Texas Notary Laws: Duties, Seal, and Penalties

Texas notary laws are set out in Chapter 406 of the Texas Government Code, and they govern who can hold a commission, what acts a notary may perform, how much a notary may charge, what the seal and journal must contain, and what happens when something goes wrong. A commission runs four years, requires a $10,000 surety bond, and comes with criminal exposure for misconduct that most notaries never think about until a complaint lands.¹ The sections below walk through what the law actually requires.

Who Can Become a Texas Notary

You must be at least 18 and a legal resident of Texas. There is no exam, no course, no legal background required. What will disqualify you is a felony conviction or a conviction for a crime touching honesty or trustworthiness — fraud or perjury being the obvious examples. Even without a conviction, the Secretary of State can deny an application when the criminal history raises fitness concerns.¹

Applications go through the Secretary of State’s online Notary Portal. Paper applications are no longer accepted. The filing fee is $21, and you must purchase a $10,000 surety bond from a licensed bonding company and upload proof of it through the portal. The bond protects the public. If someone loses money because of your misconduct and the bonding company pays, you owe the bonding company back.²

What a Texas Notary Can Do

A Texas notary performs a short list of specific acts. Stepping outside them creates liability, so the boundaries matter.

Acknowledgments

The most common act. You confirm that a signer appeared before you voluntarily and executed a document of their own free will. Real estate deeds, powers of attorney, and most recorded documents require an acknowledgment.

Oaths and Affirmations

When someone signs an affidavit or sworn statement, they are making a legally binding declaration under penalty of perjury. Your job is to make sure the person is physically present, understands what an oath means, and swears or affirms that the contents are true.

Certified Copies

You may certify that a copy of a document is a true reproduction of the original, but only for documents that are not publicly recordable. Business records, diplomas, and contracts are fair game. Birth certificates, deeds, and other documents filed with a government office are not. Compare the copy against the original and attach a certification statement.

Protests of Negotiable Instruments

Texas notaries may formally protest a dishonored check, promissory note, or other negotiable instrument. Most notaries will never perform one, but the authority exists.

Verifying Identity

Before any notarial act, you must confirm the signer’s identity. Texas allows two methods. The signer presents a valid, unexpired government-issued photo ID that includes both a photograph and a signature, or a credible witness who is personally known to both you and the signer swears under oath that the signer is who they claim to be. A credible witness who is not placed under oath does not satisfy the requirement.

Fee Limits

Section 406.024 caps what a notary or the notary’s employer may charge for each act. These are ceilings, not floors. Charging above them is a violation.³

Acknowledgment or proof of a deed, first signature: $10
Each additional signature on the same document: $1
Administering an oath or affirmation, with certificate and seal: $10
Protesting a bill or note for nonpayment, with register and seal: $4
Each notice of protest: $1
Protesting in all other cases: $4
Certificate and seal to a protest: $4
Any other certificate under seal: $10

You can charge less or nothing. Notaries who work for banks, title companies, and law firms usually provide notarization at no separate charge because the employer absorbs the cost.

Seal Requirements

Every Texas notary must obtain a seal that meets Section 406.013. The seal must clearly display the words “Notary Public, State of Texas” arranged around a five-pointed star, your name exactly as it appears on your commission, your notary identifying number, and your commission expiration date.⁴

The seal may be circular, up to two inches in diameter, or rectangular, up to one inch by two and a half inches, and must have a serrated or milled edge. If you use a rubber stamp, use indelible ink so the impression photocopies and scans cleanly. The Secretary of State does not supply seals. You buy one from a private vendor that meets these specifications.

Do not give a copy of your seal to anyone or affix it to any document except to authenticate your own official act. If the seal is lost or stolen, replace it right away. You are responsible for keeping it secure.

The Journal

Texas law requires notaries to keep a record book. If a notarization is ever challenged, the journal is your evidence and often your best defense.

Each entry should include the date of notarization, the type of document, the signer’s name and address, and the form of identification used. If you relied on a credible witness, record the witness’s name and address. Get the signer’s signature in the journal at the time of the notarization.¹

The journal can be physical or electronic. A physical journal must be bound with numbered pages so entries cannot be added or removed. Electronic journals must meet state security requirements. Report a lost or stolen journal to the Secretary of State promptly.

How Long to Keep Records

For traditional notarizations, keep records for the longer of the remaining term of the commission under which you performed the act or three years from the date of the notarization. For online notarizations, the retention period is five years, and you must also maintain a secure backup for the same period.⁵ The Secretary of State recommends keeping journal records permanently as a best practice, even past those minimums.

Conflicts of Interest and Prohibited Acts

A Texas notary may not notarize a document if you are a party to it or have a direct financial or beneficial interest in the transaction. Texas does not specifically bar notarizing for relatives, but if you personally benefit, the conflict rule still applies no matter who the signer is.

A narrow exception covers employees. If you work for a company that has an interest in a document, you may notarize an acknowledgment or proof of that document. A shareholder in a corporation may notarize corporate documents unless the corporation has 1,000 or fewer shareholders or the notary owns more than one-tenth of one percent of the outstanding stock.

The Line Against Practicing Law

Texas notaries who are not licensed attorneys may not give legal advice or charge for it. Section 406.017 goes further and prohibits you from:⁴

Stating or implying you are a licensed attorney
Accepting payment to prepare legal documents or represent someone in a judicial or administrative proceeding, including immigration matters
Accepting payment to seek relief on someone’s behalf from any government officer or agency
Using the terms “notario” or “notario publico” in advertising

If you advertise notary services in any language other than English, you must include the notice: “I am not an attorney licensed to practice law in Texas and may not give legal advice or accept fees for legal advice.”

Online Notarization

Subchapter C of Chapter 406 authorizes remote online notarization. A specially commissioned online notary can notarize documents for a signer who is not physically present, using live two-way audio-video. The online commission is separate from a traditional commission, requires its own application, and costs an additional $50.⁶⁷

To qualify, you must already hold a traditional Texas commission. You then need a digital certificate containing your electronic signature that uses Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology and is X.509 compliant, an electronic seal with the same content as a physical seal, and the ability to record and store the audio-video session. You must also use a third-party service to perform identity proofing and credential analysis on each signer.⁷ All electronic records, including the audio-video recording, must be retained for five years with a secure backup.

Renewals, Address Changes, and Name Changes

A commission lasts four years. To renew, submit a new application through the Notary Portal, pay the $21 fee, and secure a fresh $10,000 surety bond. If your commission lapses before you renew, you start the entire application from scratch.²

If you change your address, you must notify the Secretary of State in writing within 10 days. The state sends all official correspondence, including complaint notices, to the address on file. Miss a complaint because it went to an old address and you can lose your commission.⁸

A name change is a separate update through the portal. You will need a rider or endorsement from your bonding company reflecting the new name, and you must buy a new seal showing it. If you hold both a traditional and an online commission, the change applies to both, and you will be prompted to update your digital seal and certificate.⁹

If you move out of Texas and no longer meet residency, your commission is vacated automatically and you must surrender it.⁸

Penalties

The Secretary of State investigates complaints and can impose fines, suspend a commission, or revoke it permanently. The violations that most often trigger complaints are notarizing without the signer physically present, failing to verify identity, using an expired commission, and omitting required information from the notarial certificate. Even honest mistakes can produce discipline, which is why the journal matters.

Criminal Exposure

Official misconduct by a notary is a Class A misdemeanor, up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000. A prior conviction for the same offense makes the next one a third-degree felony, two to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.³¹⁰

Unauthorized practice of law under Section 406.017 carries the same structure: Class A misdemeanor for a first offense, third-degree felony for a repeat. Conduct that crosses into forgery or fraud can bring separate Penal Code charges on top.⁴

Civil Liability

Anyone harmed by your negligence or misconduct can sue you for damages. Your $10,000 surety bond is not insurance for you. It compensates the public, and if the bonding company pays a claim, you owe the bonding company back. The bond also caps at $10,000, which may not come close to the actual damages in a high-value real estate or estate dispute.

Errors and omissions (E&O) insurance is the separate product that actually protects the notary. It pays claims and legal defense costs up to the policy limit without requiring you to reimburse the insurer. Texas does not require E&O coverage, but defending a single baseless lawsuit without it would likely exceed years of premiums.

1
State of Texas. Texas Government Code Title 4, Subtitle A, Chapter 406 – Notary Public; Commissioner of Deeds
2
Texas Secretary of State. Forms and Fees
3
Texas Secretary of State. Notary Public Educational Information
4
State of Texas. Government Code Chapter 406 – Notary Public; Commissioner of Deeds
5
Legal Information Institute. 1 Tex. Admin. Code 87.54 – Records Retention
6
Justia. Texas Code 406 Subchapter C – Online Notary Public
7
Texas Secretary of State. Getting Started as an Online Notary
8
Legal Information Institute. 1 Tex. Admin. Code 87.60 – Change of Address
9
Texas Secretary of State. Change Name – Notary Guide for Managing Your Commission
10
Texas Attorney General. Penal Code Offenses by Punishment Range