Texas Notary Handbook PDF: Application, Fees, and Renewal

The Texas Notary Public Handbook is available as a free PDF from the Texas Secretary of State’s Notary Public page at sos.state.tx.us. It walks through every rule a commissioned notary in Texas has to follow: eligibility, bonding, seal specifications, journal entries, maximum fees, grounds for revocation, and the mandatory education course that takes effect January 1, 2026. The handbook reflects the requirements of Texas Government Code Chapter 406.

Where to Download the Handbook

Open the Secretary of State’s website and go to the Notary Public division. The handbook and related educational materials sit under the forms and resources section of the Notary Public landing page.¹ The file opens as a PDF you can save to a computer or phone and pull up mid-notarization.

Check the publication date on the cover page each time you download a fresh copy. Legislative sessions can change fee limits, seal rules, and recordkeeping requirements, and an old PDF on your desktop can drift out of date without warning. Application forms, bond forms, and the fee schedule live on a separate Forms and Fees page inside the same Notary Public section.² Bookmark both.

Who Qualifies for a Commission

You must be at least 18 and a Texas resident. A felony conviction, or a conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude, disqualifies you.³ If the Secretary of State later discovers an applicant or sitting notary is ineligible, the office must reject the application or revoke the commission.

The application asks for more criminal history than the statute strictly bars. You have to disclose any conviction from any jurisdiction except Class C misdemeanors.⁴ When in doubt, disclose and explain. A conviction that surfaces later in a background check, but was not on your application, can cost you the commission.

How to Apply

The standard application is Form 2301, filed through the Secretary of State’s online notary portal. You’ll enter the name you plan to sign with as a notary, your Social Security number (required by Section 406.005(a) of the Government Code), and an address. A business address or P.O. box is acceptable if you’d rather not list your home.⁴

Before the commission issues, you need a $10,000 surety bond from a company authorized to do business in Texas. The bond protects the public from errors and misconduct. State employees whose notary duties are primarily part of their government role are exempt from the bond requirement.⁵

The filing fee for a traditional notary application is $21. State employee applications are $11. An online notary commission costs $50.²

Starting January 1, 2026, every applicant and every renewing notary must complete the Secretary of State’s notary education course before a commission will be issued.¹ Once the commission certificate arrives, you take the oath of office in front of another commissioned notary. Only then can you begin performing notarial acts. A Texas commission runs four years.

Seal Requirements

Every Texas notary must have a seal of office. It has to clearly display the words “Notary Public, State of Texas” around a five-pointed star, along with the notary’s name, commission expiration date, and state-issued notary ID number.⁶ The seal can be embossed, stamped, or printed as long as the image is sharp enough to photograph and reproduce cleanly. A worn-out stamp can invalidate the notarization.

The notary ID number requirement applies to anyone first commissioned on or after January 1, 2016, and anyone who renewed on or after that date.¹ Before you use a new or replacement seal on anything, check that all four required elements are on it.

Keeping a Record Book

Section 406.014 of the Government Code requires every notary to keep a record book, whether or not you charge fees.¹ For each notarial act, log:

The date of the instrument and the date of the notarization
The name and residence (or alleged residence) of the signer
How you identified the signer: personal knowledge, a government-issued photo ID or U.S. passport, or an introduction by another person (record that person’s name and address too)

A driver’s license or passport is the most common ID. If a signer has no qualifying ID and you don’t personally know them, Texas allows a credible witness, someone who knows the signer and will swear an oath before you confirming the signer’s identity. Record the witness the same way you’d record any introduction.

Missing or sloppy entries are one of the fastest routes to losing a commission. The Secretary of State can suspend or revoke a notary for recordkeeping failures, and the consequences can include civil liability and criminal prosecution.

Maximum Fees You Can Charge

Texas caps notary fees by type of act. You can charge less, but never more. The statutory limits under Section 406.024 are:

Acknowledgment or proof of a deed: $10 for the first signature, $1 for each additional signature
Oath or affirmation with certificate and seal: $10
Certificate under seal not otherwise specified: $10
Protesting a bill or note: $4, plus $4 for the certificate and seal on the protest
Notice of protest: $1 each
Swearing a deposition witness: $10
Copy of a record in the notary’s office: $1 per page
Any other notarial act not listed: $10

The Secretary of State adjusts these amounts every five years based on the Consumer Price Index, so the figures in your PDF should match the ones the Secretary of State currently publishes.³ Charging above the cap can bring administrative penalties, criminal prosecution, or revocation.

Staying Out of the Unauthorized Practice of Law

This is where new notaries get into trouble most often. Unless you’re also a licensed attorney, you cannot give legal advice, recommend which document a person needs, tell them which type of notarization to use, or help fill out legal paperwork. Doing any of that is unauthorized practice of law, which is listed as good cause for revoking your commission.⁷

You can describe the notarial acts you’re authorized to perform and explain the mechanical difference between an acknowledgment and a jurat, but the signer picks the act. Questions about the legal effect of a document go to an attorney or to the agency that will receive it.

If you advertise services in a language other than English and you’re not an attorney, you must include a disclaimer in both that language and English stating that you are not a licensed attorney and cannot give legal advice or charge for legal advice. Falsely representing yourself as an attorney is separately listed as grounds for revocation under Section 406.017.

Grounds for Suspension or Revocation

Under Section 406.009, the Secretary of State can reject an application, suspend a commission, or revoke a commission for good cause, which the statute defines to include:

Knowingly making a false statement on the application
A conviction for violating notary law in Texas or another state
Any administrative, criminal, or civil penalty imposed for violating your duties
Performing a notarization when the signer did not personally appear before you at the time of the act
Unauthorized practice of law
False representation as an attorney

A notary facing revocation has the right to notice, a hearing, and an appeal to the Travis County district court, where the Secretary of State carries the burden of proof and the case is tried fresh.¹ Losing the commission is not the only exposure. Misconduct can also mean civil liability and criminal charges.

Renewing Your Commission

A Texas commission lasts four years. To renew, you file a new application, secure a new $10,000 surety bond, pay the $21 filing fee, and order a new seal reflecting your updated expiration date.² Beginning January 1, 2026, renewing notaries must also complete the Secretary of State’s education course, the same requirement first-time applicants face. Once the renewed commission is issued, you take the oath of office again before another notary and start the new four-year term.

If your commission lapses, you cannot perform notarial acts in the gap. Any notarization you perform after expiration is invalid and can expose you to liability.

Online Notarization Is a Separate Track

The standard handbook covers traditional in-person notarization. Online notarization, authorized under Subchapter C of Chapter 406, has its own commission ($50 filing fee), its own educational materials from the Secretary of State, and its own rules. An online notary must be physically located in Texas when performing the act, though the signer can be anywhere.⁸

Identity verification is heavier than the in-person process: the signer presents a government-issued photo ID on camera, that ID has to pass a third-party credential analysis, and the signer also goes through identity proofing against additional data sources.⁹ Online notaries must keep a secure electronic record of every online notarization for at least five years, including a recording of the video and audio conference. An online notary may charge up to $25 on top of the regular fee for the online notarization itself.³ Your electronic seal and electronic signature must stay under your exclusive control.⁸

1
Texas Secretary of State. Notary Public Educational Information
2
Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Forms and Fees
3
Texas Legislature. Texas Government Code Chapter 406 – Notary Public
4
State Office of Risk Management. Form 2301-NB – Application for Appointment as Texas Notary Public
5
State of Texas. Texas Government Code GOV’T 406.010 – Bond; Oath
6
State of Texas. Texas Government Code GOV’T 406.013 – Seal
7
Cornell Law Institute. Texas Administrative Code 1 TAC 87.31 – Good Cause
8
Texas Secretary of State. Online Notary Public Educational Information
9
State of Texas. Texas Government Code GOV’T 406.110