How to Become a Notary in Alabama — Requirements & Fees

How to become a notary public in Alabama: a 4-year commission, a surety bond, a required course, remote online notarization — verified from official sources.

Source-verified

Requirements below are drawn from Judge of Probate of the applicant's county of residence (commissioning authority under Ala. Code § 36-20-70); the Alabama Secretary of State maintains the statewide public record of commissions but does not appoint ordinary notaries public (official site) and last verified August 12, 2026. Boards change fees and rules often — confirm before acting.

Requirements at a glance

Per Ala. Code §§ 36-20-70 and 36-20-71 as amended by Act 2023-548 (effective Sept 1, 2023), and the application sequence published by the Alabama Probate Judges Association and by county probate courts: (1) File a notary public application with the judge of probate OF YOUR COUNTY OF RESIDENCE — § 36-20-70(c)(2) makes it a mandatory ground for DENIAL if 'The applicant makes the application to a judge who is not the judge of probate of the county of the applicant's residence.' (2) Pay the $10 application fee at the time of application (§ 36-20-70(c): 'Each applicant for notary public commission shall pay a ten dollar ($10) application fee'). (3) The probate court reviews the application; Mobile County Probate Court states its review 'will include a check of the Alabama judicial records to ascertain if the applicant has been a defendant in a criminal case in Alabama.' (4) If approved, the judge of probate issues a LETTER OF APPOINTMENT. (5) Complete the mandatory training program prepared by the Alabama Probate Judges Association and the Alabama Law Institute and obtain the course completion certificate (§ 36-20-70(e); attorneys exempt). (6) Obtain the $50,000 surety bond from an Alabama licensed producer of such bonds (§ 36-20-71(a)); Mobile County instructs that 'the bond NOT be dated prior to the actual appointment date.' (7) File and RECORD the bond in the office of the judge of probate of your county of residence and pay that county's recording fee — § 36-20-71(a) requires the bond be 'filed and recorded in the office of the judge of probate of the county of their residence, BEFORE they enter on the duties of such the office.' (8) Take the oath of office — § 36-20-75(b)(3) makes 'Performing a notarial act before taking an oath of office' a Class C misdemeanor. (9) Pay the $25 commission fee and receive the commission (§ 36-20-70(a): 'The judges of probate shall collect a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25) for each notary commission issued'). (10) Obtain a seal of office (§ 36-20-72(a)); Mobile County Probate notes 'Probate Court does not supply the seal/stamp.' DEADLINE: Mobile County Probate Court publishes 40 days from the date of the letter of appointment to record the bond and present the training certificate, and states 'We are unable to extend the deadline; you will be required to submit a new application.' That 40-day window is a county-published deadline, not a figure stated in §§ 36-20-70 to 36-20-75.

Legal basis

Judge of Probate of the applicant’s county of residence (commissioning authority under Ala. Code § 36-20-70); the Alabama Secretary of State maintains the statewide public record of commissions but does not appoint ordinary notaries public commissions notaries public in Alabama. Every figure below is verified against the commissioning authority’s own official pages and dated.

What it’s called

The statutory noun is COMMISSION — Ala. Code § 36-20-70 speaks of a person ‘appointed and commissioned by the judges of probate’ who holds a ’notary public commission’; § 36-20-70(c) refers to ’each applicant for notary public commission.’ ‘Alabama notary license’ is a folk term — Alabama issues no notary license, and unlike New York (whose Department of State itself writes ‘commissioned (i.e., licensed)’) no Alabama official source read when this page was last verified uses ’license’ for a notary. Other folk terms: ’notary certification’, ‘becoming a notary’. DISTINCT CREDENTIAL, NOT A SYNONYM: ‘civil law notary’ names a separate attorney-only appointment made by the Secretary of State under a different statute — a person searching for ‘Alabama civil law notary’ is not looking for the ordinary commission. ALSO NOT A STATE CREDENTIAL: ’notary signing agent’ and ’loan signing agent’ are private designations sold by commercial vendors; Alabama issues no such appointment and neither term appears in Act 2023-548 or on the Secretary of State’s notary pages.

Types of notary commission

Notary Public (traditional commission) — Alabama residents commissioned by the judge of probate of their county of residence Ala. Code § 36-20-70(a): appointed and commissioned by the judges of probate ‘for the state at large’ and hold office for four years. Jurisdiction is statewide — ‘The jurisdiction of the notaries public shall not be limited to the counties of their residence and shall extend to any county of the state.’ There is no separate electronic-notary or RON commission type in Alabama; the single commission carries remote authority.
Remote notarization authority (no separate registration) — any commissioned Alabama notary public Ala. Code § 36-20-73.1(d)(2) lets a signatory appear by two-way audio-video technology. No separate application, registration, endorsement or fee is created by § 36-20-73.1, and none appears in Act 2023-548 or on the Secretary of State’s notary page. See ron_detail — the notary’s ORIGINAL wet-ink signature is still required.
Civil Law Notary — attorneys admitted in Alabama who have practiced law in a U.S. jurisdiction for at least five years A wholly separate credential appointed by the SECRETARY OF STATE, not by a probate judge. Alabama SOS: ‘A civil law notary is a person who is admitted to the practice of law in this state, who has practiced law in a United States jurisdiction for at least five years, and who is appointed by the Secretary of State as a civil law notary.’ Authorized to ‘issue brevets, minutes, and notarial deeds and may authenticate or certify any document, transaction, event, condition or occurrence.’ Codified from Act 2001-168; application is Form ACLN-1. This is NOT the ordinary notary public credential and is not interchangeable with it.

Who can be commissioned

RESIDENCY: must be a resident of Alabama — § 36-20-70(c)(1) requires denial if ‘The applicant is not a resident of this state’ — and must apply in the county of residence (§ 36-20-70(c)(2)). CRIMINAL HISTORY: § 36-20-70(c)(3) requires denial if ‘The applicant has been convicted of a felony or crime of moral turpitude.’ The statute states this as a flat bar with no rehabilitation or look-back provision on its face. OTHER STATUTORY DENIAL GROUNDS: currently a debtor in a bankruptcy proceeding (§ 36-20-70(c)(4)); under a current order adjudicating him or her incapacitated (§ 36-20-70(c)(5)); provided false information on the application (§ 36-20-70(c)(6)); ‘unable or unwilling to successfully complete the training program required in subsection (e) within 30 days after submitting his or her application’ (§ 36-20-70(c)(7), which the judge of probate may extend ‘upon good cause shown’). AGE: no minimum age appears in §§ 36-20-70 to 36-20-75 as enacted by Act 2023-548 — the seven denial grounds in § 36-20-70(c) do not include age, and the words ’eighteen’, ‘18 years’ and ‘age of’ do not appear in the operative text of the Act. Mobile County Probate Court nevertheless publishes as a basic requirement ‘You must be at least 18 years of age.’ Treat 18 as county-published practice, not as a statewide statutory qualification, until a verifier reads the codified chapter. LEGAL PRESENCE / CITIZENSHIP: not addressed in Act 2023-548, the Secretary of State’s notaries page, or the Mobile County instructions. VOTER REGISTRATION: Mobile County Probate Court additionally requires ‘You must be registered to vote in Mobile County’ — this is a county-published requirement with no counterpart in § 36-20-70; requirements of this kind may vary by county. LANGUAGE: no English-language requirement found in any tier searched (Act 2023-548 full text, SOS notaries page, Mobile County probate instructions).

Requirements

Per Ala. Code §§ 36-20-70 and 36-20-71 as amended by Act 2023-548 (effective Sept 1, 2023), and the application sequence published by the Alabama Probate Judges Association and by county probate courts: (1) File a notary public application with the judge of probate OF YOUR COUNTY OF RESIDENCE — § 36-20-70(c)(2) makes it a mandatory ground for DENIAL if ‘The applicant makes the application to a judge who is not the judge of probate of the county of the applicant’s residence.’ (2) Pay the $10 application fee at the time of application (§ 36-20-70(c): ‘Each applicant for notary public commission shall pay a ten dollar ($10) application fee’). (3) The probate court reviews the application; Mobile County Probate Court states its review ‘will include a check of the Alabama judicial records to ascertain if the applicant has been a defendant in a criminal case in Alabama.’ (4) If approved, the judge of probate issues a LETTER OF APPOINTMENT. (5) Complete the mandatory training program prepared by the Alabama Probate Judges Association and the Alabama Law Institute and obtain the course completion certificate (§ 36-20-70(e); attorneys exempt). (6) Obtain the $50,000 surety bond from an Alabama licensed producer of such bonds (§ 36-20-71(a)); Mobile County instructs that ’the bond NOT be dated prior to the actual appointment date.’ (7) File and RECORD the bond in the office of the judge of probate of your county of residence and pay that county’s recording fee — § 36-20-71(a) requires the bond be ‘filed and recorded in the office of the judge of probate of the county of their residence, BEFORE they enter on the duties of such the office.’ (8) Take the oath of office — § 36-20-75(b)(3) makes ‘Performing a notarial act before taking an oath of office’ a Class C misdemeanor. (9) Pay the $25 commission fee and receive the commission (§ 36-20-70(a): ‘The judges of probate shall collect a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25) for each notary commission issued’). (10) Obtain a seal of office (§ 36-20-72(a)); Mobile County Probate notes ‘Probate Court does not supply the seal/stamp.’ DEADLINE: Mobile County Probate Court publishes 40 days from the date of the letter of appointment to record the bond and present the training certificate, and states ‘We are unable to extend the deadline; you will be required to submit a new application.’ That 40-day window is a county-published deadline, not a figure stated in §§ 36-20-70 to 36-20-75.

Training

Alabama requires a training course.

REQUIRED for new and renewal applicants since September 1, 2023, with a statutory exemption for attorneys. Ala. Code § 36-20-70(e): ‘Before being commissioned, an applicant for a notary public commission shall successfully complete a training program prepared by the Alabama Probate Judges Association and the Alabama Law Institute that reinforces and updates the applicant’s knowledge of all matters relevant to the appointment, authority, duties, and legal and ethical responsibilities of a notary public. An attorney who is commissioned as a notary public under this article is not required to complete the training requirement. A notary public who is commissioned as of the effective date of this act shall be required to complete the training requirement upon submitting an application for the renewal of his or her expired commission.’ The Secretary of State’s notaries page states: ‘Beginning September 1, 2023, the law sets minimum application requirements and mandates that both new and renewal applicants complete a pre-commission training program prepared by the Alabama Probate Judges Association and the Alabama Law Institute.’ TIMING: § 36-20-70(c)(7) ties the training to a 30-day window after submitting the application, extendable by the judge of probate for good cause. FORMAT: the Alabama Probate Judges Association publishes an ‘online Notary Public Training course’ and instructs applicants to ‘print the Course Completion Certificate within 30 days’; the course is taken after application approval and before obtaining the surety bond and requesting the commission. NO STATUTORY HOUR COUNT: neither Act 2023-548 nor the Secretary of State’s page states a number of hours or clock time for the program, and the ALPJA training page fetched on 2026-08-12 did not publish an hour count, a fee, or a certificate validity period. Do not state an hour figure for Alabama — none is published in the tiers searched (statute, SOS page, ALPJA training page, Mobile County probate instructions).

Exam

Alabama does not require an exam.

NOT REQUIRED. No examination for a notary public commission appears anywhere in Ala. Code §§ 36-20-70 through 36-20-75 as enacted by Act 2023-548 — the words ’exam’, ’examination’ and ’test’ do not appear in the operative text, and § 36-20-70(e) imposes only a training program with no scored or pass/fail component stated. Tiers searched on 2026-08-12: the full enrolled text of Act 2023-548 (all 12 substantive pages, hosted by the Secretary of State); the Secretary of State’s Notaries Public page; the Alabama Probate Judges Association notary training page; and the Mobile County Probate Court ‘Notary – General Information’ instructions and FAQ. None mentions an examination. NOTE FOR VERIFIERS: the ALPJA online course requires a printed Course Completion Certificate; whether that course contains an internal assessment is not published on the pages read, and it is NOT a statutory licensing examination in any event. (Contrast Texas, where a graded assessment is embedded in a statutorily mandated state-run course.)

Your surety bond

REQUIRED — $50,000 surety bond, with a live conflict between official sources that a verifier must be aware of. STATUTE (current): Ala. Code § 36-20-71(a) as amended by Act 2023-548 requires notaries to ‘give bond with sureties, obtained from an Alabama licensed producer of such bonds, to be approved by the judge of probate of the county of their residence, in the sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), payable to the State of Alabama, and conditioned to faithfully discharge the duties of the office.’ The Act’s own synopsis states one of its purposes is ’to increase the bond required of a notary public,’ and the enrolled text shows the prior twenty-five thousand dollar figure struck and $50,000 inserted. The bond ‘shall be filed and recorded in the office of the judge of probate of the county of their residence, before they enter on the duties of the office.’ GRANDFATHER: § 36-20-71(b) — ‘All existing notaries public functioning on January 1, 2023, shall continue to function pursuant to their existing bond for the remainder of their existing commission.’ CONFLICTING COUNTY SOURCE: Mobile County Probate Court’s published ‘Notary – General Information’ instruction sheet still states the bond is $25,000, in four separate places (’the required $25,000 Notary Bond’, ‘capable of posting a bond in the state required amount of $25,000’, ‘Where can I obtain/purchase my $25,000 Surety Bond?’, ‘When should I purchase my $25,000 Surety Bond?’). That sheet also omits the training-certificate step entirely, which is consistent with it predating Act 2023-548’s Sept 1, 2023 effective date rather than with a genuine county variance — the bond amount is fixed by statute and a probate judge has no authority to set a different sum. Both figures are recorded here because both are currently published by official Alabama sources; the statutory $50,000 controls. E&O INSURANCE: NOT REQUIRED and not mentioned. Errors-and-omissions insurance appears nowhere in Act 2023-548, on the Secretary of State’s notaries page, or in the Mobile County instructions; only a surety bond payable to the State of Alabama is required. A surety bond protects the public, not the notary. STATE EMPLOYEES: Mobile County Probate Court states that ‘State employees are covered under the State Blanket Bond and as such will not be required to purchase an individual surety bond,’ on submission of an original letter from the employee’s supervisor or department head including the State’s policy number.

Fees

Statutory fees payable to the judge of probate (Act 2023-548): APPLICATION FEE $10 — § 36-20-70(c), ‘Each applicant for notary public commission shall pay a ten dollar ($10) application fee’, due at the time the application is submitted. COMMISSION FEE $25 — § 36-20-70(a), ‘The judges of probate shall collect a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25) for each notary commission issued’; the enrolled Act shows this raised from $10, and its synopsis states a purpose ’to increase the fee collected by the judge of probate for the commission of a notary.’ BOND RECORDING FEE — set at the county level, not by §§ 36-20-70 to 36-20-75. Mobile County Probate Court publishes $23.00 (‘What is the filing/recording fee in Mobile County? $23.00 payable by cash, check, credit card or money order’). Recording fees differ between counties; applicants must confirm with their own probate court. BOND PREMIUM — a private charge by an Alabama licensed producer of surety bonds; not set or published by the State. TRAINING FEE — the Alabama Probate Judges Association’s notary training page fetched 2026-08-12 does not publish a price for the mandatory course; no fee for it is set in Act 2023-548. SEAL — purchased privately; Mobile County Probate Court states ‘Probate Court does not supply the seal/stamp or make any recommendations regarding where to purchase.’ RON — no registration fee exists because Alabama creates no separate remote-notary registration (see ron_detail). NOTE: because Alabama has no statewide application form or statewide online filing portal, there is no single live state fee page to check the statutory figures against; the $10 and $25 are read directly from the enrolled Act hosted by the Secretary of State.

How long the commission lasts, and renewing it

4 years. Ala. Code § 36-20-70(a): notaries ‘shall be appointed and commissioned by the judges of probate of the several counties of the state and shall hold office for four years FROM THE DATE OF THEIR COMMISSION.’ The term therefore runs from the date of the commission (issued after the bond is recorded and the oath taken), not from the date of application or of the letter of appointment. Mobile County Probate Court confirms: ‘Your notary commission and bond is good for 4 years.’ Alabama has no renewal mechanism — an expiring notary must apply afresh. Mobile County Probate Court states it plainly: ‘I am currently a Notary, what is the renewal process? There is no renewal process. You must submit a new application each time your current commission expires.’ The statute treats reapplication as an application: § 36-20-70(e) provides that a notary commissioned as of the Act’s effective date ‘shall be required to complete the training requirement upon submitting an application for the renewal of his or her expired commission,’ and the Secretary of State’s page confirms ‘both new and renewal applicants’ must complete the pre-commission training. There is accordingly no early-renewal window, no grace period and no reduced-requirement track published in any tier searched (Act 2023-548, SOS notaries page, ALPJA training page, Mobile County probate instructions). A period of restriction, suspension or revocation ‘does not extend the expiration date of a commission’ (§ 36-20-75(a)). No continuing education requirement. Nothing in Ala. Code §§ 36-20-70 through 36-20-75 as enacted by Act 2023-548 imposes continuing education, periodic refresher hours, or any ongoing instruction during a commission term. The only instructional requirement is the pre-commission training program under § 36-20-70(e), which must be completed before EACH commission — because Alabama has no renewal process, a notary seeking a further four-year term applies anew and takes the training again (the Secretary of State: ‘both new and renewal applicants’ must complete it), with attorneys exempt under § 36-20-70(e). Tiers searched on 2026-08-12: the enrolled text of Act 2023-548 in full, the Secretary of State’s Notaries Public page, the Alabama Probate Judges Association notary training page, and the Mobile County Probate Court instructions and FAQ. None states a continuing-education obligation.

Your seal or stamp

REQUIRED. Ala. Code § 36-20-72(a): ‘For the authentication of his or her official acts, each notary shall provide a seal of office, which shall present, by its impression or stamp, the name, office, and the state for which he or she was appointed.’ Required elements are therefore three: the notary’s NAME, the OFFICE, and the STATE of appointment. FORM: either an inked stamp or an embossed impression is permitted — § 36-20-72(b) requires that a notarial act on an instrument to be recorded in the public records, ‘including the court system,’ include an oath, acknowledgment, and signature of each party to the document (or his or her mark) ‘and the signature of the notary public and their seal of office by either ink stamp or embossed impression.’ NOT SPECIFIED by § 36-20-72: no shape, no size or dimensions, no ink color, no requirement to show the commission expiration date, and no serialization or vendor-approval requirement. Tiers searched for those details on 2026-08-12: Act 2023-548 in full, the Secretary of State’s notaries page, and the Mobile County Probate Court instructions; none states a shape, size or ink color. PROCUREMENT: not supplied by the State or the county — Mobile County Probate Court: ‘YES, these are available through most office supply stores or any number of websites. Probate Court does not supply the seal/stamp.’ EXPIRY / NAME CHANGE: neither Act 2023-548 nor the Secretary of State’s page addresses surrender or destruction of a seal on ordinary expiration, or a procedure for a name change. What IS addressed is discipline: § 36-20-75(d)(3) authorizes the commissioning judge of probate to order injunctive relief ‘including, but not limited to, ordering the surrender and destruction of a notary commission and a notary seal.’ Performing a notarial act with an expired, suspended or restricted commission is a Class C misdemeanor under § 36-20-75(b)(2).

Keeping a journal

Alabama recommends a journal but does not require one.

NO journal or record book is required by statute for ordinary paper notarial acts. The word ‘journal’ does not appear anywhere in Act 2023-548 (zero occurrences across the full enrolled text), and no recordkeeping duty for in-person acts appears in §§ 36-20-70 through 36-20-75 or on the Secretary of State’s notaries page. Tiers searched on 2026-08-12: the enrolled Act in full, the SOS Notaries Public page, and the Mobile County Probate Court instructions and FAQ. RECOMMENDED IN PRACTICE: Mobile County Probate Court advises new notaries ‘You should also obtain a notary seal and register’ — phrased as advice, alongside the seal, and not as a condition of commissioning. SEPARATE AND MANDATORY — THE REMOTE RECORDING: for remote notarizations only, § 36-20-73.1(d)(2) requires that ’the two-way audio-video communication is recorded and maintained for a period of seven years by the notary public,’ and § 36-20-73.1(f) specifies the recording must contain (1) the date and time of the remote notarial act, (2) a description of the documents to which the remote notarial act relates, (3) an attestation by the notary public of being physically located in this state, (4) a description of how the identification of the signatory was verified, (5) a clear image of any government issued identification, if applicable, and (6) a clear image of the act of signing observed by the notary public. That is an audio-video recording duty attaching to remote acts, NOT a notarial journal, and the statute names no custodian to whom it is surrendered on resignation or expiration.

Online (remote) notarization

Alabama authorizes remote online notarization without a registration separate from your commission.

AUTHORIZED, with NO separate registration — but Alabama’s remote notarization is structurally unlike the electronic RON in most states, and this is the field most likely to be reported wrongly. AUTHORITY: Ala. Code § 36-20-73.1(d), as amended by Act 2023-548 (2023 Regular Session, Act No. 2023-548, SB322, approved by the Governor June 15, 2023, effective the first day of the third month following approval = September 1, 2023). § 36-20-73.1(d) provides that ‘an individual may personally appear before an acknowledging notary by either of the following: (1) Physically appearing before the notary… (2) Appearing through the use of two-way audio-video communication technology that allows a notary public and a remotely located signatory to communicate with each other simultaneously by sight and sound, provided that the notary public is physically located in this state and the two-way audio-video communication is recorded and maintained for a period of seven years by the notary public.’ NO REGISTRATION, NO EXTRA FEE, NO APPROVED-VENDOR LIST: § 36-20-73.1 creates no application, endorsement, registration or additional commission for remote work, names no approved technology providers and sets no standards for platform certification; no such registration appears in Act 2023-548 or on the Secretary of State’s notaries page. Any commissioned Alabama notary may use the authority. THE CRITICAL DIFFERENCE — WET INK IS STILL REQUIRED: § 36-20-73.1(c) provides that ‘Unless otherwise provided by law, the powers and functions of a notary public require his or her original signature,’ and § 36-20-73.1(g) provides that ‘All documents used during the two-way audio-video communication shall be provided to the notary for his or her authentication and original signature.’ § 36-20-73.1(b)(1) defines ORIGINAL SIGNATURE as ‘a signature signed directly onto a document in wet ink by an individual who is named on the document.’ Alabama therefore permits remote APPEARANCE but still requires the physical document to reach the notary for a wet-ink signature and seal — the pattern usually called remote ink-signed notarization (RIN), not fully electronic RON with an electronic seal and tamper-evident digital certificate. IDENTIFICATION: § 36-20-73.1(e) — either (1) the personal knowledge of the notary public of the identity of the signatory, or (2)a. ’the presentation of two valid forms of government issued identification, one of which shall include the face and signature of the signatory’ AND b. ‘a process by which the notary public verifies the identity of the signatory through a review of public or private data sources.’ Note both limbs of (2) are required together. TIMING: § 36-20-73.1(g) — ‘The official date and time of the notarization is the date and time the notary public witnessed the signature, including the date and time the signature was witnessed via two-way audio-video communication technology.’ NOTARY MUST BE IN ALABAMA: § 36-20-73.1(d)(2) and the attestation required by § 36-20-73.1(f)(3). PROHIBITED USE: § 36-20-73.1(i) — ‘Remote notarization may not be used to notarize an absentee ballot application or an absentee ballot affidavit, or for any purpose related to voting.’ RATIFICATION: § 36-20-73.1(h) ratifies and confirms any action taken before July 1, 2021 allowing remote notarization under the Emergency Management Act of 1955. PENALTY: taking an acknowledgment or administering an oath ‘without the principal appearing in person before the notary or following the procedures for remote notarization set out in this article’ is a Class C misdemeanor (§ 36-20-75(b)(5)) and a Class D felony if done with intent to commit fraud (§ 36-20-75(c)(2)).

What you may charge

$10.00 per notarial act. Ala. Code § 36-20-74 as amended by Act 2023-548: ‘A notary public commissioned pursuant to this article is permitted a reasonable fee, not to exceed ten dollars ($10), for each notarial act performed.’ The enrolled Act shows this raised from five dollars, and the Act’s synopsis states a purpose ’to increase the fee collected for notarial acts performed.’ Note the cap is doubly limited — the fee must be BOTH ‘reasonable’ AND not more than $10 per act. Charging ‘a fee for a notarial act in excess of the maximum fee allowed by this article’ is a Class C misdemeanor under § 36-20-75(b)(4). PUBLIC EMPLOYEES CHARGE NOTHING: § 36-20-74 continues, ‘No fee may be charged by a state, county, or municipal employee for a notarial act performed during, and as a part of, his or her public service, unless otherwise provided by law.’ TRAVEL FEES: § 36-20-74 does not mention travel, mileage or separately itemized non-notarial charges, and no travel-fee provision appears elsewhere in Act 2023-548 or on the Secretary of State’s notaries page. Tiers searched on 2026-08-12: the enrolled Act in full, the SOS Notaries Public page, the Mobile County Probate Court instructions and FAQ. Alabama publishes no rule authorizing or capping a separate travel fee in the sources read.

Who does NOT need a commission — exemptions

WHO IS EXEMPT FROM THE TRAINING: attorneys. Ala. Code § 36-20-70(e) — ‘An attorney who is commissioned as a notary public under this article is not required to complete the training requirement.’ Attorneys must still be commissioned; only the course is waived. EXEMPT FROM PURCHASING A BOND: state employees, per Mobile County Probate Court — ‘State employees are covered under the State Blanket Bond and as such will not be required to purchase an individual surety bond,’ on an original letter from a supervisor or department head giving the State’s policy number. This is a county-published administration of the statewide blanket bond, not a statutory exemption in § 36-20-71. NOT A NOTARY BUT SEPARATELY APPOINTED: civil law notaries are appointed by the Secretary of State under a separate statute (codified from Act 2001-168) and are attorneys with five years’ practice; they are not commissioned by a probate judge and do not go through the § 36-20-70 process. EX OFFICIO NOTARIAL AUTHORITY — SOURCED NEGATIVE WITH AN EXPLICIT UNSEARCHED TIER: no provision conferring ex officio notarial or acknowledgment-taking authority on judges, circuit or probate clerks, or other officials appears in Ala. Code §§ 36-20-70 to 36-20-75 as enacted by Act 2023-548, on the Secretary of State’s Notaries Public page, on the Secretary of State’s Civil Law Notaries page, or in the Mobile County Probate Court instructions — the four tiers searched on 2026-08-12. Alabama’s officers-and-oaths provisions outside §§ 36-20-70 to 36-20-75 (including Article 1 of Chapter 20 of Title 36) were NOT read, because the codified chapter could not be retrieved (alison.legislature.state.al.us serves a JavaScript application shell to every fetch rung tried). This is an unsearched tier, not an established absence: do not state on a page that Alabama has no ex officio notarial officers. MILITARY: 10 U.S.C. 1044a (notarial powers of judge advocates and other armed-forces personnel) is federal law of general application and is not addressed by any Alabama source read when this page was last verified; this record makes no claim about its operation in Alabama. WHAT NEEDS NO NOTARY AT ALL: not addressed in the tiers searched.

How to apply

Applications are handled by Judge of Probate of the applicant’s county of residence (commissioning authority under Ala. Code § 36-20-70); the Alabama Secretary of State maintains the statewide public record of commissions but does not appoint ordinary notaries public. Start at the official application page .

Verify a license in Alabama

Alabama Secretary of State — Government Records Inquiry System publishes a public license search , searchable by Name, Bonding Company, Issuance Date or Commission Expiration Date. It covers Commissions reported to the Secretary of State by the county judges of probate. Ala. Code § 36-20-70(a) requires that ‘The judges of probate shall also report to the Secretary of State the name, county of residence, date of issuance, and date of expiration of the commission of each notary public appointed and commissioned under this subsection’, and the SOS states ‘The records filed with this office regarding the appointment and commissioning of notaries are a matter of public record and are available for review by the general public.’ Four search options are published: ‘by Name’, ‘by Bonding Company’, ‘by Issuance Date’ and ‘by Commission Expiration Date’; the SOS notes ‘Each search option opens in a new browser window.’ Because the underlying data is reported UP from county probate offices rather than generated by the SOS, currency depends on county reporting.

Records come from Alabama Secretary of State — Government Records Inquiry System’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 Alabama — the Secretary of State?

No. Alabama is one of the states where the commission is issued at the COUNTY level. The Alabama Secretary of State states that ‘Notaries apply with and are appointed and commissioned by the probate judges of the various counties for terms of four years,’ citing Ala. Code § 36-20-70. You must apply to the judge of probate of the county where you live — § 36-20-70(c)(2) requires denial if the application goes to a judge who is not the probate judge of the applicant’s county of residence. The Secretary of State’s role is to maintain the statewide public record: § 36-20-70(a) requires the probate judges to ‘report to the Secretary of State the name, county of residence, date of issuance, and date of expiration of the commission of each notary public.’ Your authority is still statewide once commissioned — § 36-20-70(a) provides that jurisdiction ‘shall not be limited to the counties of their residence and shall extend to any county of the state.’

Is training required to become an Alabama notary, and is there an exam?

Training yes, exam no. Since September 1, 2023, Ala. Code § 36-20-70(e) requires that ‘Before being commissioned, an applicant for a notary public commission shall successfully complete a training program prepared by the Alabama Probate Judges Association and the Alabama Law Institute,’ and the Secretary of State confirms this applies to ‘both new and renewal applicants.’ The same subsection exempts lawyers: ‘An attorney who is commissioned as a notary public under this article is not required to complete the training requirement.’ The Alabama Probate Judges Association delivers it as an online course and applicants must print the Course Completion Certificate within 30 days. No examination for a notary commission appears anywhere in §§ 36-20-70 to 36-20-75, and none is mentioned by the Secretary of State, the training body or the county probate instructions.

How much is the Alabama notary bond, and do I also need errors-and-omissions insurance?

The bond is $50,000 and E&O insurance is not required. Ala. Code § 36-20-71(a), as amended by Act 2023-548, requires a bond ‘obtained from an Alabama licensed producer of such bonds, to be approved by the judge of probate of the county of their residence, in the sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), payable to the State of Alabama.’ It must be ‘filed and recorded in the office of the judge of probate of the county of their residence, before they enter on the duties of’ the office. Errors-and-omissions insurance appears nowhere in Act 2023-548 or on the Secretary of State’s notary page — a surety bond protects the public, while E&O protects the notary and is an optional commercial product in Alabama. Be aware that at least one county probate office still publishes the pre-2023 figure of $25,000; the statutory $50,000 controls, and you should confirm the current amount with your own probate court before buying a bond. Notaries who were already functioning on January 1, 2023 continue under their existing bond for the remainder of that commission (§ 36-20-71(b)).

What does it cost to become a notary public in Alabama?

Two fees are fixed by statute and paid to the judge of probate: a $10 application fee (‘Each applicant for notary public commission shall pay a ten dollar ($10) application fee’, Ala. Code § 36-20-70(c)) and a $25 commission fee (‘The judges of probate shall collect a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25) for each notary commission issued’, § 36-20-70(a)). Both figures were raised by Act 2023-548. On top of those you pay your county’s fee to RECORD the bond — that one is set locally, not by statute; Mobile County Probate Court publishes $23.00 and states it is ‘payable by cash, check, credit card or money order.’ You also pay a private surety company for the bond premium and buy your own seal, which the probate court does not supply. Alabama publishes no statewide fee page for notaries — the Secretary of State directs applicants to ‘contact the probate judge for your county’ for application, bond and fee requirements.

How long does an Alabama notary commission last, and how do I renew it?

Four years, and there is no renewal — you reapply. Ala. Code § 36-20-70(a) provides that notaries ‘shall hold office for four years from the date of their commission,’ so the clock runs from the commission itself rather than from your application. Mobile County Probate Court puts the reapplication point directly: ‘There is no renewal process. You must submit a new application each time your current commission expires.’ Because a reapplication is an application, the training requirement applies again — § 36-20-70(e) requires a notary commissioned as of the Act’s effective date to complete the training ‘upon submitting an application for the renewal of his or her expired commission,’ and the Secretary of State confirms both new and renewal applicants must take it. A period of restriction, suspension or revocation does not extend your expiration date (§ 36-20-75(a)).

Can an Alabama notary notarize remotely, over video?

Yes, for the signer’s appearance — but Alabama still requires the notary’s original wet-ink signature, so it is not fully electronic notarization. Ala. Code § 36-20-73.1(d)(2) allows a person to appear ’through the use of two-way audio-video communication technology… provided that the notary public is physically located in this state and the two-way audio-video communication is recorded and maintained for a period of seven years by the notary public.’ No separate registration, endorsement or fee exists — any commissioned Alabama notary may do it, and the statute names no approved technology vendors. The catch is § 36-20-73.1(g): ‘All documents used during the two-way audio-video communication shall be provided to the notary for his or her authentication and original signature,’ with ‘original signature’ defined in § 36-20-73.1(b)(1) as ‘a signature signed directly onto a document in wet ink.’ Identification requires either the notary’s personal knowledge or BOTH two forms of government-issued ID (one showing face and signature) AND verification against public or private data sources. Remote notarization may not be used for an absentee ballot application or affidavit ‘or for any purpose related to voting’ (§ 36-20-73.1(i)).

How much can an Alabama notary charge per notarization?

No more than $10 per notarial act. Ala. Code § 36-20-74, as amended by Act 2023-548, provides that a notary ‘is permitted a reasonable fee, not to exceed ten dollars ($10), for each notarial act performed’ — the fee must be both reasonable and within the cap, and the maximum was raised from $5 by the 2023 Act. Charging more than the maximum is a Class C misdemeanor under § 36-20-75(b)(4). Public employees charge nothing: ‘No fee may be charged by a state, county, or municipal employee for a notarial act performed during, and as a part of, his or her public service, unless otherwise provided by law.’ Alabama’s notary statute does not address travel or mileage fees at all — no provision authorizing or capping a separate travel charge appears in Act 2023-548 or on the Secretary of State’s notary page.

Does an Alabama notary need a seal and a journal?

A seal yes, a journal no. Ala. Code § 36-20-72(a) requires that ’each notary shall provide a seal of office, which shall present, by its impression or stamp, the name, office, and the state for which he or she was appointed’ — three required elements. Either format works: § 36-20-72(b) accepts the seal ‘by either ink stamp or embossed impression.’ The statute sets no shape, size or ink color, and you buy the seal yourself. As for a journal, no recordkeeping duty for ordinary in-person acts appears anywhere in Ala. Code §§ 36-20-70 to 36-20-75 — the word ‘journal’ does not appear in Act 2023-548 at all — though Mobile County Probate Court advises new notaries that ‘You should also obtain a notary seal and register.’ One recordkeeping duty IS mandatory, but only for remote work: the two-way audio-video recording must be kept for seven years and must contain the date and time, a description of the documents, the notary’s attestation of being physically in Alabama, how identity was verified, a clear image of any government ID, and a clear image of the act of signing (§ 36-20-73.1(d)(2), (f)).

See every license and certification LicensingAtlas covers in Alabama.

Sources & verification

Last verified against these sources: August 12, 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.