How to Become a Notary in Alaska — Requirements & Fees

How to become a notary public in Alaska: remote online notarization — verified from Office of the Lieutenant Governor.

Source-verified

Requirements below are drawn from Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Alaska Notary Public Office. Notaries public are commissioned by the Lieutenant Governor: 'The lieutenant governor may commission for the state (1) notaries public without limitation ... and (2) limited governmental notaries public' (AS 44.50.010(a)). There is no board, no licensing division and no county-level step: the Notary Public Office in Juneau (240 Main St., Room 301; PO Box 110015, Juneau, AK 99811) processes applications, accepts bonds, approves remote-notarization requests and takes discipline complaints. The office brands itself NOTARY.ALASKA.GOV. (official site) and last verified August 13, 2026. Boards change fees and rules often — confirm before acting.

Requirements at a glance

1) QUALIFY under AS 44.50.020: submit an application under AS 44.50.032; be at least 18 years of age; have established residency in Alaska under AS 01.10.055; reside legally in the United States; and not, within 10 years before the commission takes effect, have been convicted of a felony or incarcerated in a correctional facility for a felony conviction, nor be barred by a prior revocation or pending discipline (AS 44.50.020(6)). The office restates it as 'Applicants must be 18 years of age and residents of Alaska who are legally in the United States.' 2) GET THE BOND FIRST (regular commissions only). AS 44.50.034(a): 'A person applying for a commission as a notary public without limitation under AS 44.50.010(a)(1) shall execute an official bond of $2,500 and submit the bond with the application under AS 44.50.032. The bond must be for a term of four years from the date of commission.' The office is emphatic about sequence: 'since the notary bond is mandatory for all regular notary commissions, please do not submit your application until you have the required notary bond in hand.' Limited Governmental applicants submit an Employer Approval Form instead. 3) APPLY, ONLINE OR BY MAIL. Online: acquire the bond or employer approval, start the application with an active myAlaska account on the Online Notary Database, select the commission type from the Commission Type dropdown ('Regular', or Municipal/State/Federal for a Limited Governmental commission), upload the bond or employer approval, submit, and the database emails back a customized oath-of-office signature page as a PDF. By mail: the office 'MUST receive the wet signature original copy of your notarized Oath of Office (page 2 of the Application Form) to approve your application. We CANNOT accept emailed, scanned or photocopied oaths,' and the application must carry a physical residence address - 'We WILL NOT accept a PO BOX as a residential address' - though the mailing address may be a PO box. 4) SIGN AND NOTARIZE THE OATH OF OFFICE (AS 44.50.035). 'Oath of Office signature MUST be notarized. This will serve as your official signature (Sec. 44.50.063).' 5) PAY THE $40 NON-REFUNDABLE APPLICATION FEE (6 AAC 88.020(a)); checks payable to 'State of Alaska', Visa and Mastercard accepted. 6) WAIT FOR THE COMMISSION. 'When your application has been approved, you will receive an automated approval email containing a digital copy of your certificate and the Alaska Notary Statutes. A physical certificate will be mailed to the publicly available address provided on your application within two weeks of approval.' 7) BUY YOUR OWN SUPPLIES BEFORE NOTARIZING - the state supplies none. 'After your commission is approved, you may acquire your notary supplies and begin performing notarizations. Our office does not provide notary supplies.' A seal is mandatory (AS 44.50.064); the office says 'Minimally, you will need an inking notary seal and a notary journal.' 8) TO NOTARIZE REMOTELY, ASK SEPARATELY. Submit a written request to the Notary Administrator (email [email protected] is acceptable) containing the commissioned name and commission number, a description of the selected technology vendor, and a copy of the electronic signature and stamp/seal to be used on that platform; pay $100 (or $25 per remaining year); and do not perform a remote act until approved. 9) TO NOTARIZE ELECTRONIC RECORDS AT ALL, notify the Lieutenant Governor first under AS 44.50.145(b) and identify the technology.

Legal basis

Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Alaska Notary Public Office. Notaries public are commissioned by the Lieutenant Governor: ‘The lieutenant governor may commission for the state (1) notaries public without limitation … and (2) limited governmental notaries public’ (AS 44.50.010(a)). There is no board, no licensing division and no county-level step: the Notary Public Office in Juneau (240 Main St., Room 301; PO Box 110015, Juneau, AK 99811) processes applications, accepts bonds, approves remote-notarization requests and takes discipline complaints. The office brands itself NOTARY.ALASKA.GOV. commissions notaries public in Alaska. Every figure below is verified against the commissioning authority’s own official pages and dated.

What it’s called

The statutory noun is ’notary public’ and what the state issues is a COMMISSION, not a licence: ‘The lieutenant governor may commission for the state … notaries public’ (AS 44.50.010(a)), and what arrives in the mail is a ‘commission certificate.’ Alaska is consistent about this word in a way many states are not - the office’s own pages say ‘commission’, the public register is called the ‘Alaska Notary Commission Directory’, and the statute speaks of ‘subsequent commissions’ rather than renewals. Folk terms that name the same thing: ‘Alaska notary license’, ’notary certification’, ‘getting your notary’, ’notary appointment’. ‘Regular commission’ is Alaska’s own shorthand for a notary public without limitation, and ‘Limited Governmental Notary’ (sometimes ‘LG commission’) is a real Alaska credential type with no equivalent name in most states - it is a government-employee commission whose expiration is written on certificates as ‘with office’. ‘RON’ and ‘remote online notarization’ are used by the office itself, but the statutory phrase is ’notarial act performed for remotely located individual’ (AS 44.50.075); 6 AAC 88.990(9) defines ‘remote online notarization’ and ‘remote notarial act’ as the same thing. ’eNotary’ or ’electronic notarization’ in Alaska means notarizing an ELECTRONIC RECORD under AS 44.50.145 - a different notification and a different scope from RON, and conflating the two is the most common Alaska notary error. ‘Notary signing agent’ and ’loan signing agent’ name a private vendor designation; Alaska issues no such credential and no Alaska source read for this record mentions the term. ‘Notary bond’ is not insurance - the state says so itself (‘They are not insurance for the notary and do not serve to protect the notary’).

Types of notary commission

Regular notary public commission (a ’notary public without limitation’) — Any Alaska resident 18 or older who qualifies under AS 44.50.020 and posts a $2,500 bond AS 44.50.010(a)(1): notaries public ‘without limitation, who are authorized to use the notary seal for all legal purposes.’ Four-year term (AS 44.50.010(b)). The Lieutenant Governor’s office states ‘A Regular Notary Commission expires after 4 years.’ This is the only commission type that requires a bond.
Limited Governmental Notary commission — Federal, State of Alaska and municipal employees who need to notarize for their employer’s official business AS 44.50.010(a)(2): ’limited governmental notaries public, who are state, municipal, or federal employees authorized to use the notary seal only for official government business.’ AS 44.50.039 adds that such a notary ‘(2) may perform notarial acts only in the conduct of official government business; and (3) may not charge or receive a fee or other consideration for notarial services provided under this chapter.’ NO BOND: an Employer Approval Form replaces it - ‘The employer approval form replaces the Notary Bond requirement when applying for a Limited Governmental Commission.’ TERM IS NOT FOUR YEARS: ’the term of a limited governmental notary public commission coincides with the term of government employment’ (AS 44.50.010(b)); the office instructs these notaries to write that their commission expires ‘with office’ on notarial certificates. The $40 application fee is waived for State of Alaska employees only. AS 44.50.010(c) allows a person to hold both a limited governmental commission and a regular one at the same time, and the office confirms ‘The statutes allow both types of commissions to be held concurrently if you desire.’
Approval to perform notarial acts for remotely located individuals (remote online notarization, RON) — An already-commissioned Alaska notary public who wants to notarize for signers who are not physically present NOT a separate commission - an added capability layered on an existing commission, granted only after a written request to the Notary Public Office and approval. AS 44.50.075(e): ‘Before a notary public performs the notary public’s initial notarial act under this section, the notary public shall notify the lieutenant governor that the notary public will be performing notarial acts with respect to remotely located individuals and identify the communication technologies the notary public intends to use.’ The office’s own guidance is firmer than ’notify’: ‘A notary must notify our office and be approved prior to performance of notarial act.’ Separate fee under 6 AAC 88.020(b): $100 with a new four-year commission, or $25 per remaining year of an existing commission.
Notification of intent to notarize electronic records (eNotary capability, non-remote) — A commissioned Alaska notary who will notarize electronic records, whether or not the signer is remote A DISTINCT step from RON and often confused with it. AS 44.50.145(b): ‘Before a notary public performs the notary public’s initial notarial act with respect to an electronic record, a notary public shall notify the lieutenant governor that the notary public will be performing notarial acts with respect to electronic records and identify the communication technology the notary public intends to use.’ AS 44.50.145(a) also protects the notary’s choice of tool: ‘A person may not require a notary public to perform a notarial act with respect to an electronic record with a technology that the notary public has not selected.’ No separate fee for this notification appears in 6 AAC 88.020, which sets only the $40 commission fee and the $100/$25 remote fees.

Who can be commissioned

AGE: ‘at least 18 years of age’ (AS 44.50.020(2)). RESIDENCY: Alaska residency established under AS 01.10.055, which defines it as ‘being physically present in the state with the intent to remain in the state indefinitely and to make a home in the state,’ demonstrated ‘by maintaining a principal place of abode in the state for at least 30 days’ plus other proof of intent, and which provides that a resident stays a resident during an absence unless the person claims residency elsewhere. There is NO non-resident or place-of-business alternative in Alaska - unlike New York or Illinois, an out-of-state applicant who merely works in Alaska is not eligible, and the office verifies residency from the physical address on the application (‘You MUST provide a physical residence address on the application for our office to verify your Alaska residency prior to approval of your commission’). IMMIGRATION STATUS: the applicant ‘shall reside legally in the United States’ (AS 44.50.020(4)); the statute does not require citizenship. CRIMINAL HISTORY: the applicant ‘may not, within 10 years before the commission takes effect, have been convicted of a felony or incarcerated in a correctional facility for a felony conviction’ (AS 44.50.020(5)). ‘Convicted’ is defined broadly at AS 44.50.200(3) to include ‘a plea of guilty, guilty but mentally ill, or nolo contendere.’ It is a 10-year look-back, not a lifetime bar. PRIOR DISCIPLINE: barred if, within 10 years, the applicant’s commission was revoked under AS 44.50.068(a)(2) or (4) or under another jurisdiction’s law for a substantially similar reason; revoked under AS 44.50.068(a)(3) unless residency has been re-established; or if the applicant is under a disciplinary action in Alaska or elsewhere that presently prohibits holding a commission (AS 44.50.020(6)). The office asks such applicants to call first: ‘If you have ever had a Notary commission revoked or have been disciplined for Notarial misconduct in Alaska or any other jurisdiction please contact the office to discuss before submitting your application.’ PER-ACT DISQUALIFICATION (not a bar on the commission): a notary may not perform an act if the notary ‘is a signer of or named in the document that is to be notarized’ or ‘will receive directly from a transaction connected with the notarial act a commission, fee, advantage, right, title, interest, cash, property, or other consideration exceeding in value the normal fee charged by the notary for the notarial act’ (AS 44.50.062(6)). Notarizing for relatives is NOT categorically barred - the office’s own answer is that ‘Alaska Statutes do not specifically forbid notarizing the signatures of relatives’ but the interest test still applies. NO EDUCATION, CITIZENSHIP OR ENGLISH-PROFICIENCY REQUIREMENT is stated. Sourced negative, tiers searched on 2026-08-13: AS 44.50.020 and 44.50.032 in the current Alaska Statutes 2025 codification on akleg.gov, 6 AAC 88 in full, and the Lieutenant Governor’s ‘Overview and Qualifications’ page - none imposes one. Alaska in fact treats language capability as an asset rather than a barrier, inviting bilingual applicants: ‘If you speak a particular language and are having difficulty finding a notary fluent in that language, please consider applying for a notary commission.’

Requirements

QUALIFY under AS 44.50.020: submit an application under AS 44.50.032; be at least 18 years of age; have established residency in Alaska under AS 01.10.055; reside legally in the United States; and not, within 10 years before the commission takes effect, have been convicted of a felony or incarcerated in a correctional facility for a felony conviction, nor be barred by a prior revocation or pending discipline (AS 44.50.020(6)). The office restates it as ‘Applicants must be 18 years of age and residents of Alaska who are legally in the United States.’ 2) GET THE BOND FIRST (regular commissions only). AS 44.50.034(a): ‘A person applying for a commission as a notary public without limitation under AS 44.50.010(a)(1) shall execute an official bond of $2,500 and submit the bond with the application under AS 44.50.032. The bond must be for a term of four years from the date of commission.’ The office is emphatic about sequence: ‘since the notary bond is mandatory for all regular notary commissions, please do not submit your application until you have the required notary bond in hand.’ Limited Governmental applicants submit an Employer Approval Form instead. 3) APPLY, ONLINE OR BY MAIL. Online: acquire the bond or employer approval, start the application with an active myAlaska account on the Online Notary Database, select the commission type from the Commission Type dropdown (‘Regular’, or Municipal/State/Federal for a Limited Governmental commission), upload the bond or employer approval, submit, and the database emails back a customized oath-of-office signature page as a PDF. By mail: the office ‘MUST receive the wet signature original copy of your notarized Oath of Office (page 2 of the Application Form) to approve your application. We CANNOT accept emailed, scanned or photocopied oaths,’ and the application must carry a physical residence address - ‘We WILL NOT accept a PO BOX as a residential address’ - though the mailing address may be a PO box. 4) SIGN AND NOTARIZE THE OATH OF OFFICE (AS 44.50.035). ‘Oath of Office signature MUST be notarized. This will serve as your official signature (Sec. 44.50.063).’ 5) PAY THE $40 NON-REFUNDABLE APPLICATION FEE (6 AAC 88.020(a)); checks payable to ‘State of Alaska’, Visa and Mastercard accepted. 6) WAIT FOR THE COMMISSION. ‘When your application has been approved, you will receive an automated approval email containing a digital copy of your certificate and the Alaska Notary Statutes. A physical certificate will be mailed to the publicly available address provided on your application within two weeks of approval.’ 7) BUY YOUR OWN SUPPLIES BEFORE NOTARIZING - the state supplies none. ‘After your commission is approved, you may acquire your notary supplies and begin performing notarizations. Our office does not provide notary supplies.’ A seal is mandatory (AS 44.50.064); the office says ‘Minimally, you will need an inking notary seal and a notary journal.’ 8) TO NOTARIZE REMOTELY, ASK SEPARATELY. Submit a written request to the Notary Administrator (email [email protected] is acceptable) containing the commissioned name and commission number, a description of the selected technology vendor, and a copy of the electronic signature and stamp/seal to be used on that platform; pay $100 (or $25 per remaining year); and do not perform a remote act until approved. 9) TO NOTARIZE ELECTRONIC RECORDS AT ALL, notify the Lieutenant Governor first under AS 44.50.145(b) and identify the technology.

Training

Alaska does not require a training course.

No education, course, study guide or training hours are required to be commissioned as an Alaska notary public, and none is required for the remote-notarization approval. Sourced negative, tiers searched on 2026-08-13: (a) AS 44.50.020 (Qualifications) lists six items and no training among them; (b) AS 44.50.032 (Application) enumerates exactly what a completed application must contain - the qualifications affirmation, addresses and employer, prior-discipline history, the notarized oath signature, the fee and the bond - and no course certificate; (c) 6 AAC 88 in full, whose only applicant-facing rule is the fee section 6 AAC 88.020; (d) the Lieutenant Governor’s ‘Overview and Qualifications’, ‘Types of Notary Commissions’ and main Notaries Public pages, whose application checklists are only bond/employer approval, application form and fee. What Alaska relies on instead of a course is self-study plus a statutory duty to know the law: AS 44.50.073 authorizes the Lieutenant Governor to publish a summary of the chapter and to distribute it on request, the approval email ‘contain[s] a digital copy of your certificate and the Alaska Notary Statutes,’ and the office tells applicants plainly ‘It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with Alaska’s notary law and common law notarial practices and procedures.’ For REMOTE work the office adds a self-education instruction, not a course: ‘it is the notary’s responsibility to familiarize themselves with the requirements found in HB 124 as well as regulations filed by the lieutenant governor’s office.’

Exam

Alaska does not require an exam.

NO EXAMINATION. Alaska does not test notary applicants and publishes no exam, no study guide requirement and no passing score. Sourced negative, tiers searched on 2026-08-13: AS 44.50.020 (Qualifications), AS 44.50.032 (Application) and AS 44.50.038 (Subsequent commissions) in the current codification on akleg.gov; 6 AAC 88 (Notarizations) in full; and the Lieutenant Governor’s ‘Overview and Qualifications’, ‘Types of Notary Commissions’, Notaries Public and Frequently Asked Questions pages. None mentions an examination, a test, a quiz or a score for the applicant. The only knowledge test anywhere in Alaska’s notary scheme is aimed at the SIGNER, not the notary: 6 AAC 88.040(c) sets out the knowledge-based authentication assessment a remotely located individual must pass to be identified - a minimum of five questions with at least five answer choices each, at least 80 percent correct, all answered within two minutes, one retake within 24 hours with at least 40 percent of the questions replaced, and ’the notary public may not be able to see or record the questions or answers.’ Do not report that as a notary exam.

Bond & insurance

A $2,500 SURETY BOND IS REQUIRED FOR EVERY REGULAR COMMISSION AND FOR NO LIMITED GOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION. AS 44.50.034(a): ‘A person applying for a commission as a notary public without limitation under AS 44.50.010(a)(1) shall execute an official bond of $2,500 and submit the bond with the application under AS 44.50.032. The bond must be for a term of four years from the date of commission.’ The Lieutenant Governor holds the bond ‘for two years after the end of the term of the commission for which the bond was issued,’ and disposing of it ‘does not affect the time for commencing an action on the bond’ (AS 44.50.034(b)). LIMITED GOVERNMENTAL APPLICANTS FILE AN EMPLOYER APPROVAL FORM INSTEAD: ‘The employer approval form replaces the Notary Bond requirement when applying for a Limited Governmental Commission.’ A BOND IS NOT INSURANCE, and Alaska says so itself: ‘In theory, notary bonds protect the public against financial loss caused by notarial misconduct. They are not insurance for the notary and do not serve to protect the notary. Rather, the bond is a contract between the notary and the Surety, who agrees to pay up to $2,500.00 to an obligee when terms of the bond apply. Alaska’s $2,500.00 bond requirement does not prevent the damaged party from suing the notary for the full amount of their losses.’ NO E&O INSURANCE IS REQUIRED - and no substitute of any kind is accepted: ‘The bond itself is mandatory and no other documentation related to the purchase of a bond is acceptable. Similarly, there are no substitutes for this bond. There is no other type of insurance or bond that you or your employer already have that will be accepted in lieu of the required $2,500 Alaska notary bond.’ TWO WAYS TO SATISFY IT: a commercial bond bought from an insurance/bonding agency, or a private third-party surety executed on the state’s own Notary Bond Form - ‘A business, organization, or private individual may act as a private surety on behalf of a notary.’ The state form’s surety signature must itself be notarized. WHO MAY NOT BE SURETY: ‘One cannot act as one’s own surety’ (‘A NOTARY APPLICANT MAY NOT ACT AS THEIR OWN SURETY’), and ‘since government entities cannot be held liable for notarizations that are not related to their official function, we cannot allow government entities at any level or of any type to function as Surety on a notary bond.’ BOND MECHANICS THE OFFICE STATES EXPLICITLY: the surety is obligated ‘unconditionally for the entire four-year period’ and cannot withdraw once the commission has issued; a bond covers exactly one four-year commission and expires with it, so a new bond is required for each new commission; effective dates written on the bond by a bonding agent do not control - ‘The effective dates of the bonds must exactly match the dates of the commission, so all notary bonds submitted are actually open ended … and only receive their actual effective dates at the moment the Lieutenant Governor issues the notary commission’; a replacement bond may be accepted mid-term but ‘cannot retroactively cover the notarizations previously performed’; and an employer or surety has no power to force revocation - ‘Sureties/employers have no authority to request that regular notary commissions be revoked … since the commission is issued to the individual notary and not the employer/business,’ and an employer that accepted direct liability ‘will remain liable for that notary bond even after the employee terminates.’

Fees

PAID TO THE STATE OF ALASKA (checks payable to ‘State of Alaska’; Visa and Mastercard accepted; the state’s EIN is 92-6001185): $40.00 non-refundable, non-transferable application fee for a notary public commission - ‘(a) The application fee for commission as a notary public is $40’ (6 AAC 88.020(a)), restated by the office as ‘The application fee is $40.00, and is non-refundable and non-transferable.’ The fee is WAIVED for State of Alaska employees applying for a Limited Governmental commission - AS 44.50.033 provides that ‘an applicant for a limited governmental notary public commission under AS 44.50.010(a)(2) who is employed by the state may not be required to pay an application fee,’ and the office says ‘The fee is waived for State of Alaska employees applying for limited governmental notary commissions.’ Note the boundary: municipal and federal employees are not covered by that waiver. REMOTE NOTARIZATION, A SEPARATE AND SUBSTANTIAL FEE: ‘(b) In addition to the application fee under (a) of this section, the application fee to perform notarial acts using communication technology for remotely located individuals is $100 for an initial notary public commission. If a notary public is commissioned under AS 44.50.010 at the time the notary public applies to perform remote notarial acts as described in this subsection, that notary public shall pay an application fee of $25 for each remaining year of the notary public’s commission’ (6 AAC 88.020(b)). The office states the same figures. NAME CHANGE: $5.00, mailed with the hard-copy name and address change form - ‘mail (no fax or email copies accepted) the hard copy of the completed name change form along with the $5.00 fee.’ The statutory hook is AS 44.50.066(c), which requires a notary reporting a name change to pay ’the fee under AS 44.19.024 for the issuance of a replacement certificate of commission’; the $5.00 figure comes from the Lieutenant Governor’s own Forms and Publications page. An address-only or contact-information change carries no fee and needs no notarization. WHERE THE $40 COMES FROM, AND WHY OLDER PAGES DIFFER: the $40 used to be written into the statute. HB 124 (2020) struck it - AS 44.50.033 now reads ‘A person applying for a commission as a notary public shall pay a nonrefundable application fee. The lieutenant governor shall set the amount of the fee by regulation.’ The amount today lives in 6 AAC 88.020(a), and it is still $40. A page that cites ‘AS 44.50.033’ for the number is citing a provision that no longer contains one. NOT CHARGED BY THE STATE: there is no bond premium (paid to a surety), no seal or journal cost (the office ‘does not provide notary supplies’), no renewal fee distinct from the $40 application fee - Alaska has no renewal, only a new application - and no examination or course fee, because Alaska has neither. UNRELATED FEE A NOTARY SHOULD KNOW: the recorder’s office ‘charges a $50.00 non standard document fee for any documents submitted for recording that do not meet their margin requirements,’ which is why the office tells notaries to keep the seal at least two inches from the top margin and one inch from the others on documents headed for recording.

How long the commission lasts, and renewing it

4 years for a regular commission; open-ended and employment-linked for a Limited Governmental commission. ‘The term of a notary public commission is four years, except that the term of a limited governmental notary public commission coincides with the term of government employment’ (AS 44.50.010(b)). The office restates both: ‘Regular commissions are issued for a four-year term and have a specific expiration date that must be included as part of every notarial certificate you complete,’ and ‘Limited Governmental commissions are open ended and are active as long as the Notary remains employed by the governmental entity they were working for when they obtained the commission. Limited Governmental notaries will indicate that their notary commission expires “with office” on the completed notarial certificates.’ The four-year bond term is locked to the commission term (AS 44.50.034(a)), and the commission’s expiration date must appear on every notarial certificate - if the certificate form does not prompt for it, the office instructs notaries to add it ’either as part of your notary seal or by indicating “My commission expires (date)” near your signature.’ ALASKA HAS NO RENEWAL. It has a new application every four years, and this is the fact most often stated wrongly. The office says it flatly: ‘There is not a special process for renewing a notary commission. Each commission is for a four-year period and when one commission expires, or is about to expire, you must apply for a new commission if you wish to continue functioning as a notary public.’ The statute agrees - AS 44.50.038: ‘A notary public whose term of commission is ending may apply for a new notary public commission by submitting a new application under AS 44.50.032 and complying with the requirements of this chapter. The lieutenant governor’s approval of a new application for a commission for a notary public without limitation under AS 44.50.010(a)(1) terminates an applicant’s existing commission under that paragraph.’ PRACTICAL CONSEQUENCES THE OFFICE SPELLS OUT: a NEW $2,500 BOND is required every time (‘when one commission has expired (or is about to expire) you will need to execute or purchase a new notary bond as the old bond will have technically expired at the same moment that the notary commission expires’); the $40 fee is paid again; ‘If you have previously held a commission you are still required to submit an updated commission application, bond, and payment to renew your commission’; and ‘Commissions cannot be backdated.’ TIMING MATTERS BECAUSE APPROVAL TERMINATES THE OLD COMMISSION: ‘If you have a current commission that is about to expire and wish for your next commission to expire on the same month and day as your current commission you will need to submit your application about one month before your current commission expires. If you submit an application and your current commission will not expire for a month or longer afterwards, your application will be held until 30 days prior to the expiration of your current commission before it is issued.’ A NEW SEAL IS NEEDED IF THE OLD ONE IS DESTROYED ON EXPIRY: AS 44.50.064(e) requires the seal to be destroyed or defaced ‘when the notary public’s term of commission ends if the notary public has not received a new commission under this chapter.’ NO WAIVER, NO GRACE PERIOD and no reduced re-application requirement appears anywhere. Sourced negative, tiers searched 2026-08-13: AS 44.50.032, 44.50.033, 44.50.034 and 44.50.038; 6 AAC 88; and the office’s ‘Types of Notary Commissions’, ‘Overview and Qualifications’ and main Notaries Public pages. None. Alaska requires no continuing education, no refresher course and no re-testing to keep a commission or to obtain the next one. Sourced negative, tiers searched on 2026-08-13: AS 44.50.020 (Qualifications), 44.50.032 (Application), 44.50.033 (Application fee), 44.50.038 (Subsequent commissions) and 44.50.073 (Published summary) in the current Alaska Statutes 2025 codification; 6 AAC 88 (Notarizations) in full; and the Lieutenant Governor’s ‘Overview and Qualifications’, ‘Types of Notary Commissions’, Notary Supplies, Forms and Publications and Frequently Asked Questions pages. A four-yearly new application under AS 44.50.038 requires the same items as the first one - bond, application, fee - and no coursework. The nearest thing to a study duty is self-education: the office states ‘It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with Alaska’s notary law and common law notarial practices and procedures,’ and AS 44.50.073 lets the Lieutenant Governor publish and distribute a summary of the chapter on request.

Your seal or stamp

A SEAL IS MANDATORY - Alaska is not a no-seal state. AS 44.50.064(a): ‘A notary public shall keep an official seal, which is the exclusive property of the notary public, and shall ensure that another person does not possess or use the official seal.’ CONTENTS (AS 44.50.064(b)(1)): the notary’s name ’exactly as indicated on the notary public’s commission certificate’, plus ’the words Notary Public and State of Alaska.’ SHAPE AND SIZE (AS 44.50.064(b)(2)): ‘may be a circular form not over two inches in diameter, may be a rectangular form not more than one inch in width by two and one-half inches in length, or may be an electronic form as authorized by regulations adopted by the lieutenant governor.’ OPTIONAL ELEMENTS: ‘Seals may be embellished with your commission number and/or commission expiration date but this is not a requirement’ - though because the expiration date must appear on every certificate anyway, ‘it is information that is commonly included in the seal.’ HOW IT MUST BE AFFIXED (AS 44.50.065): ‘a sharp, legible, photographically reproducible impression or depiction’ must be affixed ‘on the notarial certificate near the notary public’s official signature’ and ‘only at the time the notarial act is performed’; illegible information inside the impression ‘may be typed or printed legibly by the notary public adjacent to, but not within, the impression’; and ‘an embossed seal impression that is not photographically reproducible may be used in addition to, but not in place of’ the required impression. THE PRACTICAL CONSEQUENCE THE OFFICE DRAWS: buy an INKING seal, not an embosser, as your primary - ‘We recommend that you purchase an inking notary seal for your primary notary seal because embossing seals (the kind that crimp the paper) are not automatically photographically reproducible. There are methods for shading over the raised portion of an embossed seal impression, but nothing that works well.’ PLACEMENT: in a blank space near the signature, never over a signature or wording, and for documents headed to a recorder, avoid ‘within two inches of the top margin of the page and within one inch of the remaining margins’ or the recorder charges a $50.00 non-standard document fee. IT IS THE NOTARY’S PROPERTY, NOT THE EMPLOYER’S - a point Alaska makes forcefully: ‘Alaska statutes make the notary seal the personal property of the notary public regardless of who has purchased it,’ ‘it is very common for employers to attempt to strip notaries of their seals upon termination. You must not let that happen,’ and ‘You will be breaking the law if you allow this to happen.’ SECURITY AND LOSS: ‘When not in use, a notary public’s official seal shall be kept secure and under the exclusive control of the notary public’ (AS 44.50.064(c)), and within 10 days of theft, loss or compromise of an electronic seal the notary must notify the Lieutenant Governor in writing (AS 44.50.064(d)). DESTRUCTION IS REQUIRED, not optional - AS 44.50.064(e): the seal ‘shall be destroyed or defaced (1) upon the notary public’s resignation or death; (2) upon the revocation or termination by the lieutenant governor of the notary public’s commission; or (3) when the notary public’s term of commission ends if the notary public has not received a new commission.’ NAME CHANGE: keep using the old name and old seal until all steps are complete - after the new certificate arrives, ‘purchase a new notary seal. Do not perform notarizations under your new name until you obtain a new notary seal,’ which tracks AS 44.50.066(d) (former name until the surety is notified, the replacement certificate is received and a new seal is obtained). ELECTRONIC SEAL: permitted ‘as authorized by regulations adopted by the lieutenant governor’ (AS 44.50.064(b)(2), 44.50.065(d)); for remote work the office notes ‘Depending on the technology vendor selected, you may need to purchase an electronic seal separately,’ and a copy of the electronic signature and stamp/seal must accompany the RON request.

Keeping a journal

Alaska requires a journal for some notarial acts.

REQUIRED BY STATUTE ONLY FOR NOTARIAL ACTS PERFORMED FOR REMOTELY LOCATED INDIVIDUALS - AND ONE OF THE STATE’S OWN PAGES READS AS IF IT WERE UNIVERSAL. Both readings are recorded here; the statute is quoted so a reader can see the scope for themselves. THE STATUTE: AS 44.50.078(a), added by HB 124 effective January 1, 2021, provides ‘A notary public shall maintain a journal in which the notary public chronicles all notarial acts that the notary public performs under AS 44.50.075. The notary public shall retain the journal for 10 years after the performance of the last notarial act chronicled in the journal.’ AS 44.50.075 is the section titled ‘Notarial act performed for remotely located individual’ - so the statutory duty attaches to remote acts, and no provision of AS 44.50 imposes a journal duty on ordinary in-person notarizations. THE TWO AGENCY PAGES DISAGREE IN EMPHASIS: the Notary Supplies page states the narrow reading in capitals - ‘AS OF JANUARY 1, 2021-HB 124 GOES INTO EFFECT. JOURNALS WILL BE REQUIRED FOR ALL NOTARIAL ACTS PERFORMED FOR REMOTELY LOCATED INDIVIDUALS’ - and then adds a recommendation, not a rule: ‘It is highly recommended that all notaries maintain a notary journal for all in person notarial acts in addition to remotely performed notarial acts.’ The Frequently Asked Questions page answers the question ‘Am I required to keep a notary journal?’ with a heading ‘EFFECTIVE AS OF JANUARY 1, 2021’ and then quotes the same statutory sentence including its ‘under AS 44.50.075’ limitation, which a hurried reader will take as a universal duty. Neither page is wrong on the words; the FAQ is simply easy to misread. FORMAT (AS 44.50.078(b)): the journal may be tangible or electronic, but ‘A notary public shall maintain at least one journal in a tangible medium’ for the covered acts; an electronic journal ‘must be in a permanent, tamper-evident electronic format complying with the regulations of the lieutenant governor under AS 44.50.072.’ ENTRIES (AS 44.50.078(c)), made ‘contemporaneously with performance of the notarial act’: (1) the date and time of the notarial act; (2) a description of the record, if any, and type of notarial act; (3) the full name and address of each individual for whom the act is performed; (4) if identity is based on personal knowledge, a statement to that effect; (5) if identity is based on satisfactory evidence, a brief description of the method of identification and the credential presented, including its issuance and expiration dates; and (6) the fee, if any, charged. LOSS AND SEPARATION: ‘If a notary public’s journal is lost or stolen, the notary public shall promptly notify the lieutenant governor’ (AS 44.50.078(d)); on resignation, revocation or suspension the notary keeps the journal for the full 10 years ‘and inform the lieutenant governor where the journal is located’ (AS 44.50.078(e)) - the journal is retained, not surrendered. ENFORCEMENT TEETH THE OFFICE ADDS: ‘if any commissioned notary compromises an investigation into potential notarial misconduct by refusing (or being unable) to provide their journal to the Lieutenant Governor when requested it will be grounds for the immediate revocation of your notary commission.’ PRACTICE GUIDANCE, NOT LAW: the office recommends bound, sequentially numbered journals, warns against anything ’that allows pages to be added or removed,’ tells notaries to make the entry before the notarization, and treats the journal exactly like the seal for security - ’no other person should ever have access to your notary seal or journal … your notary supplies are your personal property regardless of who pays for them.’ THUMBPRINTS ARE OPTIONAL: ‘Alaska notaries are not required to collect thumbprints from signers, but may request the signer to supply a thumbprint and may turn down the notarization if the signer refuses.’

Online (remote) notarization

Alaska authorizes remote online notarization, and it requires a registration separate from your commission.

AUTHORIZED, AND IN FORCE SINCE JANUARY 1, 2021 - with an approval step, a real fee, and no grandfathering of the pandemic era. THE LAW: AS 44.50.075, ‘Notarial act performed for remotely located individual,’ added by HB 124 (2020), which ’takes effect January 1, 2021’ (sec. 21 of the Act) and applies ’to a notarial act performed on or after the effective date’ (sec. 17(b)). Implemented by 6 AAC 88 (Notarizations), filed in Register 237. THE APPROVAL STEP: AS 44.50.075(e) requires the notary, before the first remote act, to ’notify the lieutenant governor that the notary public will be performing notarial acts with respect to remotely located individuals and identify the communication technologies the notary public intends to use.’ The Lieutenant Governor’s office treats it as an approval, not a filing: ‘A notary must notify our office and be approved prior to performance of notarial act,’ and ‘Commissioned Notaries who would like to perform remote online notarizations (RONs) MUST submit a written request to the Notary administrator.’ WHAT THE WRITTEN REQUEST MUST CONTAIN, per the office’s Guidance (updated Feb. 4, 2021): the commissioned notary’s name as it appears on the commission certificate and the commission number; a description of the technology vendor/provider selected; and ‘a copy of electronic signature as well as stamp/seal to be used to perform the remote online notarization on the provider’s platform.’ It may be emailed to [email protected] . THE FEE: 6 AAC 88.020(b) - $100 ‘for an initial notary public commission’, or $25 ‘for each remaining year of the notary public’s commission’ if the applicant is already commissioned. THE NOTARY MUST BE IN ALASKA: AS 44.50.075(b) authorizes ‘A notary public located in this state’ to perform the act; the signer may be elsewhere. SIGNER OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES: permitted only if the record ‘is to be filed with or relates to a matter before a public official, court, governmental entity, or other entity subject to the jurisdiction of the United States’ or ‘involves property located in the territorial jurisdiction of the United States or involves a transaction substantially connected with the United States’, AND ’the act of making the statement or signing the record is not prohibited by the foreign state in which the remotely located individual is located’ (AS 44.50.075(b)(4)). IDENTIFYING THE SIGNER - three routes (AS 44.50.075(b)(1)): personal knowledge; the oath or affirmation of a credible witness appearing before the notary; or a government-issued identification card plus credential analysis plus at least one type of identity proofing. 6 AAC 88.040 fills in the standards: multi-factor authentication analyzing the credential ‘against trusted third-party data sources’; credential analysis using automated software and an authenticity test of ‘visual, physical, or cryptographic security features’; and a knowledge-based authentication quiz of at least five questions, five answer choices each, at least 80 percent correct, all within two minutes, one retake within 24 hours with at least 40 percent of questions replaced, a 24-hour lockout with the same notary after a second failure, and ’the notary public may not be able to see or record the questions or answers.’ A credible witness must personally know the signer, must be personally known to the notary or identified by the same multi-factor process, and ‘may be outside the physical presence of the notary public or remotely located individual’ provided all three can use the communication technology. TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS (6 AAC 88.030): ‘synchronous audio-video feeds of sufficient video resolution and audio clarity to enable the notary public and remotely located individual to see and speak with each other in real time’; a means to confirm the record before the notary is the same record the signer signed; security measures protecting the live feeds, the identity-proofing methods and the electronic record; and ‘if a remotely located individual leaves the session before the completion of the identity verification, the individual must restart the identity proofing process from the beginning.’ THE CERTIFICATE MUST SAY SO: AS 44.50.075(c) - ’the notarial certificate … must state that the notarial act was performed using communication technology. A statement is sufficient if it states substantially as follows: This notarial act involved the use of communication technology’; 6 AAC 88.050 repeats it. RECORDING: the notary (or someone acting for the notary) ‘creates an audiovisual recording of the performance of the notarial act’ (AS 44.50.075(b)(3)), retained ‘for a period of at least 10 years after the recording is made’ (AS 44.50.075(d)), and the retention duty follows a guardian, conservator, agent or personal representative of a deceased notary. VENDORS ARE LISTED, NOT APPROVED: the office publishes a courtesy list - ‘The following list of technology vendors has been compiled as a guide and is not an endorsement of any vendor nor is it in any particular order’ (the Feb. 2021 guidance named LiveNotary LLC, Digital Delivery Inc., SIGNiX, Notarize, NotaryCam and DocVerify) - and requires the notary to ‘select a technology vendor that can meet the standards set by 6 AAC 88 Notarizations.’ A vendor that facilitates an Alaska remote act ‘appoints the lieutenant governor as the provider’s agent for service of process in any civil action in this state related to the notarial act’ (AS 44.50.075(h)). JOURNAL: remote acts are exactly the acts AS 44.50.078 requires to be journaled. DISTINCT FROM eNOTARIZATION OF ELECTRONIC RECORDS, which has its own prior-notification duty under AS 44.50.145(b) and applies even when the signer is physically present.

What you may charge

ALASKA SETS NO MAXIMUM FEE FOR A REGULAR NOTARY - it regulates DISCLOSURE instead. The single fee rule is AS 44.50.062(4), which makes it a prohibited act for a notary to ‘charge a fee for a notarial act unless a fee schedule has been provided to the signer before the performance of the notarial act.’ The Lieutenant Governor’s office answers the question directly: ‘Alaska Statutes do not address this subject for notaries without limitation except that a published fee schedule must be provided to the signer prior to the performance of the notarization if a notary intends to collect a fee for their services (AS 44.50.062 (4)).’ So the enforceable duty is to publish and hand over a schedule first, not to stay under a number. LIMITED GOVERNMENTAL NOTARIES MAY CHARGE NOTHING AT ALL: AS 44.50.039(3) - such a notary ‘may not charge or receive a fee or other consideration for notarial services provided under this chapter’ - restated by the office as ‘Statute does state that Limited Governmental Notaries may not charge for notarization.’ THE INTEREST LIMIT IS NOT A FEE CAP BUT BEHAVES LIKE ONE AT THE MARGIN: a notary may not perform an act if the notary ‘will receive directly from a transaction connected with the notarial act a commission, fee, advantage, right, title, interest, cash, property, or other consideration exceeding in value the normal fee charged by the notary for the notarial act’ (AS 44.50.062(6)(B)). NO SEPARATE TRAVEL OR MOBILE FEE is authorized or capped, and none is prohibited; the Alaska system contemplates mobile notaries - the state’s own commission directory lets notaries ‘self-identify as mobile notaries’ - and any charge would simply have to appear on the fee schedule given to the signer beforehand. Sourced negative, tiers searched 2026-08-13: AS 44.50.010 through 44.50.200 in the current Alaska Statutes 2025 codification (there is no fee-schedule section - AS 44.50.040 ‘Fees’ was repealed by sec. 14 ch 60 SLA 2005 and AS 44.50.080-44.50.140, including the old protest-fee provisions, were repealed by the same section); 6 AAC 88 in full, whose only fee rule, 6 AAC 88.020, sets what the APPLICANT pays the state, not what a signer pays a notary; and the office’s FAQ, Overview and Notary Supplies pages.

Who does NOT need a commission — exemptions

POSTMASTERS NOTARIZE WITHOUT A COMMISSION OR A BOND. AS 44.50.180: ‘(a) Each postmaster in the state may perform the functions of a notary public in the state. (b) Each official act of a postmaster as a notary public shall be signed by the postmaster, with a designation of the person’s title as postmaster, shall have the cancellation stamp of the post office affixed, and shall state the name of the post office and the date on which the act was done. … (d) Nothing in this chapter requires a postmaster to post a bond or to have a commission.’ This is a genuinely unusual Alaska provision and it is why the postmark stamp, not a notary seal, authenticates such an act. LIMITED GOVERNMENTAL NOTARIES ARE NOT EXEMPT FROM COMMISSIONING - they are exempt from the BOND (an Employer Approval Form replaces it) and, if they are State of Alaska employees, from the $40 fee (AS 44.50.033). They are additionally restricted, not relieved: official government business only, and no fees (AS 44.50.039). OUT-OF-STATE NOTARIAL ACTS ARE RECOGNIZED WITHOUT AN ALASKA COMMISSION under AS 09.63.050 (Recognition of notarial acts performed outside the state) and the rest of the Uniform Recognition of Acknowledgments Act at AS 09.63.050-09.63.130, which the Lieutenant Governor’s office publishes alongside AS 44.50 as part of Alaska notary law. VALIDITY SAFETY NET, NOT AN EXEMPTION: AS 44.50.165 provides that ‘The failure of a notarial officer to perform a duty or meet a requirement specified in this chapter does not invalidate a notarial act performed by the notarial officer,’ while expressly not validating ‘a purported notarial act performed by an individual who does not have the authority to perform a notarial act.’ GEOGRAPHIC LIMIT, NOT AN EXEMPTION: an Alaska commission does not travel. The office answers ‘May I notarize documents outside the State of Alaska? No. A notary may perform notarizations only within Alaska’s geographical boundaries,’ and AS 44.50.075(b) likewise authorizes remote acts only by ‘a notary public located in this state.’ NO ATTORNEY EXEMPTION EXISTS - unlike Massachusetts, Alaska does not excuse attorneys from any notary requirement; AS 44.50.061(a) instead singles attorneys out for a POWER other notaries lack, providing that ‘A notary public who is not an attorney may complete but may not select notarial certificates.’ TIERS SEARCHED (2026-08-13) for exemptions: AS 44.50.010-44.50.200 in full, AS 09.63 (article headings and section list as published by the Lieutenant Governor), 6 AAC 88, and the office’s FAQ and commission-type pages. NOT ADDRESSED BY ANY ALASKA SOURCE READ: the federal military notarial authority at 10 U.S.C. 1044a - nothing is asserted about it here.

How to apply

Applications are handled by Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Alaska Notary Public Office. Notaries public are commissioned by the Lieutenant Governor: ‘The lieutenant governor may commission for the state (1) notaries public without limitation … and (2) limited governmental notaries public’ (AS 44.50.010(a)). There is no board, no licensing division and no county-level step: the Notary Public Office in Juneau (240 Main St., Room 301; PO Box 110015, Juneau, AK 99811) processes applications, accepts bonds, approves remote-notarization requests and takes discipline complaints. The office brands itself NOTARY.ALASKA.GOV.. Start at the official application page .

Verify a license in Alaska

Office of the Lieutenant Governor, State of Alaska (‘Alaska Notary Commissions’ / Alaska Notary Commission Directory, branded notary.alaska.gov) publishes a public license search , searchable by Notary name, Mobile-notary status (notaries may self-identify as mobile notaries), Foreign language assistance offered or Additional advanced-search fields the directory describes only as ‘and more’. It covers Alaska notary commissions. The directory’s own description: ‘The State of Alaska notary commission directory lets applicants apply for commissions online and existing notaries may update names and other required personal information. Notaries may also use this web application to print digital copies or order hard copies of their commission certificate, self-identify as mobile notaries and also indicate if they are willing to assist the public with any foreign language needs.’ PUBLIC ACCESS WITHOUT AN ACCOUNT: ‘Anyone may access basic search functionality without logging in to the system, but logging in using your MyAlaska account is required to apply for notary commissions and to edit your commission data.’ A myAlaska login additionally lets non-notaries save a ‘favorites’ list, which the directory suggests for employers tracking their employees’ expiration dates. BULK EXPORT IS OFFERED: ‘Notary supply vendors and other interested parties can use the search functionality to find a collection of commissions and then export all of the publicly available information (including mailing addresses) related to that found set of commissions’ - note that confidential addresses are withheld under AS 44.50.071, which lets an applicant designate an address, telephone number and e-mail as confidential provided a non-confidential contact is supplied. SEARCH FIELDS ARE PARTIALLY ENUMERATED ONLY: the landing page advertises ‘Multiple search fields … Search by name, mobile notaries, foreign languages, and more’ without listing the rest, and the search form itself was not rendered for this record, so the field list above is what the state publishes rather than a complete inventory. FETCH NOTE: notaries.alaska.gov redirects cross-site to aws.state.ak.us; both hosts refuse connections from outside the United States, and the page was read from a US vantage on 2026-08-13.

Records come from Office of the Lieutenant Governor, State of Alaska (‘Alaska Notary Commissions’ / Alaska Notary Commission Directory, branded notary.alaska.gov)’s own system. LicensingAtlas does not hold license records and cannot confirm any individual’s status — the date on this page refers to the requirements described above, not to anyone’s credential.

Frequently asked questions

Who commissions notaries public in Alaska?

The Lieutenant Governor. ‘The lieutenant governor may commission for the state (1) notaries public without limitation, who are authorized to use the notary seal for all legal purposes; and (2) limited governmental notaries public, who are state, municipal, or federal employees authorized to use the notary seal only for official government business’ (AS 44.50.010(a)). The work is done by the Alaska Notary Public Office inside the Office of the Lieutenant Governor in Juneau. There is no notary board, no professional licensing division and no county clerk step anywhere in the Alaska process.

What does an Alaska notary commission cost?

$40.00, non-refundable and non-transferable, set by regulation at 6 AAC 88.020(a). State of Alaska employees applying for a Limited Governmental commission pay nothing (AS 44.50.033). On top of the $40, a notary who wants to perform remote online notarizations pays $100 with a new four-year commission, or $25 for each remaining year of an existing commission (6 AAC 88.020(b)). A name change costs $5.00. Alaska charges no exam fee and no course fee because it requires neither, but the applicant must separately buy a $2,500 surety bond, a seal and a journal - the office ‘does not provide notary supplies’.

Does Alaska require a notary bond, and how much?

Yes, $2,500, for every regular commission - and it must be in hand before you apply. AS 44.50.034(a): ‘A person applying for a commission as a notary public without limitation … shall execute an official bond of $2,500 and submit the bond with the application … The bond must be for a term of four years from the date of commission.’ Limited Governmental applicants file an Employer Approval Form instead of a bond. The bond may be commercial or backed by a private third-party surety on the state’s form, but you may never be your own surety, and a government entity may never be one. Alaska accepts no substitute: ‘There is no other type of insurance or bond that you or your employer already have that will be accepted in lieu of the required $2,500 Alaska notary bond.’ A bond is not insurance for the notary - it pays the public, and you can still be sued for the full loss.

Is there an exam or a training course to become an Alaska notary?

No. Alaska requires no examination, no course and no continuing education. AS 44.50.020 lists six qualifications - application, age 18, Alaska residency, lawful US residence, no felony in the last 10 years, and no disqualifying prior discipline - and none of them is a test or a class. What replaces a course is a self-study duty: the office tells applicants ‘It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with Alaska’s notary law’, and the approval email arrives with a digital copy of the Alaska notary statutes. The only quiz anywhere in Alaska’s scheme is the knowledge-based authentication assessment that a REMOTE SIGNER must pass under 6 AAC 88.040(c).

Does an Alaska notary have to keep a journal?

By statute, for remote notarizations - and Alaska strongly recommends one for everything else. AS 44.50.078(a) requires a journal chronicling ‘all notarial acts that the notary public performs under AS 44.50.075’, and AS 44.50.075 is the remotely-located-individual section; no provision of AS 44.50 imposes a journal duty on ordinary in-person acts. The Lieutenant Governor’s Notary Supplies page states the same scope in capitals and then adds ‘It is highly recommended that all notaries maintain a notary journal for all in person notarial acts in addition to remotely performed notarial acts.’ The office’s FAQ quotes the statute including its ‘under AS 44.50.075’ limitation, which is easy to read as a universal duty. Where the duty applies, entries must be contemporaneous, at least one journal must be on tangible medium, the journal is kept for 10 years, and refusing or being unable to produce it in an investigation ‘will be grounds for the immediate revocation of your notary commission’.

Does an Alaska notary need a seal, and what must it say?

Yes - a seal is mandatory. AS 44.50.064 requires the notary’s name exactly as it appears on the commission certificate plus the words ‘Notary Public’ and ‘State of Alaska’, in a circle no more than two inches across, a rectangle no more than one inch by two and a half inches, or an approved electronic form. Every impression must be ‘sharp, legible, photographically reproducible’ and placed near your signature at the time of the act (AS 44.50.065), which is why the state tells you to buy an INKING seal rather than an embosser as your primary. The seal is your personal property no matter who paid for it, an employer may not take it from you, and it must be destroyed or defaced when you resign, when the commission is revoked, or when the term ends without a new commission.

How do I renew an Alaska notary commission?

You do not renew it - you apply again. ‘There is not a special process for renewing a notary commission … when one commission expires, or is about to expire, you must apply for a new commission if you wish to continue functioning as a notary public,’ and AS 44.50.038 provides that approving the new application ’terminates an applicant’s existing commission.’ That means a new $2,500 bond and a new $40 fee every four years, and it means timing matters: apply about one month before expiry to keep the same anniversary date, because an application filed more than a month early is held until 30 days before the current commission expires. Commissions cannot be backdated.

Can an Alaska notary notarize for someone who is not in the room?

Yes, since January 1, 2021, but only after separate approval. AS 44.50.075 authorizes a notary ’located in this state’ to use communication technology for a remotely located individual, and AS 44.50.075(e) requires the notary to notify the Lieutenant Governor and identify the technology before the first such act - the office treats this as an approval and requires a written request naming the vendor and enclosing a copy of the electronic signature and seal. The fee is $100 with a new commission or $25 per remaining year. You must make and keep an audiovisual recording for at least 10 years, journal every remote act, and add a statement to the certificate that ‘This notarial act involved the use of communication technology.’ Alaska approves no vendors: its list ‘is not an endorsement of any vendor’.

How much can an Alaska notary charge per notarization?

Alaska sets no maximum for a regular notary - it regulates disclosure instead. The only rule is that a notary may not ‘charge a fee for a notarial act unless a fee schedule has been provided to the signer before the performance of the notarial act’ (AS 44.50.062(4)). The office confirms that statutes ‘do not address this subject for notaries without limitation’ beyond that published-schedule duty. Limited Governmental notaries are different: they ‘may not charge or receive a fee or other consideration for notarial services’ at all (AS 44.50.039(3)). Separately, a notary may not perform an act at all if they will receive from the underlying transaction anything worth more than their normal notarial fee (AS 44.50.062(6)(B)).

Who can notarize in Alaska without a commission?

Postmasters. AS 44.50.180 provides that ‘Each postmaster in the state may perform the functions of a notary public in the state’, authenticating the act with the post office cancellation stamp, the name of the post office and the date, and that ‘Nothing in this chapter requires a postmaster to post a bond or to have a commission.’ Beyond that, Alaska recognizes notarial acts performed outside the state under AS 09.63.050-09.63.130 without any Alaska commission. Note what does NOT exist: Alaska has no attorney exemption - a non-attorney notary is instead restricted, in that they ‘may complete but may not select notarial certificates’ (AS 44.50.061(a)).

See every license and certification LicensingAtlas covers in Alaska.

Sources & verification

Last verified against these sources: August 13, 2026.

We re-fetch every cited source on a weekly schedule: see what changed at the agencies, or every correction we have ever made.

LicensingAtlas states licensing and certification requirements categorically from official sources. It is a reference, not legal or career advice, and requirements change frequently — confirm details with the issuing board before you act.