time, plus technology provider costs
Budget roughly $250 to $350 in state fees before you add a prep course, your bond premium, or notarial supplies like your seal and record book.