How to Become a Notary Public in Oregon: Training, Exam, and Fees

To become a notary public in Oregon, you need to meet the state’s eligibility rules, complete a free training course offered by the Secretary of State, pass an open-book exam, submit a $40 application, and file your signed oath of office within 30 days after your commission is approved. The commission lasts four years, and Oregon does not require a surety bond, which keeps the out-of-pocket cost unusually low.

Who Qualifies

You must be at least 18, able to read and write English, and either a resident of Oregon or someone with a place of employment or practice in the state. U.S. citizenship is not required, and permanent residency is not required either. As long as you live or work in Oregon and meet the other criteria, immigration status alone will not disqualify you.¹

Two lookback rules apply. You cannot have had a notary commission revoked in the 10 years before you apply, and you cannot have been convicted of a felony or a crime involving fraud, dishonesty, or deceit in that same 10-year window. Older convictions and revocations are not an automatic bar.

A narrower set of findings disqualifies you permanently, with no time limit: a conviction for impersonating a notary, obstructing governmental or judicial administration related to notarial acts, or unlawful practice of law. A court finding that you practiced law without a license or engaged in certain unlawful trade practices also blocks the application regardless of when it happened. The Secretary of State runs a background check on every applicant.¹

Complete the Notary Basics Training

Every applicant has to complete the “Notary Basics” training course before applying. That includes people who already hold an Oregon commission and are reapplying, and it includes attorneys. The Secretary of State offers the training free of charge through options listed on the state’s website, and you must finish it within the six months before you submit your application.²¹

Hold on to your proof of completion. You will attach it to your application.

Pass the Exam

After finishing training, you take an examination administered by the Secretary of State. It is open-book and drawn from the official Oregon Notary Public Guide, which covers how to identify signers, how to keep a journal, which notarial acts you may perform, and what penalties apply for misconduct. The exam can be taken online once your training is done.³

Submit the Application and $40 Fee

The application lives on the Secretary of State’s online portal. You will provide your full legal name, your Social Security number (kept confidential), and any prior legal names for the background check. The fee is $40 and is non-refundable.⁴

One detail catches applicants off guard: the name you put on the application becomes your commission name, and you must sign every notarial act with that exact name for the next four years. If you use a nickname or recently changed your name, make sure the application shows the name you actually want on your stamp and in your journal.

Oregon does not require a surety bond or errors and omissions insurance. Both are optional. That is different from many states, and it is why the application fee is essentially your only mandatory cost to get commissioned.

File Your Oath of Office Within 30 Days

Once the Secretary of State approves your application, you receive a commission certificate. A strict 30-day clock starts on that date. You must sign your oath of office in front of a notary and submit the oath to the Secretary of State’s office within those 30 days. Miss the deadline and your commission is voided; you will have to retake the exam and reapply from scratch. This is the single most common procedural failure in the process, so put the deadline on your calendar the moment the approval lands.⁵

Order Your Stamp and Set Up Your Journal

After your oath is filed and your commission is active, you need an official stamp. Oregon Administrative Rules require specific elements, arranged in a specific order to the right of the state seal:

The words “Official Stamp”
Your printed commission name
The words “Notary Public — Oregon”
“Commission No.” followed by your commission number
“My Commission Expires” followed by the expiration date, with the month spelled out, a two-digit day, and the full year

The impression has to be clear enough to photocopy or reproduce.⁶ Several notary supply companies sell Oregon-compliant stamps, but check every required element before you use one. A stamp missing the commission number or using an abbreviated date format does not meet the rule. Keep the stamp secured when it is not in use.

You also need a chronological journal recording each notarial act you perform. The journal is your permanent record and your best defense if a transaction is ever challenged. You must keep it for 10 years after the last entry, even after your commission expires or you resign. If your commission is revoked instead, you must send the journal to the Secretary of State within 30 days of the revocation date.⁷

What It Costs in Total

The only mandatory state cost is the $40 application fee. Training and the exam are free. You will spend additional money on a stamp and a journal from a supply vendor, and you can optionally buy a surety bond or E&O insurance; the state requires neither. A surety bond protects the public (if a claim is paid, the surety seeks reimbursement from you), while E&O insurance protects you by covering legal defense and settlements up to your policy limits. If notarization is a meaningful part of your work, especially mobile closings, E&O coverage is worth considering.

Fees You Can Charge Once Commissioned

Oregon caps the fee for each notarial act at $10. The cap applies to acknowledgments, verifications on oath or affirmation, certified copies, witnessing or attesting a signature, protesting commercial paper, and administering an oath or affirmation without a signature. For remote online notarizations the cap is $25 per act.⁸

You can charge less than the maximum or nothing at all. The fee is per notarial act, not per document, so a single document with multiple signers who each need an acknowledgment can involve multiple fees.

Adding Remote Online Notarization

Oregon commissioned notaries can perform notarial acts remotely using two-way audio-video technology. The signer can be anywhere, but you must be physically located in Oregon when performing the act.⁹

Authorization requires a few steps beyond your standard commission:

Complete the Secretary of State’s RON-specific training course.
Choose at least one qualifying technology vendor that meets state system requirements.
Complete that vendor’s platform training.
Submit the Remote Notarization Notice form, along with a copy of your electronic stamp and signature from the vendor, to the Secretary of State’s notary team by email.⁹

Renewing After Four Years

Your commission runs four years and does not renew automatically. Each new commission is a separate application with a new commission number and expiration date. You retake the Notary Basics training, pass the exam again, and submit a new application with another $40 fee.¹⁰

You can keep using the same physical journal across commissions as long as you update the front matter with your new commission information and clearly mark where the new commission’s entries begin. The old stamp has to be destroyed as soon as the old commission expires. Peel off the rubber strip, cut it up, and discard it, then order a new stamp with your new commission number and expiration date.¹⁰

1
State of Oregon. Qualifications for a Commission
2
State of Oregon. Notary Training
3
Justia. Oregon Revised Statutes 194.325 – Examination of Notary Public
4
State of Oregon. Notary Public Application
5
State of Oregon. Oregon Notary Public Guide
6
OregonLaws. Oregon Administrative Rules 160-100-0100 – Description of Imprint of Official Stamp
7
OregonLaws. Oregon Revised Statutes 194.300 – Journal
8
State of Oregon. Notary Public Fee Schedule
9
State of Oregon. Remote Online Notarization
10
State of Oregon. Commission Re-application