Indiana Notary Public Test Questions and Answers

The Indiana notary public test asks 30 questions and requires an 80% score to pass, meaning you can miss no more than six. Questions are drawn directly from Indiana Code Title 33, Article 42, and they lean heavily on scenarios rather than pure recall. What follows walks through every topic the exam covers, with the kind of question patterns you’ll see and the right answers grounded in the statute.

Exam Format and What “Passing” Means

The test runs through the Secretary of State’s INBiz portal after you pay the $75 application fee, which covers both the required education course and the exam itself.¹ You’ll answer 30 multiple-choice and true-or-false questions in a single online session with no separate proctor. Your score appears immediately when you submit, and if you pass you can download the completion certificate on the spot.

Because questions come straight from statute, working through the actual code sections gives you more reliable preparation than any third-party question bank. The topics below are organized the way the exam tests them.

Eligibility Questions

Indiana Code 33-42-12-1 sets six conditions for a commission, and every one of them can appear on the test:²

At least 18 years old
A U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident
Either an Indiana resident or primarily employed in the state (out-of-state workers must submit employer documentation on company letterhead)
Not subject to any disqualification under IC 33-42-13
Completion of the required education course
A passing score on this exam

Two traps show up repeatedly. The first involves a green card holder: the statute allows permanent legal residents, so answering that they are ineligible is wrong. The second describes someone who lives in Ohio but works full time in Indianapolis. That person qualifies as long as the employer documentation is provided.

Related eligibility questions test the $25,000 surety bond requirement and the Indiana State Police limited criminal history record, which cannot be older than 30 days at submission.² The bond protects the public from financial loss caused by a notary’s errors or misconduct. A commission, once granted, lasts eight years — this figure comes up on both eligibility and renewal questions.

Identifying Which Notarial Act Applies

Expect scenario questions that describe a situation and ask you which act the notary is performing. The five authorized acts:

Acknowledgment — the signer confirms they signed voluntarily. You are not verifying the document’s contents.
Oath or affirmation — you place the signer under oath to tell the truth.
Verification on oath or affirmation — the signer swears the contents of a written document are true.
Witnessing a signature — you physically watch the person sign in your presence.
Certifying a copy — you attest that a copy is a true reproduction of the original.

The distinction the exam cares about most: an acknowledgment confirms a signature is voluntary; a verification on oath confirms the document’s contents are true. Candidates who mix those two up lose easy points. The fee statute lists these same five acts and caps the charge at $10 per signature.³

Identification and Personal Appearance

More exam questions come from this topic than almost any other. Every notarization requires the signer to appear in person and prove identity. The Indiana Notary Public Guide lists acceptable identification, which must be current or expired by no more than three years:⁴

A driver’s license or state-issued ID card from any state
A U.S. passport or officially recognized foreign passport
A U.S. military identification card
An ID card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe
Any current document issued by a federal, state, county, or local government that includes the person’s photograph

Two scenarios recur. A signer offers a birth certificate: the right answer is that a birth certificate does not qualify because it has no photograph. A signer offers a driver’s license that expired four years ago: reject it, because the three-year window has passed.

Credible Witness Scenarios

When a signer has no qualifying ID, identity can be verified through a credible witness. The statutory definition requires the witness to appear before the notary, swear or affirm that the signer is who they claim to be, and be personally known to both the signer and the notary.⁵ The Notary Guide adds a practical alternative: the notary may identify the witness through one of the acceptable ID documents, as long as the witness personally knows the signer.⁴

Both the witness and the signer must be physically present, and the witness must take an oath from the notary. A question describing a witness who calls in by phone to vouch for the signer is testing whether you know the personal appearance requirement covers the witness too. The correct answer: the notarization cannot proceed.

Personal Knowledge Questions

A notary may also rely on personal knowledge to identify a signer, but the standard is higher than casual familiarity. The Notary Guide sets three criteria: a long-term relationship with the person, knowledge beyond a passing acquaintance, and no reasonable doubt about identity. The guide frames it as a courtroom test — would you swear to this person’s identity if a judge asked?⁴ A scenario where your boss introduces someone five minutes before the notarization is checking whether you know that isn’t personal knowledge.

Fee Questions

Indiana caps the fee at $10 per signature for each in-person notarial act.³ Remote notaries with the proper authorization may charge up to $25 per remote notarial act.⁶

A common question describes a notary charging $15 for a single in-person acknowledgment. That’s not permitted. Watch for scenarios that try to apply the $25 remote fee to an in-person act, or the $10 in-person fee to a remote one — the exam blurs the line on purpose.

Official Seal Contents

Your seal appears on every notarized document, and the test will ask what it must contain. Indiana Code 33-42-10-2 requires:⁷

The words “notary public”
The words “state of Indiana”
Your name exactly as it appears on your commission certificate
The words “commission number” followed by your commission number
The words “my commission expires” followed by your expiration date

The seal may be a rubber stamp or an embossing press, but it must be capable of being photocopied along with the document. One change trips up recent test-takers: as of July 1, 2024, the word “seal” itself is no longer a required element.¹ A question asking whether “seal” must appear on the stamp should be answered no.

Journal Rules

Every Indiana notary must keep a journal recording every notarial act. It has to be a permanent, bound register with numbered pages, and a notary may maintain only one journal at a time.⁴ Each entry must record:

The date and time of the act
A description of the document
The type of notarial act performed
The full name and address of each person involved
How identity was established (personal knowledge, ID document, or credible witness)
Details of any identification credential used, including issuance and expiration dates
The fee charged, if any

A frequent question asks whether a notary can keep two journals going at once, perhaps one for real estate work and one for everything else. The answer is no. Another asks whether a notary must record the fee even when no fee was charged: the entry should reflect that no fee was collected, but the field is not optional.

Remote notaries face additional electronic journal rules. The electronic journal must be under the notary’s exclusive control, meaning direct physical and intellectual custody of any passwords or access methods. If it is lost, stolen, or compromised, the notary must notify the Secretary of State within 15 days. Certain data may never appear in a remote journal, including government-assigned ID numbers and biometric identifiers like fingerprints.

Prohibited Acts

This is the section that trips up candidates who studied only the basics. Indiana Code 33-42-13-3 spells out what a notary cannot do:⁸

Provide legal advice or practice law in any form, unless also a licensed Indiana attorney
Act as an immigration consultant or advise on immigration matters
Notarize for yourself, your spouse, or any transaction where you or your spouse would directly benefit
Use the term “notario” or “notario publico” if you are not an attorney (in many Latin American countries, a notario is a licensed legal professional with far greater authority than a U.S. notary public)
Take an acknowledgment from anyone you know has been adjudicated mentally incompetent or placed under guardianship
Notarize over the phone or remotely without a separate remote online notarization authorization
Take an acknowledgment from a blind signer without reading the entire document to them first
Proceed with a signer who does not understand English unless the document has been translated into a language the signer understands

Any notary who advertises notarial services must include this specific disclaimer: “I am not an attorney licensed to practice law in Indiana. I am not allowed to draft legal records, give advice on legal matters, including immigration, or charge a fee for those activities.”⁸

Two classic scenarios. A notary helps a signer fill in blanks on a real estate deed — that notary has crossed into the unauthorized practice of law. A notary is asked to notarize a power of attorney naming the notary’s spouse as agent — because the spouse would directly benefit, the notary must refuse.

Penalties and Consequences

A notary who violates the prohibited-acts provisions may have their commission revoked by a judge in the county where the notary resides or works.⁸ After revocation, you cannot reapply for a new commission for five years. A notary convicted of “notario publico deception” under IC 33-42-13-4 is permanently barred from ever holding a commission again.

Expect a question about what happens if a notary keeps performing notarizations after their commission expires. The practical answer: any notarial act performed without a valid commission is unauthorized, exposing the notary to revocation proceedings and claims against the surety bond, which exists specifically to cover public losses from a notary’s misconduct or errors.

Continuing Education and Renewal

Passing the initial exam is not the end of your education obligations. Indiana requires notaries to complete a continuing education course and exam every two years.⁴ The course takes about two hours and costs $50 through INBiz. Outside courses are not accepted.

Your continuing education deadline falls on the last day of the month your commission was issued, every two years. You may complete the course within 90 days of the due date, but not earlier. Miss the deadline and your commission expires automatically. That’s the trap: expiration for missed continuing education is not discretionary and does not care about your workload or intent.

When the eight-year commission approaches its end, you renew through INBiz with a $75 renewal application fee.⁶ If your commission expires before you renew, there is no late renewal. You must apply for an entirely new commission from scratch.

Remote Online Notarization

Indiana authorizes remote online notarization for notaries who obtain a separate RON authorization, which costs $100 on top of standard commission fees.⁶ Under IC 33-42-17-3, a remote notary must use audiovisual technology approved by the Secretary of State and must notify the Secretary of State of the chosen technology before performing any remote acts.⁹

Every remote notarial act must be captured in an audiovisual recording, whether or not the act is ultimately completed. The notary must inform all parties that the session will be recorded before starting. Identity verification during a remote session can be established through personal knowledge or a credible witness, the same as in person. The recording must include the notary’s recitation of identifying information and a statement explaining how the signer’s identity was verified.

Remote notaries face the same prohibited-acts rules as in-person notaries, plus the additional electronic journal requirements and the $25-per-act fee cap. A question asking whether a standard commission is enough to notarize a document over video call should be answered no — RON requires the separate authorization.

1
INBIZ. INBIZ Notaries
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Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 33-42-12-1 – Notary Public Commission
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Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 33-42-14-1 – Notary Public Fees
4
Indiana Secretary of State. Indiana Notary Public Guide
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Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 33-42-0.5-8 – Credible Witness
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Indiana Secretary of State. Indiana Notary Public Update
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Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 33-42-10-2 – Official Seal
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Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 33-42-13-3 – Prohibitions; Violations
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Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 33-42-17-3 – Remote Notary Public Functions