How to Become a Notary in District of Columbia: 5-Year Term

How to become a notary public in District of Columbia: a 5-year commission, a $2,000 surety bond, a required course, remote online notarization — verified from Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia.

Source-verified

Requirements below are drawn from Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia, Office of Notary Commissions and Authentications (ONCA) (official site) and last verified August 12, 2026. Boards change fees and rules often — confirm before acting.

Requirements at a glance

From ONCA's Notary Commissions page (General Application Requirements) and D.C. Code 1-1231.19: (1) be 18 or older; (2) be a United States citizen or permanent legal resident (ONCA: 'Verification may be requested'); (3) be a resident of or employed in the District with a verifiable PHYSICAL District address - a business or government applicant may live outside DC but must keep a primary place of business or employment in DC, a dual applicant must live and work in DC, and a residential applicant must live in DC at a physical residential address; (4) provide a Letter of Request - on agency or company letterhead from the supervisor for a business or government commission (with name, title/position and contact information), or a statement of how or why notarial services will be provided for dual and residential commissions; (5) submit the $75 application fee; (6) complete New Notary Orientation if a new applicant, or if the commission has been expired more than 12 months (D.C. Code 1-1231.21(a): an applicant who does not already hold a DC commission 'shall satisfactorily complete the training provided by the Mayor'); (7) take the oath prescribed for civil officers in the District and file the notary's signature and deposit an impression of the official seal with the Mayor (D.C. Code 1-1231.19(d)); and (8) file a $2,000 surety bond or functional equivalent before the commission issues (1-1231.19(e)), unless commissioned on behalf of the District government (1-1231.19(f)). Both new and renewal applicants submit the online DC Notary Application. Sequence detail from ONCA: applications are reviewed in at least five business days; new applicants attend the next orientation after approval and payment, and the Provisional Commission Notice (PCN) - the authorization to buy supplies and the surety bond - is issued within 2 days of orientation attendance; 'The commission window closes 60 days from the provisional commission start date', and an expired PCN cannot be re-dated, only replaced by filing a new application. The Notary Public Handbook states 'The entire process takes about 45-60 days once the application has been approved.' To add electronic or remote authority afterwards, a notary needs one year of commissioned service, the $30 endorsement fee, vendor training, technology registration with ONCA and the relevant endorsement oath form.

Legal basis

Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia, Office of Notary Commissions and Authentications (ONCA) commissions notaries public in District of Columbia. 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 issues is a COMMISSION - D.C. Code 1-1231.19 is captioned ‘Commission as notary public; endorsement as an electronic notary; qualifications’ and the Mayor issues ‘a commission as a notary public… for a term of 5 years’, with the certificate signed by the Secretary of the District of Columbia. THE AUTHORITY IS NOT A SECRETARY OF STATE: the District has no Secretary of State; the commissioning power sits with the Mayor by statute and is administered by the Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia through the Office of Notary Commissions and Authentications, universally abbreviated ONCA - a page that says ’the DC Secretary of State’ is naming an office that does not exist. ‘Notary license’ and ’notary certification’ are folk terms; the District issues neither. The District’s own terms of art are worth using precisely: ’endorsement’ (the add-on authority for electronic or remote work, not a separate commission), ‘IPEN’ (In-Person Electronic Notarization - signer present, documents electronic), ‘Remote Notary’ (signer remote, via audio-visual communication technology), ‘sealer’ (what other jurisdictions call the embosser - the handbook says so explicitly: ‘In the past, these have been called the embosser’), and ‘Provisional Commission Notice’ (the ONCA letter that opens a 60-day window to buy supplies and the bond before the commission can be completed). ‘Notary signing agent’ and ’loan signing agent’ are private designations that the District does not issue and that appear nowhere in D.C. Code chapter 12A or on ONCA’s pages.

Types of notary commission

Traditional notary public commission — An individual 18 or older who lives in the District, or works in the District, and needs to notarize ONCA describes it as: ‘A traditional commissioned notary public verifies identity, witnesses signatures, and notarizes paper documents in person using a handwritten signature and an official ink stamp or seal.’ Five-year term (D.C. Code 1-1231.19(g)), $75 application fee, mandatory New Notary Orientation for new applicants, oath prescribed for civil officers, signature and seal impression filed with the Mayor, and a $2,000 surety bond (or functional equivalent) unless commissioned solely on behalf of the District government. The commission ‘authorizes the notary public to perform notarial acts only within the District’ (1-1231.19(h)).
Commission sub-categories: Business, Government, Dual and Residential — Applicants are sorted by where they live and work, which changes the address proof and the letter of request From ONCA’s application requirements: ‘Business or Government Commission: Applicant may reside outside the District of Columbia but must maintain a primary place of business or employment within the District of Columbia’; ‘Dual Commission: Applicant must live and work in the District of Columbia’; ‘Residential Commission: Applicant must live in the District of Columbia with a physical residential address.’ Each requires a Letter of Request - for a business or government commission, on agency or company letterhead from the supervisor explaining how or why notarial services will be provided, with the supervisor’s name, title and contact information; for dual and residential commissions, a statement from the applicant. Per the ONCA Notary Public Handbook, a notary commissioned solely on behalf of the DC or federal government may not charge for notarial services, and a notary commissioned only on behalf of the DC government does not have to purchase the surety bond - but any dual commission does.
In-Person Electronic Notary (IPEN) endorsement — An existing DC notary with at least one year of commissioned service who wants to notarize electronic records with the signer present An endorsement added to an existing commission, not a separate commission. ONCA’s published requirements: submit the IPEN and Remote Notary Application for Endorsement Notification; 1 year as a commissioned DC notary public; $30 endorsement fee; complete training with a recognized IPEN training vendor; provide the name of the IPEN vendor/software on the ONCA Request to Perform Electronic (IPEN) form; and submit proof of the digital seal and electronic signature on the DC Notary Public: Electronic Endorsement Oath Form. Statutory basis: D.C. Code 1-1231.20(a) - ‘A notary public shall not perform notarial acts with respect to electronic records unless the notary public has received an endorsement as an electronic notary pursuant to 1-1231.19(i)’ - and 1-1231.20(c), which requires an approved training course, the civil-officer oath, identification of the tamper-evident technologies, and filing an exemplar of the electronic signature and official seal before the first electronic notarial act.
Remote Notary endorsement — A DC notary who already holds the IPEN endorsement and wants to notarize for remotely located signers ONCA’s published requirements stack it on top of IPEN: the endorsement notification form; 1 year as a commissioned DC notary public; the IPEN endorsement; $30 endorsement fee; training with a recognized remote notary training vendor; naming the remote notary vendor/software on the ONCA Request to Perform Remote Notarizations form; and proof of digital seal and electronic signature on the DC Notary Public: Remote Notary Endorsement Oath Form. ONCA also requires selecting ‘one or more authorized remote notary vendors’ and states the notary ‘must be physically located in the District of Columbia while performing the virtual notarial act.’ Statutory basis: D.C. Code 1-1231.13a, including the pre-act notification to the Mayor in subsection (k).

Who can be commissioned

D.C. Code 1-1231.19(c): an applicant shall ‘(1) Be at least 18 years of age; (2) Be a citizen or permanent legal resident of the United States; (3) Be a resident of or have a primary place of employment or practice in the District; (4) Not be disqualified to receive a commission under 1-1231.22; and (5) Meet any other qualifications prescribed by rules issued by the Mayor.’ ONCA publishes the practical denial list on its Notary Commissions page under ‘Why was my application denied?’: ‘Under 18’; ‘If there has been a felony conviction’; ‘If the business or residential address is not a physical address in DC’; ‘If the commission has been revoked.’ A verifiable PHYSICAL District address is the recurring gate - the Notary Public Handbook adds that using the same address for home and business gets an application denied and returned for correction unless a self-employed applicant explains it in the letter of request, and that a dual commission may be Residential/Business or Residential/Government but never two businesses. Language: the District’s statute imposes no English-language qualification and none appears on ONCA’s requirements list; none is asserted here. Note the jurisdictional limit that goes with eligibility: ‘A commission to act as a notary public authorizes the notary public to perform notarial acts only within the District’ (D.C. Code 1-1231.19(h)), and a remote notary ‘must be physically located in the District of Columbia while performing the virtual notarial act’ (ONCA). Changes to any information on the application must be reported to ONCA within fifteen calendar days, under 17 DCMR 2430.1 as cited by ONCA.

Requirements

From ONCA’s Notary Commissions page (General Application Requirements) and D.C. Code 1-1231.19: (1) be 18 or older; (2) be a United States citizen or permanent legal resident (ONCA: ‘Verification may be requested’); (3) be a resident of or employed in the District with a verifiable PHYSICAL District address - a business or government applicant may live outside DC but must keep a primary place of business or employment in DC, a dual applicant must live and work in DC, and a residential applicant must live in DC at a physical residential address; (4) provide a Letter of Request - on agency or company letterhead from the supervisor for a business or government commission (with name, title/position and contact information), or a statement of how or why notarial services will be provided for dual and residential commissions; (5) submit the $75 application fee; (6) complete New Notary Orientation if a new applicant, or if the commission has been expired more than 12 months (D.C. Code 1-1231.21(a): an applicant who does not already hold a DC commission ‘shall satisfactorily complete the training provided by the Mayor’); (7) take the oath prescribed for civil officers in the District and file the notary’s signature and deposit an impression of the official seal with the Mayor (D.C. Code 1-1231.19(d)); and (8) file a $2,000 surety bond or functional equivalent before the commission issues (1-1231.19(e)), unless commissioned on behalf of the District government (1-1231.19(f)). Both new and renewal applicants submit the online DC Notary Application. Sequence detail from ONCA: applications are reviewed in at least five business days; new applicants attend the next orientation after approval and payment, and the Provisional Commission Notice (PCN) - the authorization to buy supplies and the surety bond - is issued within 2 days of orientation attendance; ‘The commission window closes 60 days from the provisional commission start date’, and an expired PCN cannot be re-dated, only replaced by filing a new application. The Notary Public Handbook states ‘The entire process takes about 45-60 days once the application has been approved.’ To add electronic or remote authority afterwards, a notary needs one year of commissioned service, the $30 endorsement fee, vendor training, technology registration with ONCA and the relevant endorsement oath form.

Training

District of Columbia requires a training course.

Required for new applicants, and for returning applicants whose commission has lapsed. D.C. Code 1-1231.21(a): ‘An applicant for a commission as a notary public in the District that does not already hold such a commission from the Mayor shall satisfactorily complete the training provided by the Mayor’; subsection (b) directs the Mayor to establish courses of study covering ’laws, rules, procedures, and ethics relevant to notarial acts’. ONCA implements this as the DC New Notary Public Orientation: its published application requirements say ‘Complete New Notary Orientation (If a new applicant or if the commission has been expired more than 12 months)’, and its FAQ says ‘New applicants attend the DC New Notary Public Orientation. If a renewal applicant has been uncommissioned for more than 1 year, orientation is required. Renewal applicants are invited to the DC Notary Open House for important program and regulatory updates; to complete the DC Notary Public Oath; and receive the DC Notary Public Commission Certificate.’ The orientation is provided by the District (the Mayor/ONCA), not by a private vendor, and no separate training fee is published on ONCA’s page. SEPARATE VENDOR TRAINING APPLIES TO THE ENDORSEMENTS: for IPEN, ‘Complete training with a recognized IPEN training vendor’; for remote notary, ‘Complete training with a recognized remote notary training vendor’ (ONCA). D.C. Code 1-1231.20(c) likewise requires an electronic notary to ‘complete a training course approved by the Mayor’ before the first electronic notarial act. No course hour count is published in D.C. Code 1-1231.21 or on ONCA’s page; hours, if fixed, would sit in 17 DCMR chapter 24, which was not fetched when this page was last verified.

Exam

District of Columbia does not require an exam.

No examination is published for a District of Columbia notary commission. D.C. Code 1-1231.19(c) sets the qualification list - age, citizenship or permanent legal residence, District residence or primary place of employment/practice, no disqualification under 1-1231.22, and any other qualification prescribed by the Mayor’s rules - and names no test; 1-1231.19(d) lists the pre-issuance steps as the civil-officer oath, completion of ‘a training class provided by the Mayor’, and filing the signature and seal impression, again with no examination; and D.C. Code 1-1231.21, the mandatory-training section, requires completion of training rather than passage of a test. ONCA’s own published requirements list and FAQ describe orientation attendance, not an exam, and its denial list (‘Under 18’, felony conviction, non-physical DC address, revoked commission) contains no exam failure. Tiers searched on 2026-08-12: D.C. Code chapter 12A sections 1-1231.19, 1-1231.20, 1-1231.21 and 1-1231.23 in full; the ONCA Notary Commissions page including the application requirements and FAQ; and the ONCA Notary Public Handbook (rev. 3-2022). NOT SEARCHED, and named rather than assumed empty: 17 DCMR chapter 24 (the District’s notary regulations), which 1-1231.19(c)(5) and 1-1231.31 authorize and which could in principle add a testing requirement; and the training material used at orientation. This record therefore states that no exam appears in the statute or in ONCA’s published requirements, not that no rule could impose one.

Your surety bond

A $2,000 assurance is required before the commission issues, and it is a BOND, not insurance. D.C. Code 1-1231.19(e): ‘Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section, before issuance of a commission as a notary public, the applicant shall submit to the Mayor an assurance in the form of a surety bond or its functional equivalent in the amount of $2,000, or other amount prescribed by rules issued by the Mayor. The assurance shall be issued by a surety or other entity licensed or authorized to do business in the District… If a notary public violates law with respect to notaries public in the District, the surety or issuing entity is liable under the assurance. The surety or issuing entity shall give 30-days’ notice to the Mayor before canceling the assurance… A notary public may perform notarial acts in the District only during the period that a valid assurance is on file with the Mayor.’ EXEMPTION - 1-1231.19(f): ‘A notary public commissioned on behalf of the government of the District of Columbia is exempt from the requirement of a surety bond.’ The ONCA Notary Public Handbook states the operational version: business, residential, federal government and dual commissioned notaries ‘must acquire a surety bond in the amount of $2,000, covering the notary’s five-year term. The bond is not an insurance policy… The bond serves for the protection of members of the public who may be affected as a result of negligence or misconduct on the part of the notary. Those commissioned only on behalf of the DC Government do not have to purchase a surety bond, but any dual commission requires a surety bond.’ PROCESS: the bond may only be written on the form ONCA sends with the Provisional Commission Notice / Appointment Notice - ‘No other form is allowed’ - it may not be altered, must carry the surety agent’s original signature and the bond company’s seal, must show the exact commission start and end dates, must be returned to ONCA in original, and the applicant must also present a receipt marked paid in full with the amount, date and the commission address. NO E&O INSURANCE IS REQUIRED: errors-and-omissions coverage appears nowhere in D.C. Code chapter 12A, in ONCA’s application requirements, or in the handbook’s bond chapter, and the handbook expressly distinguishes the bond from an insurance policy. Tiers searched on 2026-08-12: D.C. Code 1-1231.19 in full; the ONCA Notary Commissions page; and the ONCA Notary Public Handbook (rev. 3-2022) sections ‘Bond Requirements’ and ‘Surety Bond - Proof of Payment’.

Fees

APPLICATION FEE $75, for both new and renewal applicants - ONCA’s Notary Commissions page lists ‘Submit $75 application fee’ among the general application requirements and answers ‘How much is the application fee? $75’ in its FAQ. The statute sets a floor rather than the number: D.C. Code 1-1231.19(b) - ‘The Mayor shall issue rules setting an application fee; provided, that the application fee shall not be less than $75; provided further, that there is no application fee for a notary public in the service of the governments of the United States or District of Columbia whose notarial duties are confined solely to official government business.’ ENDORSEMENT FEE $30 for the IPEN endorsement and $30 for the Remote Notary endorsement (ONCA’s endorsement requirement lists). SURETY BOND: $2,000 coverage bought from a licensed surety at the applicant’s own cost - ONCA and the statute set the amount of coverage, not the premium, and no premium figure is published by ONCA. SUPPLIES: the seal and sealer are bought privately - the Notary Public Handbook states ‘Each notary public must furnish the notary seal and sealer at his or her own expense’, and an inker is also required. NO county or recording fee applies - the District commissions centrally through ONCA. WHAT IS NOT PUBLISHED, and is therefore not stated here: ONCA’s page does not list a fee for a name change, address change, employer change or replacement commission (those are handled by change forms), and no such fee schedule was located in the tiers read on 2026-08-12 (ONCA Notary Commissions page, ONCA FAQ, D.C. Code chapter 12A, Notary Public Handbook rev. 3-2022). 17 DCMR chapter 24 was not fetched when this page was last verified and may set additional fees.

How long the commission lasts, and renewing it

5 years. D.C. Code 1-1231.19(g): ‘Upon an applicant’s compliance with this section, the Mayor shall issue a commission as a notary public to an applicant for a term of 5 years subject to removal pursuant to 1-1231.22. A certificate issued by the Mayor granting this commission shall be signed by the Secretary of the District of Columbia or the Secretary’s designee.’ The commission runs from the commission start date shown on the Provisional Commission Notice rather than from the application date: ONCA explains that a renewal filed 90-30 days before expiration produces new dates ‘concurrent with the current commission’, while a renewal filed later than 30 days before expiration, or after expiry, produces a commission dated from approval instead - ‘The new commission date will be based on the date the applicant was approved.’ The surety bond must cover exactly that five-year window, and ‘A notary public may perform notarial acts in the District only during the period that a valid assurance is on file with the Mayor’ (1-1231.19(e)). Every five years, by online application - ONCA requires both new and renewal applicants to submit the DC Notary Application. THE WINDOW MATTERS AND IS PUBLISHED PRECISELY: ‘Current DC Notary Publics may submit an application to renew commissions ninety (90) to thirty (30) days before the current commission expires to maintain concurrent commission dates’; earlier than 90 days, ‘ONCA may not accept applications… as applicant information may change’; later than 30 days before expiry, or after expiry, the application may still be filed and reviewed ‘but the new commission start date will NOT be concurrent with the previous commission expiration date’ and will instead run from approval and payment. Renewal applicants receive the Provisional Commission Notice by email within 3 business days of approval and payment, but no earlier than 60 days before the provisional commission start date, and must use it to buy new supplies and a new surety bond carrying the new commission dates; the commission window closes 60 days after the provisional start date and an expired notice cannot be re-dated - a new application is required. TRAINING ON RENEWAL: orientation is required again only if the applicant ‘has been uncommissioned for more than 1 year’ (ONCA FAQ) or, per the application requirements, if ’the commission has been expired more than 12 months’; otherwise renewal applicants are invited to the DC Notary Open House, where they take the DC Notary Public Oath and receive the commission certificate. Mid-term changes (address, employer, name, lost or stolen supplies, resignation) each have their own ONCA form and must be reported within fifteen calendar days under 17 DCMR 2430.1. No continuing-education hour requirement is published for District of Columbia notaries. D.C. Code 1-1231.21 requires training only of an applicant who does not already hold a District commission, and ONCA requires orientation again only where ’the commission has been expired more than 12 months’ / the applicant ‘has been uncommissioned for more than 1 year’. What renewing notaries get instead is voluntary: ‘Renewal applicants are invited to the DC Notary Open House for important program and regulatory updates; to complete the DC Notary Public Oath; and receive the DC Notary Public Commission Certificate’ (ONCA FAQ) - an invitation, and the venue for the oath and certificate, rather than a stated CE hour obligation. Endorsement-specific training is a one-time entry condition, not a recurring one: IPEN and remote endorsements each require completing training with a recognized vendor before the endorsement issues. Tiers searched on 2026-08-12: D.C. Code chapter 12A, sections 1-1231.19, 1-1231.20, 1-1231.21 and 1-1231.23; the ONCA Notary Commissions page (application requirements, renewal instructions, FAQ, endorsement requirements); and the ONCA Notary Public Handbook (rev. 3-2022). NOT SEARCHED: 17 DCMR chapter 24, the District’s notary regulations, which 1-1231.31 authorizes; a CE rule could in principle live there, so this is a sourced negative over the tiers read, not a claim about the regulations.

Your seal or stamp

The District’s traditional seal is an EMBOSSED, INKED impression - not a plain rubber stamp - which makes it unusual. The Notary Public Handbook (rev. 3-2022): ‘A notary seal makes a raised impression in the paper; affixing or embossing the notary’s seal on a tangible record… District of Columbia notaries public use the seal and sealer to complete all notarial acts. Each notary public must furnish the notary seal and sealer at his or her own expense… The sealer is the equipment in which the seal is placed. In the past, these have been called the embosser.’ And: ‘A seal impression inker shall be used in conjunction with the official seal, making the impression legible, permanent, and photographically reproducible. The notary public must ink their raised sealer embossment, subsequent to its placement on a document, every time, no exceptions.’ The handbook also states ‘A notary public shall affix his or her official signature and official sealer on every document notarized, at the time the notarial act is performed’, that the impression must be attached directly to the document and never placed over signatures and dates or on foil or other material, and that if there is no room on the front the notarization may be done on the back. CONTENTS - D.C. Code 1-1231.16(a): the official seal shall include ‘(A) The notary public’s name, exactly stated on the commission; (B) The words “District of Columbia”; (C) The commission expiration date; and (D) Other information required by the Mayor’, and shall ‘Be capable of being copied together with the record to which it is affixed or attached or with which it is logically associated.’ The handbook adds ‘No other language or description is allowed.’ SIZE AND FORM ARE SET BY RULE, not by statute: 1-1231.16(b) - ‘The Mayor shall issue rules regarding the size and form of the seal’ - and those rules (17 DCMR) were not fetched when this page was last verified, so no dimension is stated here. A NOTE ON A WORDING DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWO OFFICIAL SOURCES: ONCA’s current Notary Commissions page describes a traditional notarization as using ‘an official ink stamp or seal’, which reads more permissively than the handbook’s embosser-plus-inker instruction; the handbook is the detailed instruction and 1-1231.16(b) leaves form to the Mayor’s rules, so a verifier should settle this against 17 DCMR before a page renders ‘stamp’ and ’embosser’ as interchangeable. PRE-ISSUANCE FILING: an applicant must ‘File the notary’s signature and deposit an impression of the notary’s official seal with the Mayor’ before the commission issues (1-1231.19(d)(3)); an electronic notary must file an exemplar of the electronic signature and official seal (1-1231.20(c)). LOSS: a lost or stolen seal, sealer or journal must be reported to ONCA immediately, using ONCA’s Lost and Stolen Supplies During Commission form. END OF COMMISSION: the handbook instructs a notary whose commission ends or is revoked to send the seal and journal to ONCA.

Keeping a journal

District of Columbia requires a notary journal.

Required for every notarial act. D.C. Code 1-1231.18(a): ‘A notary public shall maintain a journal in which the notary public records all notarial acts that the notary public or electronic notary performs. The notary public shall retain the journal until required to transmit the journal to the Mayor under subsections (e) and (f) of this section.’ FORMAT - 1-1231.18(b): tangible or electronic, and a notary ‘may maintain a separate journal for tangible records and for electronic records’; a tangible journal ‘shall be a permanent bound register with numbered pages’; an electronic journal ‘shall be in a tamper-evident electronic format complying with the rules issued by the Mayor’. REQUIRED ENTRIES, made contemporaneously - 1-1231.18(c): the date and time of the notarial act; a description of the record, if any, and type of notarial act; the full name and address of each individual for whom the act is performed; a statement if identity was based on personal knowledge; if identity was based on satisfactory evidence, a brief description of the method of identification and the credential presented ‘including the date of issuance and expiration of an identification credential when such a credential is used’; the fee, if any, charged; and ‘The signature of each individual for whom the notarial act is performed.’ THE DISTRICT’S DISTINCTIVE END-OF-COMMISSION RULE: the journal goes to the government, not into the notary’s attic - 1-1231.18(e), ‘On resignation from, or the revocation or suspension of, a notary public’s commission, the notary shall transmit the journal to the Mayor’, and 1-1231.18(f), on death or adjudication of incompetency the personal representative, guardian or other possessor ‘shall transmit it to the Mayor’. The Notary Public Handbook says the same in plain terms: ‘Upon termination of a commission for any reason the notary must turn the journal into the ONCA office. This is the notary’s responsibility, not the business or the agency’, and during the commission ‘You must keep your journal for the entire tenure of your commission. Even if you have completed one journal you must keep it. If you change employers and keep your commission, you must take the records with you. If you change your name, you must still keep the journal with your previous name.’ Every act must be recorded, ‘Even if you are notarizing the same signature multiple times’. LOSS: a lost or stolen journal must be reported to the Mayor promptly (1-1231.18(d)); ONCA has a dedicated Lost and Stolen Supplies form. ENDORSED NOTARIES: ONCA’s process overview for IPEN and remote endorsements adds ‘Journal: Keep an electronic journal of all IPEN and/or remote notarial transactions.’

Online (remote) notarization

District of Columbia authorizes remote online notarization, and it requires a registration separate from your commission.

The District authorizes notarial acts for remotely located individuals under D.C. Code 1-1231.13a, added by D.C. Law 24-178 (Sept. 21, 2022) and amended by D.C. Law 24-194 (Dec. 13, 2022). REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED IN TWO LAYERS, which is what makes DC stricter than most: (a) statutory notification - 1-1231.13a(k): ‘Before a notary public performs the notary public’s initial notarial act under this section, the notary public must notify the Mayor that the notary public will be performing notarial acts with respect to remotely located individuals and identify the technologies the notary public intends to use’; and (b) ONCA’s published endorsement, which requires the IPEN and Remote Notary Application for Endorsement Notification, ‘1 year as a commissioned DC notary public’, the IPEN endorsement as a prerequisite, a ‘$30 endorsement fee’, training ‘with a recognized remote notary training vendor’, naming the remote notary vendor/software on the ONCA Request to Perform Remote Notarizations form, and proof of digital seal and electronic signature on the DC Notary Public: Remote Notary Endorsement Oath Form. ONCA also requires the notary to ‘Select one or more authorized remote notary vendors’, and confirms authorization by email. LOCATION: ‘The DC Notary Public must be physically located in the District of Columbia while performing the virtual notarial act’ (ONCA) - consistent with 1-1231.13a(b) (‘A notary public located in the District may use communication technology…’) and with the commission’s District-only scope in 1-1231.19(h). IDENTITY: personal knowledge, a credible witness, or ‘at least 2 different types of identity proofing’ (1-1231.13a(b)(1)). RECORDING: the notary or someone acting for the notary must create an audio-visual recording of the act, and 1-1231.13a(j) requires it to be retained - by the notary, a guardian, conservator, agent, or a deceased notary’s personal representative, or a designated repository - ‘for at least 10 years’. TANGIBLE RECORDS: 1-1231.13a(c) allows a remote acknowledgment of a signature on a tangible record physically before the notary if the record is displayed to and identified by the remote signer on camera; 1-1231.13a(d) sets the mail-in route - the signer signs the record and a penalty-of-perjury declaration during the recording and ‘Sends the record and declaration to the notary public, by first-class United States Mail or delivery by common-carrier or commercial delivery service, not later than 3 days after the notarial act was performed’, after which the notary executes a certificate stating ‘I (name of notary public) witnessed, by means of communication technology, (name of remotely located individual) sign the attached record and declaration on (date).’ The act is effective on the date the signer signed the declaration (1-1231.13a(e)). OATHS may also be administered remotely (subsection (g)). CERTIFICATE: it must indicate that communication technology was used; a short form is sufficient if it contains ‘This notarial act involved the use of communication technology.’ (subsections (h), (i)). PROVIDERS: by facilitating a remote act or storing the recording, a technology, identity-proofing or storage provider ‘shall be deemed to appoint the Mayor as the provider’s agent for service of process in any civil action in the District related to the notarial act’ (1-1231.13a(n)). RECORDING OF PAPER-OUT COPIES: ‘The Office of the Recorder of Deeds may accept for recording a tangible copy of an electronic record containing a notarial certificate as satisfying any requirement that a record accepted for recording be an original, if the notarial officer executing the notarial certificate certifies that the tangible copy is an accurate copy of the electronic record’ (1-1231.13a(o)). NOT THE SAME AS IPEN: in-person electronic notarization requires the signer to appear in person and is authorized by a separate endorsement under 1-1231.19(i) and 1-1231.20 - and in the District, IPEN is a PREREQUISITE for the remote endorsement, so a notary cannot go straight to remote work.

What you may charge

$5.00 per notarial act for notaries who may charge at all. The statute delegates the number: D.C. Code 1-1231.23(a)(1) - ‘A notary public may charge fees for performing notarial acts as established by the Mayor by rule issued pursuant to 1-1231.31.’ The Office of Notary Commissions and Authentications publishes the resulting figure in its Notary Public Handbook (rev. 3-2022), Schedule of Fees: ‘Residential and business notaries may not charge more than $5.00 per notarial act, e.g. administering oaths, taking affidavits, including a jurat or acknowledgment clause and sealer, or any other notarial act. Notaries may waive the fee or charge less than the $5 fee, but may not charge more than the $5 fee.’ WHO MAY NOT CHARGE AT ALL: 1-1231.23(a)(2) - a notary exempted from the application fee under 1-1231.19(b), i.e. one in the service of the United States or District governments whose notarial duties are confined solely to official government business, ‘shall not collect a notary fee’; and 1-1231.23(d) - ‘A notarial officer other than a notary public shall not charge a fee for performing notarial acts.’ The handbook restates this: ‘Those commissioned solely on behalf of the DC or federal government are prohibited by law from charging for their notarial services’, while a dual-commissioned notary ‘may charge a fee for notarial acts done in your residential commission’. TRAVEL - 1-1231.23(b): ‘A notary public may charge, upon agreement of the person to be charged, an amount not-to-exceed the actual and reasonable expense of traveling to a place where a notarial act is to be performed if it is not the usual place where the notary public performs notarial acts. Traveling expenses shall be in writing, itemized, and separate from the fee for the notarial act.’ There is no per-mile figure - the cap is actual and reasonable expense, agreed in advance, itemized in writing. Waiver or a lower fee is expressly allowed (1-1231.23(c)). CAVEAT ON THE $5: because the amount is rule-based rather than statutory, the authoritative current figure lives in 17 DCMR, which was not fetched when this page was last verified; the $5 here is quoted from ONCA’s own handbook, and no separate electronic-record or remote-act fee was found in the tiers read.

Who does NOT need a commission — exemptions

D.C. Code 1-1231.09 governs who may perform a notarial act in the District (fetched only as a chapter listing when this page was last verified -, and 1-1231.23(d) confirms that officials other than notaries may act, since it provides that ‘A notarial officer other than a notary public shall not charge a fee for performing notarial acts.’ Two exemptions ARE fully sourced from the sections read: (1) FEE EXEMPTION AND NO-CHARGE RULE - a notary public in the service of the United States or District governments whose notarial duties are confined solely to official government business pays no application fee and may not collect a notary fee (1-1231.19(b), 1-1231.23(a)(2); ONCA Notary Public Handbook: ‘Those commissioned solely on behalf of the DC or federal government are prohibited by law from charging for their notarial services’); and (2) BOND EXEMPTION - ‘A notary public commissioned on behalf of the government of the District of Columbia is exempt from the requirement of a surety bond’ (1-1231.19(f)), though the handbook notes any dual commission still requires the bond. Federal-authority acts, out-of-state acts and tribal acts are recognized in the District under 1-1231.10, 1-1231.11 and 1-1231.12 respectively - section headings confirmed on the chapter listing, full text NOT read when this page was last verified, so no specific list (including any reference to military notarizing officers under 10 U.S.C. 1044a) is asserted here. The Notary Public Handbook also records a document-side limit that is often mistaken for a notary duty: most federal documents, including original passports, FBI fingerprint cards and Form I-9 employment eligibility verification, are not notarized - ‘You do not notarize I-9 forms.’ Tiers searched on 2026-08-12: the D.C. Code chapter 12A section listing; the full text of 1-1231.13a, 1-1231.16, 1-1231.18, 1-1231.19, 1-1231.20, 1-1231.21, 1-1231.23 and 1-1231.31; the ONCA Notary Commissions page; and the ONCA Notary Public Handbook (rev. 3-2022). 17 DCMR chapter 24 was not fetched.

How to apply

Applications are handled by Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia, Office of Notary Commissions and Authentications (ONCA). Start at the official application page .

Verify a license in District of Columbia

Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia, Office of Notary Commissions and Authentications (ONCA) publishes a public license search , searchable by DC address (the map is address-driven: ‘simply key in any DC address, and the map will display icons… representing business and residential notaries’), Name and contact information are returned rather than searched - ONCA notes that at a business address ’there may be more than one notary at the address’ or Bulk: the full list is downloadable from the Open Data DC catalog. It covers Commissioned District of Columbia notaries public, presented as a map rather than a name lookup. ONCA’s page: ‘This link allows you to search for a notary public by address… You can also download the complete list at Open Data DC catalog.’ The map is an ArcGIS Experience application at https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/6c62a9d85a3e43f780157db763f4ec9a and the dataset is published at https://opendata.dc.gov/datasets/notary-public/about . ONCA adds a caution that belongs on any page citing this tool: ‘Please be sure to call or email the individuals in advance as notaries public are not required to notarize documents simply because they appear on this list.’ Statutory basis: D.C. Code 1-1231.24 (Notaries public electronic database). Note that the District ‘does not issue registration or other numbers for notaries’ (Notary Public Handbook), so there is no commission number to search on.

Records come from Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia, Office of Notary Commissions and Authentications (ONCA)’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 in the District of Columbia?

The Mayor, by statute - D.C. Code 1-1231.19(a) says a qualified individual ‘may apply to the Mayor for a commission as a notary public’, and 1-1231.19(g) has the Mayor issue the commission with the certificate ‘signed by the Secretary of the District of Columbia or the Secretary’s designee’. Day to day the work is done by the Office of Notary Commissions and Authentications (ONCA) inside the Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia. The District has no Secretary of State.

What does a DC notary commission cost, and how long does it last?

$75 for the application, for new and renewal applicants alike - the statute sets a floor of $75 (D.C. Code 1-1231.19(b)) and ONCA publishes $75 as the current fee. The commission runs five years (1-1231.19(g)). On top of the application fee, an applicant must buy a $2,000 surety bond from a licensed surety and furnish the seal, sealer and inker at their own expense. Notaries in the service of the United States or District governments whose duties are confined to official business pay no application fee - and may not charge for notarial acts.

Do DC notaries need a bond?

Yes - a $2,000 surety bond or functional equivalent, filed with the Mayor before the commission issues, from a surety licensed or authorized to do business in the District (D.C. Code 1-1231.19(e)). It is not insurance: ONCA’s handbook says ‘The bond is not an insurance policy… The bond serves for the protection of members of the public.’ A notary commissioned on behalf of the District government is exempt (1-1231.19(f)), though a dual commission still requires the bond, and errors-and-omissions insurance is not required at all. A notary may perform acts only while a valid assurance is on file.

Is training or an exam required to become a DC notary?

Training yes, an exam no. D.C. Code 1-1231.21(a) requires an applicant who does not already hold a District commission to complete the training provided by the Mayor, and ONCA implements that as the DC New Notary Public Orientation - also required of a returning applicant whose commission has been expired more than 12 months. No examination appears in D.C. Code 1-1231.19 or 1-1231.21, or in ONCA’s published application requirements.

Must a DC notary keep a journal?

Yes, of all notarial acts (D.C. Code 1-1231.18(a)), and the District’s end-of-commission rule is unusual: on resignation, revocation or suspension the notary must transmit the journal to the Mayor, and on death or incompetency whoever holds it must do the same (1-1231.18(e)-(f)). ONCA states it plainly: ‘Upon termination of a commission for any reason the notary must turn the journal into the ONCA office. This is the notary’s responsibility, not the business or the agency.’ Entries must be contemporaneous and include the date and time, the type of act and description of the record, the signer’s full name and address, how identity was established, the fee charged, and the signer’s signature.

What does a DC notary seal look like?

The District’s traditional seal is an embossed impression that must then be inked, not a plain rubber stamp. ONCA’s handbook: ‘A notary seal makes a raised impression in the paper… A seal impression inker shall be used in conjunction with the official seal, making the impression legible, permanent, and photographically reproducible.’ D.C. Code 1-1231.16 requires the seal to carry the notary’s name exactly as stated on the commission, the words ‘District of Columbia’, the commission expiration date and any other information the Mayor requires, and to be capable of being copied with the record; the Mayor sets size and form by rule. An impression of the seal must be deposited with the Mayor before the commission issues.

Can a DC notary perform remote online notarizations?

Yes, but only after two gates. Statutorily, the notary must notify the Mayor before the first remote act and identify the technologies to be used (D.C. Code 1-1231.13a(k)). Operationally, ONCA requires a Remote Notary endorsement: one year as a commissioned DC notary, the IPEN endorsement first, a $30 fee, training with a recognized remote notary training vendor, naming the vendor/software, and an endorsement oath form with proof of digital seal and electronic signature. The notary must be physically in the District during the act, and the audio-visual recording of each act must be kept for at least ten years.

What is the difference between IPEN and remote notarization in DC?

IPEN - In-Person Electronic Notarization - keeps the signer physically in front of the notary but moves the document and seal into electronic form; ONCA describes it as ‘The signer appears in person before the notary… Documents are reviewed and signed electronically. The notary applies a digital seal and signature.’ Remote notarization removes the physical presence entirely and runs on real-time audio-visual communication technology. In the District, IPEN is a prerequisite for the remote endorsement, and each endorsement carries its own $30 fee, vendor training and oath form.

How much can a DC notary charge?

No more than $5.00 per notarial act, per ONCA’s published Schedule of Fees; the statute (D.C. Code 1-1231.23(a)(1)) leaves the actual figure to the Mayor’s rules. Notaries may waive the fee or charge less. Travel may be billed separately but only by prior agreement, capped at ’the actual and reasonable expense of traveling’, and it must be in writing, itemized and separate from the notarial fee (1-1231.23(b)). Notaries commissioned solely on behalf of the DC or federal government may not charge at all.

How do I find or verify a DC notary?

ONCA publishes an address-driven map: ‘simply key in any DC address, and the map will display icons resembling houses and building representing business and residential notaries’, with the notary’s name and contact information shown - and the complete list can be downloaded from the Open Data DC catalog. Two cautions from ONCA itself: at a business address there may be several notaries, and ’notaries public are not required to notarize documents simply because they appear on this list.’ The District issues no notary registration numbers, so there is no commission number to search on.

See every license and certification LicensingAtlas covers in District of Columbia.

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.