How to Become a Notary in Illinois — Requirements & Fees

How to become a notary public in Illinois: a surety bond, a required course, an exam, remote online notarization — verified from official sources.

Source-verified

Requirements below are drawn from Illinois Secretary of State, Index Department. The Secretary of State appoints and commissions notaries public and electronic notaries public (5 ILCS 312/2-101); the Index Department administers the program - 'The Index Department appoints and commissions active Notaries Public in Illinois.' Note the split of authority the Secretary states plainly: 'The Secretary of State administers the Notary Public Act, but misconduct complaints must be filed with a law enforcement agency, the Attorney General, or a State's Attorney's office.' Mailing address for resignations and paper filings: Secretary of State, Index Department, 2701 S. Dirksen Parkway, Springfield, IL 62723. (official site) and last verified August 13, 2026. Boards change fees and rules often — confirm before acting.

Requirements at a glance

1) MEET THE QUALIFICATIONS. The Secretary lists them: 'Be a U.S. citizen or lawfully admitted for permanent residence; Be a resident of Illinois for at least 30 days or qualify as a Non-Resident; Be at least 18 years of age; Be proficient in the English language; Have not been convicted of a felony; Have not had a prior application or commission revoked due to a finding or decision by the Secretary of State.' The statutory list is 5 ILCS 312/2-102(a). 2) TAKE THE COURSE AND PASS THE EXAM. 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.205(a): 'Beginning January 1, 2024, applicants seeking a commission as either a notary public or an electronic notary public must first successfully complete a course of study and acquire a passing score on the examination, as required by 5 ILCS 312/2-101.5.' The course must be taken from a provider certified by the Secretary; the Secretary publishes the provider list. 3) GET THE BOND. $5,000 for traditional in-person work; $25,000 more - or a combined $30,000 bond - if you will also notarize remotely or electronically by audio-video (5 ILCS 312/2-105; 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.340). The applicant 'must indicate at the time of application whether the applicant will perform only traditional in-person notarizations or remote notarizations', and the bonding company itself files verification of the bond with the Secretary. The oath of office must be endorsed on the face of the bond (176.340(d)). 4) FILE THE APPLICATION. 'If you're an Illinois resident applying to be a Notary Public or Electronic Notary Public, you must complete your application online. However, if you qualify for a hardship exemption, you can opt for a paper application.' The online system cross-references the applicant's Illinois driver's licence or ID card number, issue date, date of birth and residence address against Secretary of State databases and pulls the digitised signature on a match (5 ILCS 312/2-102.5). 5) TAKE THE OATH. The statutory oath is 'I, (name of applicant), solemnly affirm, under the penalty of perjury, that the answers to all questions in this application are true, complete, and correct; that I have carefully read the notary law of this State; and that, if appointed and commissioned as a notary public, I will perform faithfully, to the best of my ability, all notarial acts in accordance with the law' (5 ILCS 312/2-104). A paper applicant swears it before someone qualified to administer an oath; an online applicant affirms it electronically, and 'An electronic affirmation of the oath in the online application system shall have the same force and effect as an oath sworn and affirmed in person.' 6) PAY. $15 for the notary public commission; $25 more for an electronic notary public commission (5 ILCS 312/2-103). 7) WAIT FOR THE COMMISSION CERTIFICATE, THEN BUY THE SEAL - IN THAT ORDER. 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.550: 'Only upon presentation by the notary public or electronic notary public of the Commission Certificate is a vendor authorized to provide the notary with an official seal.' The Secretary's FAQ: 'You can start notarizing documents once we have approved your commission and you have your official notary seal.' 8) EXTRA STEPS FOR ELECTRONIC NOTARIES. The application must state 'a description of the technology or device that the applicant intends to use to create his or her electronic signature' and include the applicant's electronic signature (5 ILCS 312/2-102(c)); the technology must be approved by the Secretary; and 5 ILCS 312/2-102.7 requires registration of the capability 'before performing any electronic notarial acts', repeated 'every time an electronic notary public adopts a new or additional technology'. Separately, 'Prior to any electronic notarial acts being performed in this State, the vendor of electronic notarization technology must submit the technology to the Secretary of State and receive approval by the Secretary of State for use in this State.'

Legal basis

Illinois Secretary of State, Index Department. The Secretary of State appoints and commissions notaries public and electronic notaries public (5 ILCS 312/2-101); the Index Department administers the program - ‘The Index Department appoints and commissions active Notaries Public in Illinois.’ Note the split of authority the Secretary states plainly: ‘The Secretary of State administers the Notary Public Act, but misconduct complaints must be filed with a law enforcement agency, the Attorney General, or a State’s Attorney’s office.’ Mailing address for resignations and paper filings: Secretary of State, Index Department, 2701 S. Dirksen Parkway, Springfield, IL 62723. commissions notaries public in Illinois. Every figure below is verified against the commissioning authority’s own official pages and dated.

What it’s called

The statutory nouns are ’notary public’ and, since 2023, ’electronic notary public’; what the Secretary of State issues is an APPOINTMENT and a COMMISSION - ‘The Secretary of State may appoint and commission as notaries public’ (5 ILCS 312/2-101(a)) - and the document that arrives is a ‘commission certificate’. Folk terms that name the same thing: ‘Illinois notary license’, ’notary certification’, ‘getting your notary’, ’notary appointment’ (the last is also the statute’s own word). ‘Electronic notary public’ or ’eNotary’ is a distinct Illinois credential with its own application, fee, course, examination, technology registration and bond - it is NOT an endorsement on a notary commission, and treating the two as one credential is the most common Illinois notary error. ‘Remote online notarization’ and ‘RON’ are the market’s words; Illinois law splits the concept in two, calling one a ‘remote notarial act’ (5 ILCS 312/6-102.5, open to any notary, signer must be in Illinois, paper is mailed) and the other an ’electronic notarial act using audio-video communication’ (Article VI-A, electronic notaries only). ‘Non-resident notary’ is a real Illinois category for residents of a bordering state who work in an Illinois county, commissioned for one year. ‘Notary public remittance agent’ is an Illinois-specific LICENCE held by companies that file notary applications for other people - not a notary credential at all. ‘Notario’ and ’notario publico’ are expressly PROHIBITED terms for an Illinois notary who is not an attorney: 5 ILCS 312/3-103(a) bars literal translation of ’notary public’, ’notary’, ’licensed’, ‘attorney’ or ’lawyer’ into another language and says so by name - ‘To illustrate, the word “notario” is prohibited under this provision.’ ‘Notary signing agent’ and ’loan signing agent’ are private vendor designations; Illinois issues no such credential and neither 5 ILCS 312 nor 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176 uses the phrase.

Types of notary commission

Notary public commission (resident, 4-year term) — A US citizen or lawful permanent resident, 18 or older, who has resided in Illinois for the 30 days preceding the application 5 ILCS 312/2-101(a): ‘The Secretary of State may appoint and commission as notaries public for a 4-year term as many persons resident in a county in this State as he deems necessary.’ Authority is statewide but tied to the county of commission - a notary may act ’throughout the State so long as the notary resides in the same county in which the notary was commissioned’ (5 ILCS 312/3-105(a)). Requires a $5,000 bond and, since January 1, 2024, a course of study and a passing examination score.
Notary public commission (non-resident, 1-year term) — A resident of a state bordering Illinois whose place of work or business is in an Illinois county 5 ILCS 312/2-101(a): ‘The Secretary of State may appoint and commission as notaries public for a one-year term as many persons who are residents of a state bordering Illinois whose place of work or business is within a county in this State as the Secretary deems necessary, but only if the laws of that state authorize residents of Illinois to be appointed and commissioned as notaries public in that state.’ A RECIPROCITY CONDITION, not a mere residency alternative - the border state must let Illinois residents be commissioned there. A distinct form is prescribed: ‘The form in Illustration A must be used by an applicant for notary public who resides in a state bordering Illinois’ (14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.130). The Secretary restates the one-year term: ‘Illinois notaries are commissioned for 4 years. Non-resident notaries are commissioned for 1 year.’
Electronic notary public commission — A person who wants to perform electronic notarial acts, including remote online notarization by audio-video communication A SEPARATE commission, not an endorsement. 5 ILCS 312/2-101(b)-(c): a commissioned notary ‘may apply for an electronic notary public commission’, and ‘An individual may apply for a notary public commission and apply for an electronic notary public commission at the same time.’ The Secretary’s own instruction: ‘If you’re not already registered as a Notary Public, you must apply for both a Notary Public and Electronic Notary Public to perform electronic notarizations. If you’re an existing active Notary Public, you can apply to add electronic notary services.’ It carries its own $25 fee, its own course of study and qualifying examination, its own technology registration, and the larger bond. Its term is locked to the underlying notary commission (2-101(e); 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.110), and ‘The electronic notary public commission of a notary public is suspended by operation of law when the notary public is no longer appointed and commissioned as a notary public in this State’ (2-101(f)). 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.800(a): ‘A person may not perform an electronic notarial act unless the Secretary of State has approved the electronic notary public commission of a person under 5 ILCS 312/2-102 and the traditional notary public commission is in effect.’
Notary public remittance agent licence (a business licence, not a notary commission) — A company or person that submits notary applications to the Secretary of State on behalf of applicants 5 ILCS 312/2-107 creates a licensed intermediary Illinois regulates and most states do not: any entity that ‘remits notary public applications to the Secretary of State on behalf of applicants … for compensation or otherwise’ must be licensed. It must remit the application and fee within 30 days of receiving them, ‘shall not modify a notary’s application information in any way’, and ‘shall not issue a notary seal or notary stamp to the notary applicant until sufficient evidence has been received that the notary applicant has received a commission from the Secretary of State.’ The section does not apply to units of government or private businesses applying and paying for their own employees. This is a licence held by the vendor, never by the notary.

Who can be commissioned

AGE: 18 or older. CITIZENSHIP OR STATUS: the applicant must state ’that the applicant is a citizen of the United States or lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States’ (5 ILCS 312/2-102(a)(7)) - Illinois requires citizenship or LPR status, and unlike Alaska does not accept lawful presence generally. RESIDENCY: 30 days of Illinois residency immediately preceding the application, or, for the non-resident route, 30 days of having ‘worked or maintained a business in Illinois’. Residency must be MAINTAINED: ‘A notary public or electronic notary public must maintain residency in the State of Illinois during the term of the appointment and must immediately resign the notary public or electronic notary public commission if the notary public’s residency in Illinois ends’ (14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.120). LANGUAGE: the applicant must affirm ’that the applicant is proficient in the English language’ (2-102(a)(9)) - an unusual express requirement, and it has an operational counterpart: ‘A notary public shall not take the acknowledgment of any person who does not speak or understand the English language, unless the nature and effect of the instrument to be notarized is translated into a language which the person does understand’ (5 ILCS 312/6-104(f)). CRIMINAL HISTORY - AND A CHANGE ALREADY ENACTED FOR 2027, RECORDED BOTH WAYS BECAUSE IT IS NOT YET IN FORCE. The text in force today requires the applicant to state ’that the applicant has not been convicted of a felony’ (5 ILCS 312/2-102(a)(11)), which the Secretary restates as ‘Have not been convicted of a felony’. Public Act 104-486, effective January 1, 2027, replaces that clause with ’that the applicant, prior to the completion of the application, if the applicant has ever been convicted of a felony, has completed all requirements of all felony case sentences, and 10 years have passed since the completion of all felony sentences’ - converting a lifetime bar into a 10-year look-back. Until January 1, 2027 the lifetime bar is the law; the ILCS database prints both versions side by side, labelled ‘Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 104-486’ and ‘Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 104-486’. PRIOR DISCIPLINE: the applicant must state that no prior application or commission was revoked by a finding or decision of the Secretary of State, and a notary whose appointment was revoked for violating the Act ‘shall not be eligible for a new commission as a notary public in this State for a period of at least 5 years from the date of the final revocation’ (5 ILCS 312/7-108(h)). A SECOND FIVE-YEAR BAR that catches ordinary carelessness: failing to report a name, residence-address, business-address or e-mail change within 30 days makes the commission cease to be in effect, and ‘Any notary public or electronic notary public that fails to comply with this Section shall be prohibited from obtaining a new commission for a period of not less than 5 years’ (5 ILCS 312/4-101). BACKGROUND CHECK: the applicant’s signature authorises the Secretary of State ’to conduct a verification to confirm the information provided in the application, including a criminal background check of the applicant, if necessary’. PER-ACT DISQUALIFICATIONS (5 ILCS 312/6-104): a notary may not acknowledge an instrument in which the notary’s own name appears as a party; may not take the acknowledgment of a person the notary actually knows to have been adjudged mentally ill and not restored; may not take the acknowledgment of a person who is blind ‘until the notary has read the instrument to such person’; and may not receive from the transaction any consideration exceeding the statutory maximum fee.

Requirements

MEET THE QUALIFICATIONS. The Secretary lists them: ‘Be a U.S. citizen or lawfully admitted for permanent residence; Be a resident of Illinois for at least 30 days or qualify as a Non-Resident; Be at least 18 years of age; Be proficient in the English language; Have not been convicted of a felony; Have not had a prior application or commission revoked due to a finding or decision by the Secretary of State.’ The statutory list is 5 ILCS 312/2-102(a). 2) TAKE THE COURSE AND PASS THE EXAM. 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.205(a): ‘Beginning January 1, 2024, applicants seeking a commission as either a notary public or an electronic notary public must first successfully complete a course of study and acquire a passing score on the examination, as required by 5 ILCS 312/2-101.5.’ The course must be taken from a provider certified by the Secretary; the Secretary publishes the provider list. 3) GET THE BOND. $5,000 for traditional in-person work; $25,000 more - or a combined $30,000 bond - if you will also notarize remotely or electronically by audio-video (5 ILCS 312/2-105; 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.340). The applicant ‘must indicate at the time of application whether the applicant will perform only traditional in-person notarizations or remote notarizations’, and the bonding company itself files verification of the bond with the Secretary. The oath of office must be endorsed on the face of the bond (176.340(d)). 4) FILE THE APPLICATION. ‘If you’re an Illinois resident applying to be a Notary Public or Electronic Notary Public, you must complete your application online. However, if you qualify for a hardship exemption, you can opt for a paper application.’ The online system cross-references the applicant’s Illinois driver’s licence or ID card number, issue date, date of birth and residence address against Secretary of State databases and pulls the digitised signature on a match (5 ILCS 312/2-102.5). 5) TAKE THE OATH. The statutory oath is ‘I, (name of applicant), solemnly affirm, under the penalty of perjury, that the answers to all questions in this application are true, complete, and correct; that I have carefully read the notary law of this State; and that, if appointed and commissioned as a notary public, I will perform faithfully, to the best of my ability, all notarial acts in accordance with the law’ (5 ILCS 312/2-104). A paper applicant swears it before someone qualified to administer an oath; an online applicant affirms it electronically, and ‘An electronic affirmation of the oath in the online application system shall have the same force and effect as an oath sworn and affirmed in person.’ 6) PAY. $15 for the notary public commission; $25 more for an electronic notary public commission (5 ILCS 312/2-103). 7) WAIT FOR THE COMMISSION CERTIFICATE, THEN BUY THE SEAL - IN THAT ORDER. 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.550: ‘Only upon presentation by the notary public or electronic notary public of the Commission Certificate is a vendor authorized to provide the notary with an official seal.’ The Secretary’s FAQ: ‘You can start notarizing documents once we have approved your commission and you have your official notary seal.’ 8) EXTRA STEPS FOR ELECTRONIC NOTARIES. The application must state ‘a description of the technology or device that the applicant intends to use to create his or her electronic signature’ and include the applicant’s electronic signature (5 ILCS 312/2-102(c)); the technology must be approved by the Secretary; and 5 ILCS 312/2-102.7 requires registration of the capability ‘before performing any electronic notarial acts’, repeated ’every time an electronic notary public adopts a new or additional technology’. Separately, ‘Prior to any electronic notarial acts being performed in this State, the vendor of electronic notarization technology must submit the technology to the Secretary of State and receive approval by the Secretary of State for use in this State.’

Training

Illinois requires a training course.

REQUIRED SINCE JANUARY 1, 2024 - a course of study from a Secretary-certified provider, for first-time applicants AND for renewals. This is the single biggest change in Illinois notary practice and the fact most likely to be stale on any page written before 2024. THE STATUTE: 5 ILCS 312/2-101.5(a) - ‘applicants applying for the first time as a notary public or as an electronic notary public or applying to renew his or her appointment … shall: (1) complete any course of study on notarization and electronic notarization that is required by the Secretary of State; and (2) pass an examination at the completion of the course.’ THE START DATE IS IN THE RULE, NOT THE ACT: 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.205(a) - ‘Beginning January 1, 2024, applicants seeking a commission as either a notary public or an electronic notary public must first successfully complete a course of study and acquire a passing score on the examination.’ LENGTH AND SHAPE: ‘Providers must provide 3 hours of notary public instruction’, with ‘A minimum of 180 minutes of instruction’ measured by a prescribed calculation - written material counted at 180 words per minute, multimedia counted at its play length but capped at 120 minutes, one minute per chart or graph - and ‘The course must allow a maximum of 30 days for a student to complete the course’ (14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.225(a)-(c)). CONTENT: the objectives must include ‘Promoting respect for and encouraging the observance of the duties and requirements of a notary public under the Act’; ‘Identifying potential damages and economic losses that could result from notarial misconduct’; ‘Motivating continuing development of notarial competencies through education’; and ‘Providing knowledge of the Act, this Part, and other laws related to or affecting notarial work’ (176.225(e)). Providers must monitor the General Assembly and file updated content with the Department within 60 days after any law change takes effect. ACCESSIBILITY AND ADVERTISING RULES: ‘All material appearing on the screen to be read by the student must also be spoken aloud to the student unless this function is manually disabled by the student’; ‘Advertisement of goods and services or any material not related to the topic being presented must not appear during instructional time’; and an online course ‘must be designed and well-suited for students with minimal keyboard or computer skills.’ PROVIDERS MUST BE CERTIFIED: ‘No person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation may operate as a provider … unless the provider holds a certification issued by the Secretary’ (176.210(a)), and the Secretary publishes the provider list on the notary page (‘Notary Public Study Course Providers’). ELECTRONIC NOTARIES TAKE MORE: the electronic notary application must state that the applicant ‘has successfully completed any required course of study on electronic notarization and passed a qualifying examination’ (5 ILCS 312/2-102(c)(4)) - a separate course from the base notarization course. THE ONE EXEMPTION IS RENEWAL-ONLY: see the exam field.

Exam

Illinois requires an exam.

REQUIRED SINCE JANUARY 1, 2024, taken at the end of the mandatory course, from the same Secretary-certified provider. 5 ILCS 312/2-101.5(a)(2) requires the applicant to ‘pass an examination at the completion of the course’, and 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.205(a) requires an applicant to ‘successfully complete a course of study and acquire a passing score on the examination’. Illinois does not administer the examination itself - ‘The course of study and examination must consist of the instruction and questions identified in Section 176.225’, and it ‘must be taught by a provider or instructor certified by the Secretary’ (176.205(c)-(d)). SHELF LIFE OF A PASS, TWO DIFFERENT CLOCKS: ‘The applicant will have two years from the date of the examination to apply for a notary public or electronic notary public commission. Once the course of study and examination have been successfully completed and the commission has been issued, the certificate or other proof of successful completion of the course of study and examination will remain valid for the duration of the notary’s four-year commission’ (176.205(a)). THE EXEMPTION IS NARROW AND APPLIES ONLY TO RENEWAL. 5 ILCS 312/2-101.5(c): an applicant TO RENEW is excused from the course and the examination ‘if the applicant submits, in the form and manner prescribed by the Secretary of State, a signed statement that the applicant (i) is a licensed attorney or judge or is employed by a licensed attorney or the court and (ii) has read and understood the version of the Act that is in effect at the time of application.’ The rule spells out who qualifies: ’licensed attorneys in good standing with the ARDC, current Illinois court or federal court judges, or applicants that are employed by a licensed attorney in good standing with the ARDC or an Illinois or federal court who are renewing their Notary Public commission’ (176.205(e)). A FIRST-TIME applicant who is an attorney is NOT exempt - the exemption is written for renewals only. NO PASSING SCORE IS PUBLISHED and no number of questions is fixed in the rule: 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.205 and 176.225 were both read in full on 2026-08-13 and prescribe the instruction time, the content objectives, provider certification, student contracts and identity verification, but state only that the applicant must ‘acquire a passing score’ without setting a numeric threshold; nothing in 5 ILCS 312 sets one either. That figure is left to the certified provider’s approved course, so it is not asserted here.

Your surety bond

A BOND IS REQUIRED OF EVERY ILLINOIS NOTARY, AND THE AMOUNT DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU WILL DO. 5 ILCS 312/2-105(a): ‘Every application for appointment and commission as a notary public shall be accompanied by or logically associated with an executed bond commencing on the date of the appointment with a term of 4 years, in the sum of $5,000, with, as surety thereon, a company qualified to write surety bonds in this State. The bond shall be conditioned upon the faithful performance of all notarial acts in accordance with this Act.’ THE REMOTE/ELECTRONIC BOND IS FIVE TIMES LARGER: 2-105(b) - ‘A notary public that performs notarizations either remotely or electronically and by means of audio-video communication shall obtain and maintain a surety bond in the amount of $25,000 … exclusively conditioned on the faithful performance of remote notarial acts or electronic notarial acts by means of audio-video communication. When a notary is required to hold both the $5,000 bond and the $25,000 bond, one bond totaling $30,000 shall satisfy the provisions of this Section.’ The Secretary’s public requirements list states the same figures in its own shorthand: ‘Get a notary bond valued at $5,000 (regular notary) or $30,000 (Remote Notarization by Audio-Video Communication).’ THE $30,000 IS NOT A $30,000 CLAIM CEILING - a point stated only in the rules and easy to get wrong: ‘In making a claim against a combined bond … a claimant will only be entitled to either a maximum of $5,000 of the bond if the notarization at question was a traditional, in-person, physical notarization or a maximum of $25,000 if the notarization was electronic or remote. In no event may a single claim be eligible for payment of the entirety of the $30,000 bond’ (14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.340(e)). DECLARE YOUR SCOPE AT APPLICATION: ‘Applicants for a notary public commission or electronic notary public commission must indicate at the time of application whether the applicant will perform only traditional in-person notarizations or remote notarizations’ (176.340(a)). THE BOND CARRIES THE OATH ON ITS FACE: ‘The bond shall contain, on its face, the oath of office for the notary public or electronic notary public as specified in 5 ILCS 312/2-104. The applicant must endorse the oath on the face of the bond, immediately below the oath, by signing the applicant’s name … exactly as it appears on the notary application form’ (176.340(d)). A copy of the original bond is filed with the Index Department, and the bonding company must itself ‘submit verification of the bond information for the notary to the Secretary of State’ (2-105(c)). THE BOND IS THE PUBLIC’S REMEDY: ‘A notary public and the surety on the notary’s bond are liable to the persons involved for all damages caused by the notary’s official misconduct. Upon the filing of any claim against a notary public, the entity that has issued the bond for the notary shall notify the Secretary of State of whether payment was made and the circumstances which led to the claim’ (5 ILCS 312/7-101). NO ERRORS-AND-OMISSIONS INSURANCE IS REQUIRED - sourced negative, tiers searched 2026-08-13: 5 ILCS 312 in full (the word ‘insurance’ appears only in the phrase ‘insurance company licensed to do business in this State’ describing who may write the bond and in the Title Insurance Act cross-references of 3-102), 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176 in full, and the Secretary of State’s notary requirements list, which names only the bond. BOND-SELLING IS ITSELF REGULATED: ‘No person shall solicit any notary public and offer to provide a surety bond more than 60 days in advance of the expiration date of the commission’, and any such solicitation must carry, in boldface type at least 1/4 inch high, ‘WE ARE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH ANY STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY’ - a business offense punishable by a fine of not less than $500 per offense (5 ILCS 312/5-102).

Fees

PAID TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE (5 ILCS 312/2-103, in force on and after July 1, 2022): $15 for appointment and commission as a notary public - ‘Ten dollars from each applicant fee shall be deposited in the General Revenue Fund. Five dollars from each applicant fee shall be deposited in the Electronic Notarization Fund’; and $25 for a commission as an electronic notary public - ‘This fee is in addition to the fee proscribed for a commission as a notary public and shall be deposited in the Electronic Notarization Fund.’ So a person who wants to notarize electronically pays $40 in state fees, not $25. The Electronic Notarization Fund is a dedicated state fund created by 5 ILCS 312/1-106 to fund the Index Department’s implementation and maintenance of electronic notarization commissions. PAYMENT MUST CLEAR: ‘No commission will be issued until the fee required by 5 ILCS 312/2-103 has been paid in full’, and if a payment is dishonoured or stopped the Secretary ‘may immediately and without a hearing deny to commission the applicant … or immediately revoke the applicant’s commission if the commission has already been granted’, after which the person must reapply from the beginning (14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.320). NOT PAID TO THE STATE, BUT UNAVOIDABLE: the surety bond premium ($5,000 bond, or $30,000 combined if you will notarize remotely or electronically); the mandatory course of study and examination from a Secretary-certified private provider, whose price the State does not set; and the rubber stamp seal, which a vendor may not sell you until you present your commission certificate. NO SEPARATE RENEWAL FEE IS PRESCRIBED - reappointment is a fresh application under Article II, so the same $15 (and $25) applies again. NO FEE FOR A NAME OR ADDRESS CHANGE IS PRESCRIBED, because Illinois does not process one: a name change requires resignation and a new appointment (‘If you change your name, you need to resign your commission and apply for a new appointment’), and an address change outside the commissioning county likewise requires resignation and reapplication. Sourced negative on both, tiers searched 2026-08-13: 5 ILCS 312/2-103 and Article IV; 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.320, 176.100 and 176.350; and the Secretary of State’s notary FAQ.

How long the commission lasts, and renewing it

4 years for a resident commission; 1 year for a non-resident commission held by a resident of a bordering state. 5 ILCS 312/2-101(a) sets both. The Secretary’s FAQ: ‘Illinois notaries are commissioned for 4 years. Non-resident notaries are commissioned for 1 year. Your commission expires at midnight of the expiration date of your appointment.’ An electronic notary public commission carries the same term as the underlying notary commission (2-101(e)) - ‘[t]he electronic notary public commission, if any, will have the same term of commission as the traditional notary public commission’ (14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.110). WHEN THE CLOCK STARTS is spelled out to prevent a common error: ‘The term of a notary public or electronic notary public commission begins on the date that the notary is commissioned by the Secretary of State and not the date the bond was obtained’ (176.110). THERE IS NO GRACE PERIOD: ‘My notary appointment has expired, and I’ve applied for a new appointment. Can I continue to notarize documents? No, you can’t notarize any documents once your appointment has expired. There’s no grace period. You need to wait until you get a new commission and a new seal.’ Acting after expiry is a distinct offence under 5 ILCS 312/7-105 and the term can also end early - the commission ‘ceases to be in effect’ on an unreported name or address change (4-101). REAPPOINTMENT IS A FULL NEW APPLICATION, INCLUDING THE COURSE AND EXAM. 5 ILCS 312/5-101: ‘No person is automatically reappointed as a notary public or electronic notary public. At least 60 days prior to the expiration of a commission, the Secretary of State shall mail notice of the expiration date to the holder of a commission. Every notary public or electronic notary public who is an applicant for reappointment shall comply with the provisions of Article II of this Act’ - Article II being the application, the course and examination, the oath, the bond and the fee. The Secretary confirms the notice: ‘Our office will send you a renewal notice about 60 days before your appointment expires. You can renew your notary appointment online.’ TIMING, TO AVOID A DEAD PERIOD: ‘A current notary public and a current electronic notary public may apply for reappointment 60 days before an existing commission expires. The date of the new commission will be the date immediately after the expiration date of the current commission,’ and ‘To prevent a gap between commissions, a notary public and electronic notary public should apply for reappointment at least 30 days before the commission under which the notary public is currently acting expires’ (14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.350; the same rule appears at 176.100(d)). THE COURSE AND EXAM APPLY ON RENEWAL - 5 ILCS 312/2-101.5(a) covers an applicant ‘applying to renew his or her appointment’, and the only escape is the renewal-only attorney/judge/court-employee signed statement in 2-101.5(c). RENEWAL IS NOT HOW YOU FIX A NAME CHANGE: ‘If you change your name, you need to resign your commission and apply for a new appointment.’ Likewise a notary who moves out of the commissioning county, or a non-resident notary whose employment county changes, ‘must resign your commission and reapply.’ RESIGNING, per the Secretary: submit a written request giving the name under which the commission was issued, the commission number, the reason for cancellation with supporting documents, home address and telephone number, the notary’s signature and the date, mailed to Secretary of State, Index Department, 2701 S. Dirksen Parkway, Springfield, IL 62723. The statute adds that voluntary resignation requires ‘physically returning his or her stamp to the Secretary’, and that resigning ‘shall not stop or preclude any investigation’ (5 ILCS 312/7-108(i)). None as continuing education DURING a commission - but Illinois is not a no-education state, and describing it as one is the common error. There is no annual or mid-term CE requirement anywhere in 5 ILCS 312 or 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176; what Illinois requires instead is the full 3-hour course of study and a passing examination AT EVERY APPOINTMENT, including every reappointment, under 5 ILCS 312/2-101.5(a) and 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.205(a). In practice that is a recurring education requirement on a four-year cycle rather than an annual hour count, and the only escape is the renewal-only signed statement available to ARDC-registered attorneys in good standing, sitting Illinois or federal judges, and people employed by such an attorney or by an Illinois or federal court. Sourced negative on CE proper, tiers searched 2026-08-13: 5 ILCS 312 Articles I-VIII in full (no section imposes hours during a term); 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176 in full, whose only education subpart is Subpart C on the course of study and examination and whose proof-of-completion rule ties validity to the four-year commission rather than to any interim filing; and the Secretary of State’s notary page and FAQ, whose renewal instructions are the renewal notice, the online renewal and the Article II requirements. One duty falls on PROVIDERS rather than notaries and should not be mistaken for CE: ‘Providers must monitor the Illinois General Assembly and update their course content to include any new amendments to the Act’ within 60 days after the law change takes effect (176.225(f)).

Your seal or stamp

A RUBBER STAMP SEAL IS MANDATORY, AND ITS CONTENTS ARE PRESCRIBED TO THE LETTER. 5 ILCS 312/3-101(a): ‘Each notary public shall, upon receiving the notary commission from the Secretary of State, obtain an official rubber stamp seal with which the notary shall authenticate his or her official acts. The rubber stamp seal shall contain the following information: (1) the words “Official Seal”; (2) the notary’s official name; (3) the words “Notary Public”, “State of Illinois”, and “My commission expires ………… (commission expiration date)”; and (4) a serrated or milled edge border in a rectangular form not more than one inch in height by two and one-half inches in length surrounding the information.’ Note what that means in practice: Illinois specifies a RUBBER STAMP, not an embosser, and it requires the words ‘Official Seal’ - two details a generic notary-stamp order form will often miss. YOU CANNOT BUY IT UNTIL YOU ARE COMMISSIONED: 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.550(b) - ‘Only upon presentation by the notary public or electronic notary public of the Commission Certificate is a vendor authorized to provide the notary with an official seal’, and a licensed remittance agent likewise ‘shall not issue a notary seal or notary stamp to the notary applicant until sufficient evidence has been received that the notary applicant has received a commission’ (5 ILCS 312/2-107(e)). ELECTRONIC SEAL: ‘An electronic notarial act must be evidenced by … (1) the electronic signature of the electronic notary public; (2) the electronic seal of the electronic notary public, which shall look identical to a traditional notary public seal; (3) the words “Notary Public”, “State of Illinois”, and “My commission expires (commission expiration date)”; and (4) language explicitly stating that the electronic notarial act was performed using audio-video communication, if applicable’ - all ‘attached to or logically associated with the electronic document … and which must be immediately perceptible and reproducible’ (3-101(b-5)). The audio-video notation must read ‘Notarial act performed by audio-video communication’ or substantially the same (14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.810). DEVICES ARE REGISTERED, AND MUST BE REPLACED WHEN THEY EXPIRE: ‘An electronic notary shall register his or her chosen device with the Secretary of State before first use’, must stop performing electronic acts if the technology is ‘rendered ineffective or unsecure’ until a new one is acquired and reported (3-101(c)), and must replace an electronic seal or digital certificate that has expired, been revoked or is no longer capable of authentication, reporting the replacement to the Secretary within 10 days (14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.820). SECURITY: access to an electronic seal and signature ‘must be protected using biometric authentication, password authentication, token authentication, or other form of authentication approved by the Secretary’, an employer may not use or permit use of them, and theft or vandalism of the electronic signature, seal, journal, backups or audio-video recordings must be reported in writing to the Secretary ‘within the next business day after discovering the theft or vandalism’ - failure to report ‘is grounds for revocation’ (176.815). SURRENDER, NOT DESTRUCTION - THE OPPOSITE OF MOST STATES: when a commission ceases to be in effect under 5 ILCS 312/4-101, ‘his or her notarial seal or electronic notary seal shall be surrendered to the Secretary of State, and his or her certificate of notarial commission … shall be destroyed.’ On revocation, ’that notary shall immediately deliver his or her official seal to the Secretary’; an electronic notary must notify the technology provider and, to the extent possible, destroy or remove the software (7-108(g)). Voluntary resignation requires ‘physically returning his or her stamp to the Secretary’ (7-108(i)). SIGNING: a notary ‘shall not use any name or initial in signing certificates other than that by which the notary was commissioned’ (6-104(a)), and on paper must use ‘a legible, recognizable handwritten signature in blue or black ink’, printing the name adjacent if the signature is not legible (14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.600(d)). A paper notarial certificate ‘must be stamped, stapled, grommeted, or otherwise permanently bound to the tangible document in a tamper-evident manner. The use of tape, paper clips, or binder clips is not permitted’ (176.600(c)).

Keeping a journal

Illinois requires a notary journal.

REQUIRED FOR EVERY NOTARIAL ACT, BY EVERY ILLINOIS NOTARY, WITH THREE NAMED CARVE-OUTS. 5 ILCS 312/3-107(a): ‘A notary public or an electronic notary public shall keep a journal of each notarial act or electronic notarial act which includes, without limitation, the requirements set by the Secretary of State in administrative rule, but shall not include any electronic signatures of the person for whom an electronic notarial act was performed or any witnesses.’ The rule makes the timing explicit: ‘Every notary public, whether or not also an electronic notary public, must record each notarial act in a journal at the time of notarization’ (14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.900(a)). FORMAT: paper or electronic, and more than one journal is allowed (3-107(c)). A tangible journal’s ‘cover and pages inside the journal must be bound together by any binding method that is designed to prevent the insertion, removal, or substitution of the cover or a page. This includes glue, staples, grommets, or another binding, but does not include the use of tape, paper clips, or binder clips’; pages must be consecutively numbered with PREPRINTED numbers, and each line or entry block must be consecutively and preprinted-numbered (176.920). An electronic journal ‘must be designed to prevent the insertion, removal, or substitution of an entry’, must be securely stored and recoverable after a hardware or software malfunction, must produce entries ‘upon request by the Secretary of State in a PDF format’, and must omit personally identifiable information (176.930, 176.900(d)). FRONT-MATTER EVERY JOURNAL MUST CARRY (176.900(b)): the notary’s name as it appears on the commission; the commission number; the commission expiration date; the office address of record with the Secretary of State; ‘A statement that, upon the death or adjudication of incompetency of the notary public, the notary public’s personal representative or guardian or any other person knowingly in possession of the journal must deliver or mail it to the Secretary of State’; the meaning of any abbreviation or symbol used; and the notary’s signature. RETENTION: ‘A journal maintained in a tangible format must be retained for a minimum of 7 years after the final notarial act chronicled in the journal’, and ‘The retention requirements for this Part do not apply to notaries in the course of their employment with a governmental entity’ (176.920(g)-(h)). THE THREE CARVE-OUTS. (1) ATTORNEYS AND THEIR STAFF: ‘a notary employed by an attorney or law firm is not required to keep a journal of notarizations performed during the notary’s employment if the attorney or law firm maintains a copy of the documents notarized. No attorney or law firm shall be required to violate attorney-client privilege by allowing or authorizing inspection … Journals of notarizations performed solely within the course of a notary’s employment with an attorney or law firm are the property of the employing attorney or firm’ (176.900(f)) - the only place in Illinois notary law where the journal belongs to the employer. (2) CANDIDATE PETITIONS: no journal entry is required for a notarial act on ’nominating petitions; petitions of candidacy; petitions for nomination; nominating papers; or nomination papers’ filed by or for a candidate for public office, and the exemption ‘applies regardless of whether the notarial act … is performed … before, on, or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly’ (5 ILCS 312/3-107(f)) - a retroactive exemption. (3) GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT, for the RETENTION rule only (176.920(h)). THE JOURNAL IS NOT THE EMPLOYER’S (except in the attorney case): ‘The fact that the employer or contractor of a notary or electronic notary public keeps a record of notarial acts … does not relieve the notary public of the duties required by this Section. A notary public or electronic notary public shall not surrender the journal to an employer upon termination of employment and an employer shall not retain the journal of an employee when the employment … ceases’ (3-107(d)). LOSS: report to the Secretary of State within 10 business days after discovery (3-107(e)); the rule requires the report the next business day and prescribes its contents, including a commitment to file a written explanation within 10 business days if the journal is later recovered (176.940). PUBLIC INSPECTION: ‘In the notary’s presence, any person may inspect an entry in the official journal of notarial acts during the notary’s regular business hours’ subject to identification and other conditions (176.950). SHORTCUT ALLOWED: multiple notarizations for the same principal in a single transaction may be abbreviated after the first full entry, stating the transaction type and the number of documents.

Online (remote) notarization

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

ILLINOIS HAS TWO DIFFERENT REMOTE MECHANISMS AND THEY ARE CONSTANTLY CONFLATED. Getting them apart is the whole point of this field. (A) ‘REMOTE NOTARIAL ACTS’ UNDER 5 ILCS 312/6-102.5 - available to any commissioned notary, but the SIGNER MUST BE IN ILLINOIS AND PAPER STILL MOVES. ‘Any commissioned notary public may perform any notarial act described under Section 6-102 remotely’, using two-way audio-video technology that allows ‘direct, contemporaneous interaction’. The signer ‘must attest to being physically located in Illinois during the two-way audio-video communication’; must state on the recording what document is being signed; every page ‘must be shown to the witness … in a means clearly legible’; and ’the act of signing must be captured sufficiently up close … for the witness to observe.’ The recording ‘must be recorded and preserved by the signatory or the signatory’s designee for a period of at least 3 years’ - kept by the SIGNER, not the notary. Then the paper moves: ‘The signatory must transmit by overnight mail, fax, or electronic means a legible copy of the entire signed document directly to the notary no later than the day after the document is signed’, the notary signs the transmitted copy and returns it ‘within 24 hours after receipt’, and if necessary may sign the original as of the original execution date provided the original and the electronically witnessed copy arrive within 30 days. (B) ‘ELECTRONIC NOTARIAL ACTS USING AUDIO-VIDEO COMMUNICATION’ UNDER ARTICLE VI-A - this is true remote online notarization, and it REQUIRES THE SEPARATE ELECTRONIC NOTARY PUBLIC COMMISSION. 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.800(a): ‘A person may not perform an electronic notarial act unless the Secretary of State has approved the electronic notary public commission of a person under 5 ILCS 312/2-102 and the traditional notary public commission is in effect’, and the Secretary ‘may suspend or revoke the commission of a notary public who performs or offers to perform an electronic notarial act without an electronic notary public commission’. WHERE THE PARTIES MAY BE: the electronic notary ‘shall be located within the State of Illinois at the time the electronic notarial act is performed’ (5 ILCS 312/6A-104(e)-(f)), and may serve a remotely located individual ‘in this State; or outside of this State, but not outside the United States’ - with the usual exception for a signer abroad where the record ‘is to be filed with or relates to a matter before a public official or 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’ (3-105(b)-(c)). IDENTITY: personal knowledge, or ALL THREE of remote presentation of a government-issued credential bearing signature and photograph, credential analysis of the front and back of that credential and the data on it, and ‘a dynamic knowledge-based authentication assessment’ (6A-103(b)). A credible witness route exists, and ’the credible witness must appear before the electronic notary public’ with the recording capturing how long and how well the witness knows the principal (6A-104(c)). RECORDING: mandatory, disclosed in advance - ‘Before performing any electronic notarial act using audio-video communication, the electronic notary public must inform all participating persons that the electronic notarization will be electronically recorded’ - and kept ‘for a period of not less than 7 years, regardless of whether the electronic notarial act was actually completed’ (6A-104(a), (d)). The recording is in ADDITION to the journal entry. RESTART RULE: the notary must restart the act from the beginning if a party exits the session, the link breaks, or the notary believes the process has been compromised, including for poor audio or video quality (14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.720). CERTIFICATE: ‘The electronic notarial certificate for an electronic notarization must include a notation that the notarization is an electronic notarization’ (6A-103(f)); for audio-video, the notation ‘Notarial act performed by audio-video communication’ goes adjacent to the seal or in the certificate; for a remote act under 6-102.5 the certificate should state ‘This remote notarization involved the use of audio-video technology’, and 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.730 gives three model forms. VENUE is ’the jurisdiction within Illinois where the notary is physically located while performing the act.’ PLATFORMS ARE APPROVED BY THE STATE, NOT MERELY LISTED: ‘Prior to any electronic notarial acts being performed in this State, the vendor of electronic notarization technology must submit the technology to the Secretary of State and receive approval by the Secretary of State for use in this State’ (2-102.7(b)), the notary must register the capability and re-register ’every time an electronic notary public adopts a new or additional technology’, a system ‘requiring enrollment shall enroll only persons commissioned as electronic notaries public by the Secretary of State’, and the provider must notify the Secretary of each enrollee within 5 days (6A-101). The Secretary publishes ‘Electronic Notarization System Providers’ on the notary page. A LIABILITY SHIELD WORTH KNOWING: ‘An electronic notary public who exercised reasonable care enrolling in and using an electronic notarization system shall not be liable for any damages resulting from the system’s failure to comply with the requirements of this Act. Any provision in a contract or agreement between the electronic notary public and provider that attempts to waive this immunity shall be null, void, and of no effect’ (6A-102). BOND: $25,000 more, or a combined $30,000. GOVERNING LAW: ‘The validity of any notarization, including an electronic notarization, shall be determined by applying the laws of this State, regardless of the physical location of the principal at the time of a remote notarization’ (7-110).

What you may charge

ILLINOIS CAPS NOTARY FEES BY STATUTE, WITH FOUR DIFFERENT CEILINGS. 5 ILCS 312/3-104(a): ’the maximum fee for non-electronic notarization in this State is $5 for any notarial act performed and up to $25 for any notarial act performed pursuant to Section 3-102’ - Section 3-102 being the Notarial Record required for documents of conveyance transferring residential real property in Cook County. 3-104(b): ‘The maximum fee in this State up to $25 for any electronic notarial act performed pursuant to this Act. An electronic notary public may charge a reasonable fee to recover any cost of providing a copy of an entry or a recording of an audio-video communication in an electronic journal maintained pursuant to Section 3-107.’ IMMIGRATION-FORM WORK HAS ITS OWN SCHEDULE, for a notary who is not an attorney or an accredited representative: ‘(1) $10 per form completion; (2) $10 per page for the translation of a non-English language into English where such translation is required for immigration forms; (3) $5 for notarizing; (4) $3 to execute any procedures necessary to obtain a document required to complete immigration forms; and (5) A maximum of $75 for one complete application’ - and those figures ‘shall not include application fees required to be submitted with immigration applications.’ CHARGING IS OPTIONAL BUT DISCLOSURE IS NOT: ‘Neither a notary public nor an electronic notary public is required to charge a fee’, and ‘Before performing any notarial act, the notary public or electronic notary public must inform the requestor of the notary’s or electronic notary’s fee, if any, that will be charged’ (14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.540(b)-(c)). RECEIPTS ARE MANDATORY AND THE BURDEN SHIFTS IF YOU HAVE NONE: ‘All notaries public must provide itemized receipts and keep records for fees accepted for services provided. Notarial fees must appear on the itemized receipt as separate and distinct from any other charges assessed. Failure to provide itemized receipts and keep records that can be presented as evidence of no wrongdoing shall be construed as a presumptive admission of allegations’ (3-104(e)). OVERCHARGING IS A CRIME: ‘Any person who violates the provisions of subsection (a) or (b) shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class 3 felony for a second or subsequent offense committed within 5 years of a previous conviction for the same offense’ (3-104(c)), and the Attorney General or a State’s Attorney may sue for an injunction - if they do not act within 90 days of a complaint, ‘any person may file a civil action to enforce the provisions of this subsection.’ POSTED FEE SCHEDULE, for non-English advertisers: a notary who advertises notarial services in a language other than English ‘shall prominently post at their place of business … a schedule of fees established by law which a notary public may charge’, written in English and in the advertising language, carrying the not-an-attorney disavowal (3-103(b); 176.540(d)). A NOTARY MUST SERVE ANYONE WHO PAYS: 5 ILCS 312/6-102(e) nevertheless provides that a notary ‘shall have no obligation to perform any notarial or electronic notarial act, and may refuse to perform a notarial or electronic notarial act without further explanation’, echoed at 2-101(d) - so Illinois caps the fee but does not compel the service, the opposite of Massachusetts. NO TRAVEL OR MOBILE FEE is authorized: sourced negative, tiers searched 2026-08-13 - 5 ILCS 312/3-104 and 3-103, 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.540 in full, and the Secretary of State’s notary page; the only cost-recovery charge permitted beyond the caps is an electronic notary’s ‘reasonable fee to recover any cost of providing a copy’ of a journal entry or audio-video recording.

Who does NOT need a commission — exemptions

NO ONE IS EXEMPT FROM NEEDING A COMMISSION - Illinois has no postmaster provision like Alaska’s and no general officer-substitute list inside the Notary Public Act. What Illinois has instead are targeted relief provisions: (1) COURSE AND EXAM, RENEWAL ONLY: ARDC-registered attorneys in good standing, current Illinois or federal court judges, and persons employed by such an attorney or by an Illinois or federal court are excused from the course of study and examination when RENEWING, on a signed statement that they have read and understood the version of the Act in effect at the time of application (5 ILCS 312/2-101.5(c); 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.205(e)). First-time applicants get no such relief. (2) JOURNAL: a notary employed by an attorney or law firm need not keep a journal for notarizations performed in that employment if the firm keeps copies of the documents (176.900(f)); no journal entry is required for candidates’ nominating petitions, petitions of candidacy, petitions for nomination, nominating papers or nomination papers (5 ILCS 312/3-107(f)); and the retention rules ‘do not apply to notaries in the course of their employment with a governmental entity’ (176.920(h)). (3) DOCUMENT PREPARATION: ‘No notary public shall be authorized to prepare any legal instrument, or fill in the blanks of an instrument, other than a notary certificate; however, this prohibition shall not prohibit an attorney, who is also a notary public, from performing notarial acts for any document prepared by that attorney’ (5 ILCS 312/6-104(h)). (4) NON-ENGLISH ADVERTISING NOTICE: the mandatory disclaimer and posted fee schedule apply to ‘Every notary public who is not an attorney or an accredited immigration representative’ - accredited immigration representatives being not-for-profit organizations recognised by the Board of Immigration Appeals under 8 C.F.R. 292.29(a) and their accredited employees (3-103(a); 1-104). (5) REMITTANCE AGENT LICENSING: ‘The provisions of this Section do not apply to units of government or private businesses that are making applications, and providing application fees for their employees’ (2-107(g)). AN IMPORTANT NON-EXEMPTION: a notary is never relieved of the journal duty because an employer keeps its own log (3-107(d)), and an electronic notary is never relieved of the electronic notary commission requirement by holding a traditional one (176.800). TIERS SEARCHED (2026-08-13) for a general officer-substitute or out-of-state-recognition provision: 5 ILCS 312 Articles I through VIII in full and 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176 in full. Neither contains an Illinois analogue of a Uniform Recognition of Acknowledgments Act; such provisions, if any, would sit outside the Notary Public Act (for example in the Illinois Conveyances Act), which was NOT read for this record - so nothing is asserted about the recognition of out-of-state notarial acts in Illinois. NOT COVERED BY ANY ILLINOIS SOURCE READ: the federal military notarial authority at 10 U.S.C. 1044a.

How to apply

Applications are handled by Illinois Secretary of State, Index Department. The Secretary of State appoints and commissions notaries public and electronic notaries public (5 ILCS 312/2-101); the Index Department administers the program - ‘The Index Department appoints and commissions active Notaries Public in Illinois.’ Note the split of authority the Secretary states plainly: ‘The Secretary of State administers the Notary Public Act, but misconduct complaints must be filed with a law enforcement agency, the Attorney General, or a State’s Attorney’s office.’ Mailing address for resignations and paper filings: Secretary of State, Index Department, 2701 S. Dirksen Parkway, Springfield, IL 62723.. Start at the official application page .

Verify a license in Illinois

Illinois Secretary of State, Index Department (‘Notary Public Search’) publishes a public license search , searchable by Last Name, or Last Name, First Name, Commission Number, City, ZIP Code or View All Electronic Notaries (a separate listing of every electronic notary, browsable without entering search criteria). It covers Illinois notaries public and electronic notaries public. The search page states its own scope in one line - ‘Notaries are appointed by the Secretary of State for a term of four years’ - and requires at least one criterion: ‘Name or Commission Number or City or ZIP Code. You must enter criteria in one field.’ It carries a separate ‘View All Electronic Notaries’ listing, which is the practical way to check whether a given notary may lawfully perform electronic and remote online notarial acts. The statutory design behind it is 5 ILCS 312/2-102.6, which authorises the Secretary to ‘maintain a database of notaries public on a publicly-accessible website which: (1) any interested person may use to verify the authority and good standing of a listed individual to perform notarial acts; (2) indicates whether a notary holds a valid electronic commission and is able to lawfully perform electronic notarial acts; and (3) describes any administrative or disciplinary action taken against the notary by the Secretary of State.’ That third element is unusual - Illinois’s register is designed to surface DISCIPLINE, not merely status. FETCH NOTE: the search is hosted on apps.ilsos.gov rather than www.ilsos.gov ; both refuse this operator’s egress (www.ilsos.gov returns HTTP 403, apps.ilsos.gov times out), and the page was read from a US vantage on 2026-08-13. The www.ilsos.gov/notarysearch/ address does NOT resolve to this page.

Records come from Illinois Secretary of State, Index Department (‘Notary Public Search’)’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

Does Illinois require notary training and an exam?

Yes, since January 1, 2024, and it applies to renewals too. 5 ILCS 312/2-101.5 requires every applicant - first-time or renewing, notary public or electronic notary public - to complete a course of study and pass an examination at the end of it, and 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.205(a) sets the start date. The course is 3 hours, defined as a minimum of 180 minutes of instruction, must be finished within 30 days of starting, and must come from a provider certified by the Secretary of State. A passing exam is good for two years in which to apply, and once the commission issues the proof stays valid for the whole four-year term. The only exemption is for RENEWALS by ARDC-registered attorneys in good standing, sitting Illinois or federal judges, and people employed by such an attorney or court, who instead sign a statement that they have read and understood the current Act.

How much is an Illinois notary bond, and why do I see both $5,000 and $30,000?

Because Illinois has two bonds. Every notary needs a $5,000 four-year bond conditioned on the faithful performance of notarial acts (5 ILCS 312/2-105(a)). A notary who will also notarize remotely or electronically by audio-video communication needs an additional $25,000 bond, and the statute lets one combined $30,000 bond satisfy both. That combined figure is not a $30,000 claim ceiling: 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.340(e) limits any single claim to $5,000 for a traditional in-person notarization or $25,000 for an electronic or remote one, and ‘In no event may a single claim be eligible for payment of the entirety of the $30,000 bond.’ You must say at application which kind of work you will do.

What does an Illinois notary commission cost?

$15 paid to the Secretary of State for a notary public commission, of which $10 goes to the General Revenue Fund and $5 to the Electronic Notarization Fund. An electronic notary public commission costs $25 more, so an electronic notary pays $40 in state fees (5 ILCS 312/2-103). On top of that you pay a private surety for the bond and a certified provider for the mandatory course and examination, neither of which the State prices, and you buy your own rubber stamp seal - which a vendor may not sell you until you show your commission certificate.

How long does an Illinois notary commission last?

Four years for an Illinois resident. One year for a non-resident - a resident of a state bordering Illinois whose place of work or business is in an Illinois county, and only if that state lets Illinois residents be commissioned there. An electronic notary public commission runs for the same term as the underlying notary commission. The term starts on the date the Secretary of State commissions you, not the date you bought the bond, and there is no grace period at the end: ‘you can’t notarize any documents once your appointment has expired.’

Does an Illinois notary have to keep a journal?

Yes - for every notarial act, recorded at the time of notarization (5 ILCS 312/3-107; 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.900(a)). Paper or electronic is allowed. A paper journal must be bound so pages cannot be inserted or removed - glue, staples or grommets, never tape, paper clips or binder clips - with preprinted consecutive page and line numbers, and must be kept at least 7 years after the last act recorded in it. Three carve-outs exist: a notary employed by an attorney or law firm that keeps copies of the notarized documents; notarial acts on candidates’ nominating and nomination petitions and papers; and the retention rules, which do not apply to notaries acting in government employment. An employer may not keep your journal when you leave, and a lost journal must be reported to the Secretary of State.

What can an Illinois notary charge?

$5 is the maximum for an ordinary non-electronic notarial act. Up to $25 for an electronic notarial act, and up to $25 for a Notarial Record under 5 ILCS 312/3-102 (Cook County residential-property conveyances). Immigration-form work by a non-attorney has its own schedule: $10 per form completed, $10 per page of required translation, $5 for notarizing, $3 to obtain a needed document, and a $75 maximum for one complete application. You never have to charge, but you must tell the requester your fee before performing the act, give an itemized receipt showing the notarial fee separately, and keep records - failure to do so ‘shall be construed as a presumptive admission’ of allegations against you. Overcharging is a Class A misdemeanor, and a Class 3 felony for a repeat within five years.

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

Yes, in two different ways, and they are not the same thing. A ‘remote notarial act’ under 5 ILCS 312/6-102.5 is open to any commissioned notary, but the signer must attest to being physically located in Illinois, the signer keeps the audio-video recording for at least 3 years, and paper still moves - the signer sends the signed document to the notary by the next day and the notary signs and returns it within 24 hours. A true remote online notarization is an ’electronic notarial act using audio-video communication’ under Article VI-A, and it requires the separate ELECTRONIC notary public commission, a Secretary-approved platform, the $25,000 or combined $30,000 bond, identity verification by credential presentation plus credential analysis plus a dynamic knowledge-based authentication assessment, and a recording kept for 7 years. In both cases the notary must be physically in Illinois.

What does an Illinois notary seal have to say?

5 ILCS 312/3-101(a) prescribes a rubber stamp seal containing the words ‘Official Seal’; the notary’s official name; the words ‘Notary Public’, ‘State of Illinois’ and ‘My commission expires …’ with the expiration date; and a serrated or milled edge border in a rectangular form no more than one inch high by two and a half inches long. Two details are easy to miss on a generic order form: Illinois specifies a rubber stamp rather than an embosser, and the words ‘Official Seal’ are required. An electronic seal ‘shall look identical to a traditional notary public seal’ and must carry the same wording plus, where applicable, a statement that the act was performed using audio-video communication. When a commission ends by revocation or by ceasing to be in effect, the seal is SURRENDERED to the Secretary of State rather than destroyed.

I moved or changed my name. What happens to my Illinois notary commission?

This is where Illinois is harsher than most states. A name change requires you to resign your commission and apply for a new appointment. A move out of the county in which you were commissioned - or, for a non-resident notary, a change of the Illinois county where you work - also requires you to resign and reapply. And any change of name, residence address, business address or e-mail that you fail to report to the Index Department in writing within 30 days makes the commission ‘cease to be in effect’ by operation of 5 ILCS 312/4-101: the seal is surrendered, the certificate destroyed, and a new application, bond and oath are required. Worse, ‘Any notary public or electronic notary public that fails to comply with this Section shall be prohibited from obtaining a new commission for a period of not less than 5 years.’

Can someone with a felony conviction become an Illinois notary?

Not today, but that changes on January 1, 2027. The text in force requires the applicant to state ’that the applicant has not been convicted of a felony’ (5 ILCS 312/2-102(a)(11)), and the Secretary of State lists ‘Have not been convicted of a felony’ among the requirements. Public Act 104-486, effective January 1, 2027, replaces that with a test that allows an applicant who has completed all requirements of all felony case sentences and waited 10 years since that completion. The ILCS database currently prints both versions, labelled ‘Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 104-486’ and ‘Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 104-486’ - read the label, not just the text.

See every license and certification LicensingAtlas covers in Illinois.

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.