Nevada Secretary of State Notary: Requirements, Fees, and Renewal

To become a notary public in Nevada, you must be at least 18, be a Nevada resident (or work for a Nevada-registered employer if you live in an adjoining state), possess your civil rights, complete a state-approved training course and exam, obtain a $10,000 surety bond, submit an application with a $35 fee through the SilverFlume portal, and then take an oath of office and file your bond with your county clerk. The commission lasts four years, and Nevada notary requirements continue during the term through record-keeping rules, fee caps, and reporting obligations.¹

Who Qualifies

You must be 18 or older, a Nevada resident, and in possession of your civil rights.² The statute does not require U.S. citizenship or permanent residency; the qualification is civil rights, not immigration status.

If you live in a state bordering Nevada, you can still apply, provided you either maintain a registered business in Nevada or work here for an employer registered to do business in the state.²

Criminal history matters. The Secretary of State will not appoint anyone convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude or of fraud-related offenses such as forgery, embezzlement, identity theft, or robbery. For moral turpitude offenses there is a narrow path back: more than 10 years since release, parole, or sentencing, full restitution made, and civil rights restored. That exception does not reach forgery, embezzlement, or identity theft, which remain permanent disqualifiers.³

Training and Exam

Before you apply, you have to complete a state-approved course of at least three hours covering a notary’s duties and legal responsibilities, ending in an examination.⁴ Both the training and the exam run through the Secretary of State’s approved training website, not through third-party providers.⁵

Finish both before you start the application. You will need to show proof of course completion and a passing exam score when you submit through SilverFlume, and the application fee is collected there rather than at the training stage.⁵

Bond, Application, and Fees

You need a surety bond of at least $10,000 from an insurance company licensed in Nevada, covering the full four-year term of your commission.⁶ The bond protects the public if a notary’s misconduct or negligence causes financial harm. You pay a premium to the insurer, not the face amount.

With the bond in hand, submit the application through the SilverFlume portal with the $35 application fee.⁷ List your name exactly as it will appear on your stamp, and use a consistent signature: it becomes your permanent signature of record for verification.

Oath of Office and County Filing

Receiving your commission certificate from the Secretary of State does not by itself let you notarize. You still have to take an oath of office and file your surety bond with the county clerk in the county where you live.⁸ Most clerks will administer the oath at the same appointment where you file the bond. Nonresident notaries file in the county where they work.

This is where applicants stumble most often. Miss the filing deadline, and you start the entire application over. County clerks charge their own filing and oath fee, which varies by county.

Your Stamp and Journal

Nevada notaries authenticate documents with an inked rubber stamp, not an embosser. The stamp must be rectangular, no larger than one inch by two and a half inches, and produce a legible imprint in photographically reproducible ink.⁹ It must show your name as it appears on your commission, the title “Notary Public, State of Nevada,” your commission expiration date, and your commission number. Nonresident notaries must add “Nonresident.” The Great Seal of Nevada and a border are optional. Never stamp over printed text, and keep the stamp secured when you are not using it.

You also have to keep a journal and record each notarial act at the time you perform it.¹⁰ Each entry must capture the fees charged, the title of the document, the date, the signer’s name and signature, the evidence you used to verify identity, whether you administered an oath, and the type of notarial certificate used.

Retain every journal for at least seven years after your commission ends, not seven years from the last entry. The journal is your personal property, and no one, employer included, may withhold it from you.¹¹

Fees You Can Charge

Nevada caps what a notary may charge for each service:¹²

Acknowledgment, first signature per signer: $15.00
Each additional signature per signer: $7.50
Jurat, per signature on the affidavit: $15.00
Oath or affirmation: $7.50
Certified copy: $7.50
Marriage ceremony: $75.00

Every signature counts as its own notarial act, so three signatures on one document is three billable acts. Travel fees sit outside these caps; state law does not limit what you can charge to travel to a client, but the statutory ceilings above still govern the notarial acts themselves.

Advertising Rules That Trip Notaries Up

If you advertise your notary services in any language other than English, you must include a conspicuous notice in that same language stating that you are not an attorney, are not licensed to give legal advice, and cannot accept fees for legal advice.¹³

You also cannot use the terms “notario,” “notario publico,” “licenciado,” or similar non-English terms on advertising, business cards, signs, or stationery. In many Latin American countries a “notario” is a licensed attorney with broad legal authority, and using these terms misleads Spanish-speaking clients about what a Nevada notary can do. The penalty is steep: a minimum one-year suspension for a first or second offense, mandatory revocation for a third, and up to $2,000 in civil penalties per violation. An employer who directs you to use the terms faces the same penalties.¹³

Electronic and Remote Online Notarization

To perform electronic or remote online notarizations, you must first hold an active traditional notary commission. The governing law is NRS 240.181 through 240.206, the Electronic Notarization Enabling Act.¹⁴

On top of your regular commission you have to complete a separate training course on electronic notarization, register with the Secretary of State and pay a $50 electronic registration fee in addition to your standard application fee,¹⁵ and select a technology provider that meets state security standards, submitting an electronic exemplar from that platform.¹⁶

For remote notarizations over audio-video communication, you must verify the signer’s identity through at least two methods, drawn from a government-issued photo ID presented on camera, credential analysis of that ID, and a dynamic knowledge-based authentication quiz. You must record the entire session.¹⁷

Retain the audio-video recordings for at least seven years, whether or not the notarial act was actually completed during the session.¹⁸ The same seven-year retention applies to all electronic notarial records if your registration expires, is surrendered, or is revoked.¹⁹

Renewing and Updating Your Commission

A Nevada notary commission lasts four years from appointment.²⁰ Renewal repeats the original process: take the training course again, pass the exam, obtain a new $10,000 bond, and pay the $35 fee. There is no experienced-notary shortcut.

During the term, you must report certain changes to the Secretary of State within 30 days: mailing address, county of residence, signature, and, for nonresidents, place of business or employment in Nevada. If you change your name and plan to notarize under the new name, you also have 30 days to request an amended certificate. Missing these reporting deadlines can lead to suspension.²¹

Suspension, Revocation, and Penalties

Your commission is suspended automatically the moment your surety bond lapses or the bond’s full amount is paid out on claims. You cannot notarize during a suspension, and lifting it requires filing a new bond.²²

The Secretary of State can also suspend or revoke a commission for willful violation or neglect of any duty under Chapter 240. A conviction for one of the disqualifying crimes in NRS 240.010 triggers revocation. Even ignoring the Secretary of State’s information requests about a complaint can prompt suspension, and the Secretary of State may suspend immediately, before a hearing, when public protection warrants it. General misconduct can draw civil penalties up to $2,000 per violation, with advertising violations running on their own mandatory-minimum track.²³

1
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code Chapter 240 – Notaries Public and Commissioned Abstracters
2
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 240.015 – General Qualifications, Conditions for Appointment of Resident of Adjoining State
3
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code Chapter 240 – Notaries Public and Commissioned Abstracters – Section: NRS 240.010
4
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code Chapter 240 – Notaries Public and Commissioned Abstracters – Section: NRS 240.018
5
Nevada Secretary of State. Online Training and Exam Information
6
Nevada Secretary of State. Nevada Secretary of State – Notary
7
Nevada Secretary of State. Forms and Fees – Section: Notary Public Fees
8
Nevada Secretary of State. Step-by-Step Guide to a Notary Public Commission
9
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code Chapter 240 – Notaries Public and Commissioned Abstracters – Section: NRS 240.040
10
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code Chapter 240 – Notaries Public and Commissioned Abstracters – Section: NRS 240.120
11
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code Chapter 240 – Notaries Public and Commissioned Abstracters – Section: NRS 240.143
12
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code Chapter 240 – Notaries Public and Commissioned Abstracters – Section: NRS 240.100
13
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code Chapter 240 – Notaries Public and Commissioned Abstracters – Section: NRS 240.085
14
Nevada Secretary of State. eNotary FAQs
15
Nevada Secretary of State. Forms and Fees
16
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code Chapter 240 – Notaries Public and Commissioned Abstracters – Section: NRS 240.192
17
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code Chapter 240 – Notaries Public and Commissioned Abstracters – Section: NRS 240.1997
18
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 240.1995
19
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code Chapter 240 – Notaries Public and Commissioned Abstracters – Section: NRS 240.201
20
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code Chapter 240 – Notaries Public and Commissioned Abstracters – Section: NRS 240.020
21
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code Chapter 240 – Notaries Public and Commissioned Abstracters – Section: NRS 240.036
22
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 240.033 – Requirements for Bond
23
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code Chapter 240 – Notaries Public and Commissioned Abstracters – Section: NRS 240.150