Minnesota Notary Rules: Stamps, Journals, and Fee Limits

Minnesota notary rules sit mainly in Chapters 358 and 359 of the Minnesota Statutes, and they govern who can hold a commission, what acts a notary can perform, how fees and stamps must look, and what happens when something goes wrong. A commission runs for five years, costs $120 to apply for, and is not active until it has been recorded with your county. Everything else, from the shape of your stamp to whether you can notarize your spouse’s loan papers, flows from those statutes.

Who Can Hold a Commission

You must be at least 18 and a resident of the county where you’ll be appointed.¹ U.S. citizens and resident aliens both qualify. Residents of adjoining counties in Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, or Wisconsin can qualify if they keep a Minnesota place of business and designate the Secretary of State as their agent for service of process.²

The application asks about criminal history. Felony, gross misdemeanor, and misdemeanor charges, convictions, indictments, and pleas must be disclosed, with court documents and a written explanation; traffic citations, DUI/DWI, and juvenile adjudications are excluded.³ A record is not an automatic bar; the Secretary of State reviews each one.

Recording the Commission With Your County

Once the Secretary of State issues your commission certificate, you still cannot notarize anything until you record the commission with your county of residence. The county recording fee is $20.⁴

This is the rule people most often overlook, and skipping it costs more than following it. Failure to record can bring a civil penalty from the Commissioner of the Department of Commerce, and the penalty typically runs larger than the recording fee itself.⁴ Minnesota does not require a surety bond.⁵

Term and Renewal

A commission runs until January 31 of the fifth year after the year it was issued.⁶ A commission issued in 2026 expires January 31, 2031.

If you renew before expiration, you can do it online through the Secretary of State’s notary portal. If your commission has already lapsed, you have to start over with a full new application.⁷ Either way, the new commission must be recorded with the county again, and the $20 fee applies again.

Stamp Requirements

Every notarial act requires your official stamp. The stamp must be rectangular, no more than three-quarters of an inch tall by two and a half inches wide, with a serrated or milled edge border. It must show the Seal of the State of Minnesota, your name exactly as it appears on your commission, the words “Notary Public,” and your commission expiration date. The impression must be reproducible in any legible format.⁸

A notarization performed without the stamp is not properly completed, no matter how carefully the rest of the process was handled.¹⁰

Journal Rules

For traditional in-person notarizations, Minnesota does not require a journal, though the Secretary of State treats keeping one as prudent.9Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. Notary FAQ Useful entries include the date and time, the type of act, a description of the document, and the signatures of those involved.

Remote online notarizations are different. A secure electronic journal is required by statute for every remote transaction, and it must capture the date and time, the type of act, a description of the document, the name and address of each person involved, how you verified identity, and any fee charged.¹¹ Your journal and stamp are your personal property and are exempt from execution by creditors.⁸

What You Can and Cannot Notarize

Minnesota recognizes a defined set of notarial acts under Statute 358.52.¹² They are:

Taking acknowledgments, confirming that a signer is executing a document voluntarily and understands its contents.
Administering oaths or affirmations, with perjury penalties attaching if the sworn statement is false.
Witnessing or attesting signatures.
Certifying copies as true reproductions of originals.
Noting protests, meaning formally recording the dishonor of a negotiable instrument like a bill of exchange.

Anything beyond that list risks crossing into the unauthorized practice of law. If you are not an attorney, you cannot give legal advice, help someone pick a legal form, explain the legal effect of a document, or represent anyone in a legal proceeding.

When You Have to Decline: Disqualifying Interests

You cannot notarize any document in which you or your spouse is a party or in which either of you has a direct beneficial interest. A notarization performed in violation of this rule is voidable, which means it can be undone later.¹³ You also cannot notarize your own signature.

Beneficial interest is broader than being named in the document. If you would gain financially from the transaction, you are disqualified. A loan document your spouse signs for a home the two of you will share is an easy example of a disqualifying interest.

Notarizing for family members other than a spouse is not flatly prohibited, but the Secretary of State’s office points to long-standing case law holding that the policy of the law forbids acknowledgments taken before a party to the deed or anyone taking an interest under it.¹⁴ When any benefit might flow to you, hand it to another notary.

One narrow exception: a notary who is an officer, director, or stockholder of a corporation may notarize documents for that corporation.

Fee Ceilings

Minnesota caps notary fees by statute. These are maximums, not required charges, and many notaries working for an employer charge nothing. The ceilings are:¹⁴

Protesting a note or bill of exchange where legally necessary, including a copy: $5
Any other protest and copy: $5
Serving notice of nonpayment or nonacceptance, including a copy: $5
Affidavits or other documents not specifically listed: $5 per folio, plus $1 per folio for copies
Each oath administered: $5
Acknowledging deeds and similar services: the legal fees allowed other officers for like services
Recording each instrument required by law to be recorded by the notary: $5 per folio

Charging above these limits is a violation of your commission.

Electronic Notarizations: Two Different Things

Minnesota recognizes two separate categories of electronic notarization, and the rules differ.

E-Notarization

E-notarization covers notarizing electronic documents when the signer is still physically present with you. You must register your electronic notarization capability with the Secretary of State before performing these acts, and you need an active commission that has already been recorded with your county.¹⁵

Remote Online Notarization

Remote online notarization lets you notarize for a signer who is not in the room with you, using audio-video technology. You must be physically located in Minnesota when you perform the act. The signer can be anywhere in the United States. Signers outside the country can be served only if you have no knowledge that the act is prohibited where they are, and the document relates to a U.S. court matter, U.S. property, or a transaction substantially connected to the United States.¹¹

Identity must be verified through credential analysis and multi-factor authentication. Every remote session must be recorded in audio and video, and you must take reasonable steps to maintain the integrity, security, and authenticity of those recordings, including keeping backups.¹¹ The secure electronic journal described above is mandatory for each transaction.

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

Enforcement sits with the Department of Commerce, and the consequences scale with the violation, from civil penalties to revocation of the commission. Failing to record your commission with the county can bring a civil fine that exceeds the $20 recording fee.⁴

Statute 358.70 prohibits the dishonest or unfaithful discharge of notary duties, and a notarization performed in violation of the disqualifying-interest rule is voidable under Section 358.54.¹³ A voided notarization can unwind the underlying transaction, exposing the signer, the receiving party, and you. Notarizing without affixing your stamp means the document has not been properly notarized at all.¹⁴

1
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code Chapter 359 – Notaries Public
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Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 359 – Notaries Public
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Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. Notary Commission Application
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Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. County Recording of Commission
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Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. Become a Notary
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Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 359.02
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Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. Notary and Apostille
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Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 359.03 – Stamp; Register
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Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. Notary FAQ

Journal Rules
For traditional in-person notarizations, Minnesota does not require a journal, though the Secretary of State treats keeping one as prudent.9Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. Notary FAQ
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Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 358.645
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Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 358.52 – Definitions
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Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 358.54 – Authority to Perform Notarial Act
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Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. Notary FAQ
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Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. E-Notarization Authorization