Kansas Secretary of State (Scott Schwab) — Business Services Division, Notary Section commissions notaries public in Kansas. 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 Kansas issues a COMMISSION, which the Secretary of State’s own materials also call an APPOINTMENT — the application is the ‘Notary Public Appointment Form (Form NO)’, the SOS speaks of ‘Length of Appointment’ and ‘appointment expiration date’, and K.S.A. 53-5a22 speaks of a commission; the two words are used interchangeably by the state. ‘Kansas notary license’ is a folk term — no notary license exists in Kansas law, and the state stresses the office is not a public office in the ordinary sense: ‘A notary public shall not be considered a state officer’ (K.S.A. 53-5a22(g)). Kansas is one of the few states that names THREE distinct modes with their own registrations, and collapsing them is the easiest error here: the tangible (paper) commission; IPEN, ‘in-person electronic notarization’, where the signer is physically present but the record is electronic; and RON, ‘remote online notarization’ / a ’notarial act performed for a remotely located individual’, where the signer appears by audio-visual technology. ‘Notario publico’ is not a synonym: K.S.A. 53-5a25(4)(g) requires a notary who advertises or offers notarial services to include the statement ‘I am not an attorney licensed to practice law in this state. I am not allowed to draft legal records, give advice on legal matters, including immigration, or charge a fee for those activities.’ ‘Notary signing agent’ and ’loan signing agent’ are private vendor credentials — no such designation appears in K.S.A. ch. 53, on the SOS notary page, in Form NO or in the Kansas Notary Handbook (searched 2026-08-12); the only third parties Kansas registers are notary TECHNOLOGY providers and journal repositories, which are companies, not notaries.
Types of notary commission
- Notary Public commission (tangible / paper acts) — An individual at least 18 who is a Kansas resident, or a resident of a bordering state with a regular place of employment or practice in Kansas, able to read and write English. Four-year term set by the Secretary of State (K.S.A. 53-5a22(f)). The commission ‘does not provide the notary public any immunity or benefit conferred by law of this state on public officials or employees. A notary public shall not be considered a state officer’ (K.S.A. 53-5a22(g)). Jurisdiction is statewide but strictly territorial: ‘A Kansas notary must be in the state of Kansas to perform a notarial act … the notary may not notarize documents as a Kansas notary when they are in Missouri or otherwise outside the state of Kansas’ (Kansas Notary Handbook p. 3).
- IPEN registration (in-person electronic notarization) — A commissioned Kansas notary who wants to notarize ELECTRONIC records with the signer physically present. A distinct registration Kansas breaks out separately from RON. Requires a commission number first, a notary technology provider, an electronic signature, electronic stamp and digital certificate, completion of the Secretary of State’s free training and examination, and Form NC notifying the SOS with a copy of the electronic stamp and the fee (Kansas Notary Handbook p. 17). Statutory hook: K.S.A. 53-5a21(b) — notification, technology identification and proof of the 53-5a23 examination before the first notarial act on an electronic record.
- RON registration (remote online notarization) — A commissioned Kansas notary who wants to notarize for a remotely located individual over audio-visual technology. Authorized since January 1, 2022 (SB 106, 2021 session, enacting the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts). Three steps published by the SOS: select an approved RON technology provider on file with the Secretary of State; complete the SOS’s free training and pass its test; and file Form NC identifying the provider, uploading the training certificate, and paying ‘$20’. ‘A notary’s RON registration runs concurrent with the notary’s four-year commission.’ The notary must be physically in Kansas at the time of the act, though the signer may be anywhere.
Who can be commissioned
TWO OFFICIAL SOURCES DIFFER ON CITIZENSHIP — RECORDED BOTH WAYS. The STATUTE, K.S.A. 53-5a22(c), requires an applicant to ‘(1) Be at least 18 years of age; (2) be a citizen of the United States; (3) be a resident of this state or be a resident of a state bordering on this state and have a regular place of employment or practice in this state; (4) be able to read and write the English language; and (5) not be disqualified to receive a commission by K.S.A. 53-5a24.’ The Secretary of State’s LIVE NOTARY PAGE states only two: ‘At least 18 years of age. A Kansas legal resident, or a resident of a bordering state, who regularly carries on a business or profession in Kansas or who is regularly employed in Kansas.’ The KANSAS NOTARY HANDBOOK (July 20, 2022) lists four — age, residency/employment, ‘Be able to read and write the English language’, and not disqualified under K.S.A. 53-5a24 — and likewise omits citizenship. Neither agency source mentions the statutory U.S.-citizenship qualification, and neither acknowledges the statute’s wording; the statute controls unless amended, and this record states the discrepancy rather than resolving it. DISQUALIFICATION (K.S.A. 53-5a24, as summarized in the Handbook’s discipline section): the Secretary of State may deny, refuse to renew, revoke, suspend or condition a commission for acts including failure to comply with the notary law, fraudulent or deceitful statements in the application, convictions involving fraud, dishonesty or deceit, failure to discharge a notarial duty, false or misleading advertising, and denial or discipline of a notary commission in another state. THE PENALTY IS UNUSUALLY SEVERE: ‘A notary whose commission as a notary has been revoked for any of the reasons described above may not apply for or receive a new commission for such individual’s lifetime’ (Kansas Notary Handbook p. 16). No fingerprinting or background check is required by K.S.A. 53-5a22, Form NO, the SOS notary page or the Handbook (all four searched 2026-08-12).
Requirements
In order, as published by the Kansas Secretary of State on its Notary page and in the Kansas Notary Handbook: (1) Meet the qualifications — see eligibility. (2) PURCHASE THE STAMPING DEVICE FIRST: ‘Purchase a notary stamping device, either an ink stamp or an impression seal. A copy of the stamp or an impression capable of being copied … must be submitted with the application’ (K.S.A. 53-5a18). Kansas is unusual in requiring the stamp impression as part of the application rather than after commissioning. (3) Purchase a $12,000 notary surety bond: ‘The bond must be a commercial surety bond from an insurance company licensed in Kansas. The insurance company must complete section C of the NO form or the NO-S form … A copy of the surety bond does not replace this requirement’ (K.S.A. 53-5a22(a)(2)). (4) Swear the Kansas notary oath before ANOTHER NOTARY, who completes section B of Form NO (or Form NO-O): ‘If the oath notarization is performed remotely, a wet ink signature must also accompany the application for comparison when the applicant performs in-person notarizations’ (K.S.A. 53-5a22(4) as cited by the SOS; the oath requirement is K.S.A. 53-5a22(a)(1)). (5) Submit the completed Form NO — including the stamp impression, the completed oath section and the surety company’s completed section C — or complete the online appointment form and upload Form NO-S, Form NO-O and the stamping device images, and pay the $25 application fee. The paper form is explicit: ‘This appointment form must be submitted by mail with the filing fee’ and ‘Submit this form with the $25 filing fee for the notary appointment form’ (Form NO, Rev. 9/18/25). (6) Wait for approval: ‘An applicant may not notarize documents until their appointment status is active online and they have a notary appointment expiration date.’ The SOS then lists status, expiration date and commission number in the online notary listing and mails a certificate. NO PRE-COMMISSION COURSE OR EXAM applies to a paper-only notary — the training and examination attach to electronic notarization only (see exam and training fields). To add IPEN or RON: obtain the commission number, choose a technology provider on file with the SOS, obtain an electronic stamp and digital certificate, complete the SOS’s free training and examination, and file Form NC with the certificate and fee.
Training
Kansas requires training for some commission types.
NOT required for a paper-only Kansas notary commission; REQUIRED before notarizing any ELECTRONIC record (IPEN or RON). K.S.A. 53-5a23(b): ‘The secretary of state or an entity approved by the secretary of state shall offer regularly a course of study to notaries public in this state. The course shall cover the laws, rules, procedures and ethics relevant to notarial acts with respect to electronic records.’ The Kansas Notary Handbook (p. 21) states the duty: ‘Before performing IPEN or RON a notary shall complete training and pass an examination that covers the laws, rules, procedures and ethics relevant to notarial acts. The training and examination are provided at no cost on the Secretary of State’s website.’ The SOS notary page repeats it: ‘Training and testing are provided at HERE at no cost by the Secretary of State’s office. A notary may complete the training and test at their convenience. A certificate will generate upon successful completion of the test that the notary must submit as part of their RON registration.’ NO CLOCK HOURS are published for the course — searched K.S.A. 53-5a23, the SOS notary page and the Handbook on 2026-08-12; the SOS describes it as self-paced (‘at their convenience’) rather than hour-based. The Handbook adds that private training is optional, not required: ‘many organizations and associations offer notary training courses. Notaries may want to consider additional training opportunities in addition to the required training.’ NO CONTINUING EDUCATION exists for either track — see ce_hours. Nothing in the statute, the SOS page or the Handbook imposes any course on a notary who only notarizes paper documents.
Exam
Kansas requires an exam for some commission types.
No examination for a paper-only commission; a mandatory examination before the first ELECTRONIC notarization. K.S.A. 53-5a23(a): ‘Before a notary public performs the notary public’s initial notarial act with respect to an electronic record, a notary public shall pass an examination administered by the secretary of state or an entity approved by the secretary of state. The examination shall be based on the course of study described in subsection (b).’ That section ‘shall take effect on and after January 1, 2022’ (53-5a23(c)). K.S.A. 53-5a21(b) makes proof of passing part of the electronic-notarization notification, and K.S.A. 53-5a22(a)(3) makes ’evidence of completion of the course of study and passing of the examination required by K.S.A. 53-5a23 … if required’ an application component. ADMINISTRATION AND COST: the Secretary of State provides both training and test on its own website ‘at no cost’, self-paced, and ‘A certificate will generate upon successful completion of the test that the notary must submit as part of their RON registration.’ RETAKES ARE UNLIMITED: ‘A notary may take the examination as many times as needed to pass’ (Kansas Notary Handbook p. 21). NO PASSING SCORE, question count or time limit is published in K.S.A. 53-5a23, on the SOS notary page or in the Handbook (searched 2026-08-12). The Handbook notes that any notary may take the training and exam voluntarily: ‘any current notary or notary applicant who does not intend to provide IPEN or RON also may complete the training and examination for their own benefit.’
Your surety bond
A $12,000 assurance is mandatory for every Kansas notary. K.S.A. 53-5a22(a)(2) requires the application to include ‘an assurance in the form of a surety bond or its functional equivalent in the amount of $12,000 that shall be issued by a surety or other entity licensed or authorized to do business in this state.’ The Secretary of State states it as a bond and adds filing mechanics: ‘Kansas law requires a notary to be bonded for $12,000. The bond must be a commercial surety bond from an insurance company licensed in Kansas. The insurance company must complete section C of the NO form or the NO-S form … A copy of the surety bond does not replace this requirement.’ TERM: ‘The surety bond shall be written for a term of four years, covering the dates of the notary’s commission as set by the Kansas Secretary of State’ — and the SOS warns that the appointment dates are ‘set by the Secretary of State (not the insurance company issuing the surety bond).’ The amount changed on January 1, 2022: ‘The increased bond amount is applicable to all notary applicants after January 1, 2022. An application filed on or before December 31, 2021 need only have a $7,500 surety bond through the remainder of that appointment.’ LIABILITY AND CANCELLATION (K.S.A. 53-5a22(d)-(e)): the surety is liable for the notary’s violations; no suit lies more than three years after the cause of action accrues; the surety must give the SOS 30 days’ notice before cancelling and must report a payment or denial of a claim within 30 days; the SOS then notifies the notary that without a replacement assurance by the cancellation date the notary ‘will no longer be authorized to perform notarial acts within this state’; and ‘A notary public may perform notarial acts in this state only during the period that a valid assurance is on file with the secretary of state.’ An injured person may sue the notary directly (53-5a22(e)). ERRORS & OMISSIONS INSURANCE IS NOT REQUIRED and is not mentioned as optional in any Kansas source read — searched K.S.A. 53-5a22, Form NO and its instructions, the SOS notary page and the Kansas Notary Handbook on 2026-08-12. A SEPARATE BOND IS NOT REQUIRED FOR ELECTRONIC WORK: ‘A separate bond is not required for an applicant who is also registering to perform IPEN or RON’ (Handbook p. 10). The Handbook also records that the commission and its supplies belong to the notary, and ‘If the employer cancels the notary’s surety bond, the notary may purchase a new bond to continue their commission.’
Fees
AGENCY-CHARGED (Kansas Secretary of State, read 2026-08-12): notary appointment or renewal application $25 — the SOS notary page instructs the applicant to ‘pay the $25 application fee by credit card to the Secretary of State’s Office’, and Form NO (Rev. 9/18/25) states ‘This appointment form must be submitted by mail with the filing fee’ and ‘Submit this form with the $25 filing fee for the notary appointment form.’ Renewal: ‘Appointments are renewed by completing all steps required for initial application (see above). The fee is $25.’ RON registration: ‘A fee of $20 is required’ (SOS Requirements to provide RON, step 3). Name change: ‘There is no fee for a name change’ (Kansas Notary Handbook p. 15). CONFLICT WITH THE STATUTE — RECORDED BOTH WAYS: K.S.A. 53-5a22(a)(5) requires the application to include ‘an application fee in the amount of $10’, while the agency’s live page and its current application form both charge $25. Neither source explains the difference, and no separate statutory or regulatory surcharge naming the extra $15 was found (searched K.S.A. 53-5a22, the SOS notary page, Form NO and its instructions, and the Handbook on 2026-08-12; the Kansas Administrative Regulations viewer at sos.ks.gov could not be fetched —. This is the code-versus-live-form divergence the site has been burned by before, and it is left unresolved here on purpose. The $20 RON fee, by contrast, DOES reconcile with its statute: K.S.A. 53-5a21(b) requires a notary notifying the SOS about electronic-record notarization to ‘pay an information and services fee in an amount determined by the secretary of state adopted in rules and regulations, not to exceed $25’ — $20 sits inside that cap. PRIVATE COSTS THE STATE NEITHER SETS NOR COLLECTS: the $12,000 surety bond premium; the stamping device (‘Notary stamps are not provided by the Secretary of State. Stamps may be purchased at office supply stores, through online stores, and notary associations’); the notary journal; and for IPEN/RON the technology provider’s platform fee, the electronic stamp and the digital certificate. The SOS’s own training and examination for IPEN/RON are free.
How long the commission lasts, and renewing it
- K.S.A. 53-5a22(f): ‘The secretary of state shall issue a commission as a notary public to an applicant for a term of four years, unless sooner revoked under K.S.A. 53-5a24 … if such applicant complies with the provisions of this section.’ The term runs from the appointment dates the Secretary of State assigns on approval, NOT from the bond’s dates and not from the application — the SOS is explicit: ‘The appointment dates are set by the Secretary of State (not the insurance company issuing the surety bond) and the appointment expiration date may be found online (Notary Search) in the notary listing or on the notary certificate,’ and ‘An applicant may not notarize documents until their appointment status is active online and they have a notary appointment expiration date.’ The $12,000 bond must be written for the same four-year period ‘covering the dates of the notary’s commission as set by the Kansas Secretary of State.’ A RON registration carries no separate term: it ‘runs concurrent with the notary’s four-year commission.’ A commission ends early on resignation (effective on delivery of the notice, K.S.A. 53-5a22(j)), on revocation, or if the assurance lapses. There is no renewal in the light-touch sense — Kansas requires a NEW application every four years. K.S.A. 53-5a22(k): ‘A notary public’s commission may not be automatically renewed. A notary public who desires to renew a commission shall be qualified and apply for a new commission pursuant to this section.’ The Handbook says the same and adds timing advice: ‘A notary who wants to renew a commission must meet the qualifications to be a notary and apply for a new commission using Form NO. Notaries are encouraged to submit an application to renew a commission up to 90 days prior to their commission expiration date to ensure the notary’s ability to notarize is uninterrupted.’ The SOS page confirms the mechanics and the price: ‘Appointments are renewed by completing all steps required for initial application (see above). The fee is $25’ — meaning a fresh $12,000 four-year bond and a fresh stamp impression each cycle. NO CONTINUING EDUCATION and no re-examination is imposed at renewal, even for IPEN/RON notaries, by K.S.A. 53-5a22, 53-5a23 or the Handbook (searched 2026-08-12) — though a renewing notary who wants to keep IPEN/RON must re-register those permissions against the new commission, because the electronic stamp must carry the current commission number and the registration is concurrent with the commission. NO GRACE PERIOD after expiration is published in any of those tiers. NO CONTINUING EDUCATION is required of Kansas notaries. K.S.A. 53-5a22 imposes none for the commission or its renewal, and K.S.A. 53-5a23 requires the course of study and examination only ONCE, ‘Before a notary public performs the notary public’s initial notarial act with respect to an electronic record.’ The Kansas Notary Handbook’s renewal section describes reapplication with Form NO and the qualifications only, and neither the SOS notary page nor the Handbook mentions periodic education. Tiers searched 2026-08-12: K.S.A. 53-5a20 through 53-5a25, the SOS Notary page in full, Form NO and its instructions (Rev. 9/18/25), and the Kansas Notary Handbook (Updated July 20, 2022). The practical effect is that a renewing IPEN/RON notary re-registers those permissions against the new commission but is not put through a fresh course by any provision found; whether the Secretary of State requires the training certificate again at re-registration is NOT stated in any tier read, and this record does not claim either way.
Your seal or stamp
A stamp is mandatory and must be on file with the state BEFORE use. K.S.A. 53-5a18(a): ‘The official stamp of a notary public shall include the notary public’s name exactly as it appears on the application for commission as a notary public, the words “notary public” and “State of Kansas”, and other information required by the secretary of state, and be capable of being copied together with the record to which it is affixed or attached or with which it is logically associated. No notary public shall use such stamp unless an impression thereof has been filed in the office of the secretary of state.’ The SOS allows either form of device: ‘Purchase a notary stamping device, either an ink stamp or an impression seal. A copy of the stamp or an impression capable of being copied (generally with the use of ink or foil seals) of the impression seal must be submitted with the application.’ The Handbook adds that the paper stamp ‘May contain the notary’s commission expiration date or a space for the notary to write in this date’, and its notarial-certificate checklist treats the expiration date as required content one way or the other. THE ELECTRONIC STAMP IS DIFFERENT AND STRICTER — for IPEN or RON it must include the notary’s name as on the commission, the words ‘State of Kansas’ and ’notary public’, THE COMMISSION NUMBER, and the COMMISSION EXPIRATION DATE, and must be capable of being copied with the record; it is obtained from a notary technology provider, an image must be filed with the SOS on Form NC, and ‘A notary shall not use an electronic stamp unless a copy of the stamp has been filed with the Secretary of State’ (Handbook p. 11). No shape, size or ink colour is prescribed by K.S.A. 53-5a18 or the Handbook (searched 2026-08-12) — but the SOS gives shape ADVICE for replacements: ‘When obtaining a stamping device to replace one that has been lost or stolen, notaries are encouraged to select a stamp that is different from their previous stamp (i.e. round vs. rectangle) to help deter fraudulent use.’ MULTIPLE STAMPS ARE ALLOWED, and ‘All tangible and electronic stamps that a notary uses must be on file with the Secretary of State’ (Form NC). SECURITY (K.S.A. 53-5a19): the notary is responsible for the device and ‘shall not allow another individual to use the device’; a lost or stolen device must be reported promptly to the SOS. NAME CHANGE (K.S.A. 53-5a22(h)): the notary must obtain a NEW stamp bearing the new name and, before performing any further notarial act, mail or deliver to the SOS notice of the change with a specimen of the new stamp and new signature; ‘A notary may not notarize under their new name before the change is processed by the secretary of state. After a notary’s name is changed, the notary may not notarize under the former name.’ RESIGNATION: ‘A notary who has resigned is required to destroy any notary stamp(s) or make the stamp(s) unable to be used’, and should ask the digital-certificate provider to revoke the certificate (Handbook p. 15).
Keeping a journal
Kansas requires a notary journal.
MANDATORY FOR EVERY NOTARIAL ACT since January 1, 2022 — this is the single biggest change SB 106 made and the fact most likely to be stale on any older page. K.S.A. 53-5a20(a): ‘A notary public shall maintain a journal in which the notary public chronicles all notarial acts that the notary public performs. The notary public shall retain the journal for 10 years after the performance of the last notarial act chronicled in the journal.’ FORMAT (53-5a20(b)): tangible or electronic; ‘A notary public shall maintain only one journal in a tangible medium or one or more journals in an electronic format to chronicle all notarial acts performed regarding electronic records.’ A paper journal ‘shall be a permanent, bound register with numbered pages’; an electronic journal ‘shall be in a permanent, tamper-evident electronic format complying with the rules and regulations of the secretary of state’, with a secure backup and the ability to print entries (Handbook p. 12). TIMING AND CONTENT (53-5a20(c)): ‘An entry in a journal shall be made contemporaneously with performance of the notarial act’ and must contain the date and time of the act; a description of the record, if any, and the type of notarial act; the full name and address of each individual for whom the act is performed; if identity rests on personal knowledge, a statement to that effect; if identity rests on satisfactory evidence, a brief description of the method of identification and the credential presented, including its issuance and expiration dates; and the fee, if any, charged. (The Handbook renders this list with the softer verb ‘should record’; the statute says ‘shall’.) LOSS: a lost or stolen journal must be reported promptly to the Secretary of State (53-5a20(d)). END OF COMMISSION (53-5a20(e)-(g)): on resignation, revocation or suspension the notary keeps the journal for the retention period and tells the SOS where it is (Form NC); a personal representative or guardian must do the same on death or adjudication of incompetency. REPOSITORIES — TWO AGENCY SOURCES CONFLICT: the statute permits transmitting the journal ’to a repository approved by the secretary of state’ (53-5a20(f)), and the Handbook says ‘Notaries should choose a repository from the list of providers on file with Secretary of State’ — but the SOS’s live notary page states ‘A notary may transfer their journal to the Secretary of State for retention using form NC. Only the notary or the Kansas Secretary of State may retain the journal as of Jan 1, 2022. No other journal repositories are approved, including the notary’s employer.’ Both are official; the live page is narrower than the statute and the Handbook (July 20, 2022). Recorded both ways, unresolved. RON adds a second record: the electronic journal AND the audio-visual recording must both be retained ‘for at least 10 years after the last notarial act and recording is made’ (Handbook p. 19).
Online (remote) notarization
Kansas authorizes remote online notarization, and it requires a registration separate from your commission.
Authorized since JANUARY 1, 2022. The authorizing act is 2021 Senate Bill 106, enacting the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts as K.S.A. 53-5a01 et seq.; the SOS describes it as: ‘During the 2021 legislative session, the Kansas Legislature approved SB 106 implementing the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (RULONA), which permits a Kansas notary to provide remote online notarizations (RON) and makes the key changes outlined below to Kansas notary law effective January 1, 2022.’ The operative section is K.S.A. 53-5a15 (notarial act performed for a remotely located individual); registration flows through K.S.A. 53-5a21 (notification, technology selection) and K.S.A. 53-5a23 (course and examination). RON IS OPTIONAL: ‘A Kansas notary is not required to provide remote online notarizations.’ TERRITORIAL RULE: ‘A Kansas notary shall not perform a notarization for a remotely located individual if the notary is not physically located in Kansas at the time of the notarization’ — the signer may be anywhere. THE SOS’S THREE REGISTRATION STEPS, verbatim in substance: (1) ‘Select an RON Provider’ — ‘A notary must choose a RON platform provider that is on file with the Secretary of State’, and the platform must supply audio-visual communication, identity verification, electronic signing, the electronic notarial stamp and an electronic journal; the notary must also ‘obtain a digital certificate that verifies the notary’s identity and, once a document is notarized, makes the document tamper evident.’ (2) ‘Complete Notary Training and Pass a Test’ — free, self-paced, provided by the SOS, generating a certificate the notary must submit. (3) ‘Notify the Secretary of State That the Notary Intends to Perform RONs’ — file Form NC identifying the provider, upload the training certificate, and pay ‘$20’. Sequencing matters: ‘The electronic stamp used to perform RON must contain the notary’s current Kansas notary commission number; therefore, a person must apply to be a tangible notary and obtain a commission number before they can apply for RON permissions.’ The registration ‘runs concurrent with the notary’s four-year commission.’ PROCESS AND RECORDS (Handbook pp. 18-20): identity is verified by knowledge-based authentication questions and credential analysis before the notary is connected; the audio-visual link must have ‘sufficient video resolution and audio clarity’; ‘If at any point during the notarization session the signer must exit the session, the session must be restarted from the beginning, including the identity verification process’; the electronic certificate must add a statement substantially as ‘This notarial act involved the use of communication technology’; the recording must at minimum capture confirmation that identity verification and credential analysis succeeded, visual confirmation of the credential, and the notarial act itself; and both the electronic journal and the recordings must be protected by password or other secure means, backed up, and retained at least 10 years. SIGNERS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES: a RON for an individual abroad is permitted only where the record is to be filed with or relates to a matter before a U.S. public official, court or entity, or involves property in or a transaction substantially connected with the United States (Handbook p. 19). KANSAS ALSO REGULATES IPEN SEPARATELY — in-person electronic notarization has its own registration with the same training, examination, electronic stamp filing and fee, which most summaries of Kansas law collapse into RON. The SOS publishes an approved RON/IPEN provider list (sos.ks.gov/general-services/notary_public/RON-Vendor-List.pdf) and a provider application; the provider names themselves were NOT captured for this record.
What you may charge
KANSAS SETS NO MAXIMUM FEE PER NOTARIAL ACT — it regulates the DISCLOSURE of the fee instead. Kansas Notary Handbook p. 10: ‘State law does not prohibit a notary from charging a fee for a notarial act. However, a notary who charges a fee for a notarial act must comply with the requirements in state regulation which states the fee must be: Disclosed to the signer and agreed to by the signer before the notarial act is performed. Disclosed to the signer that a fee is permitted but is not required by state law or regulation. Collected at the time the notarial act is performed, and Recorded in the notary’s journal.’ The SOS notary page attributes those four conditions to K.A.R. 7-43-16: ‘By regulation, a notary is permitted to charge a fee for a notarization.’ The journal-entry statute reinforces the last condition by requiring ’the fee, if any, charged by the notary public’ in every entry (K.S.A. 53-5a20(c)(6)). NO TRAVEL-FEE RULE and no per-act dollar ceiling appears in K.S.A. 53-5a01 et seq., on the SOS notary page or in the Handbook (searched 2026-08-12). CAVEAT ON THE REGULATION ITSELF: the text of K.A.R. 7-43-16 could NOT be read — the Kansas Administrative Regulations viewer at sos.ks.gov returned an access denial to automated access and WebFetch and 404 through a browser-imitating client on 2026-08-12 — so the four conditions above are quoted from the Secretary of State’s own summary of the regulation, not from the regulation’s text. If the regulation contains a ceiling the agency did not summarise, this field would be wrong; that risk is disclosed rather than hidden.
Who does NOT need a commission — exemptions
Kansas does not publish a list of ex officio state officials who may notarize without a commission; what K.S.A. 53-5a01 et seq. and the Handbook address is the RECOGNITION of acts by notarial officers of other jurisdictions and under federal law. A notarial act performed in another state or under the authority of a federally recognized Indian tribe has the same effect as one performed in Kansas if performed by ‘A notary public of that state or of the tribe; a judge, clerk or deputy clerk of a court of that state or of the tribe; or any other individual authorized by the laws of that state or the laws of the tribe to perform the notarial act.’ A notarial act under FEDERAL law has the same effect if performed by ‘A judge, clerk or deputy clerk of a court; an individual in military service or performing duties under the authority of military service who is authorized to perform notarial acts under federal law; an individual designated a notarizing officer by the United States department of state for performing notarial acts overseas; or any other individual authorized by federal law to perform the notarial act’ (Kansas Notary Handbook p. 3, tracking K.S.A. 53-5a11 through 53-5a13). The Handbook’s certificate guidance repeats the point: ‘The certificate must identify the title of office of the notarial officer. The officer may be notary or clerk of the court. The notarial officer may also be an individual in a military service or performing duties under the authority of a military service, in which case the individual’s rank or position should be’ identified. That is the closest any Kansas source read comes to 10 U.S.C. 1044a — the federal statute is never cited by number in K.S.A. ch. 53, the SOS notary page or the Handbook (searched 2026-08-12), so this record claims nothing more about it. CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST BAR, applying to every notary: ‘A notary may not perform a notarial act if the notary or the notary’s spouse is a party to or has a direct financial or beneficial interest in the document’ (K.S.A. 53-5a25(4)(b)); the Handbook defines the direct financial interest by naming the roles (principal to the transaction; grantor, grantee, mortgagor, mortgagee, trustor, trustee, beneficiary, vendor, vendee, lessor or lessee in a real property transaction) and expressly excludes acting ‘in the capacity of an agent, employee, insurer, attorney, escrow agent or lender for a person having a direct financial or beneficial interest.’ NO SOURCE READ identifies any Kansas act that requires no notary at all, or any Kansas official commissioned automatically by virtue of office.
How to apply
Applications are handled by Kansas Secretary of State (Scott Schwab) — Business Services Division, Notary Section. Start at the official application page .
Verify a license in Kansas
Kansas Secretary of State publishes a public license search , searchable by last name, first name, commission number or city. It covers Kansas notary commissions — the Secretary of State states that on approval it ‘will list the notary’s status, appointment expiration date and current commission number on the online notary listing’, and directs notaries themselves to the same tool to find their appointment expiration date. The four search fields above were read from the live page’s own labels on 2026-08-12 (‘Last Name:’, ‘First Name:’, ‘Commission Number:’, ‘City:’, each with a Starts With / Contains matching option). The page is an ASP.NET WebForms application whose results are returned by a __VIEWSTATE postback, so no result URL can be cited and an automated monitor sees only the empty search form.
Records come from Kansas Secretary of State’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.