How to Become a Notary in Louisiana — Requirements & Fees

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

Source-verified

Requirements below are drawn from Louisiana Secretary of State, Notary Division (the commission itself is issued by the Governor under La. R.S. 35:201; the Secretary of State administers qualification, examination, bonding and the notary database) (official site) and last verified August 12, 2026. Boards change fees and rules often — confirm before acting.

Requirements at a glance

1) File an Application to Qualify with the Secretary of State ($35 qualifying fee; R.S. 35:191(C)(1)(c) sets the fee at 'thirty-five dollars'). The application requires the applicant to attest to good moral character, integrity and sober habits, and is filed under a sworn statement; if the answers call the applicant's character into question the SOS submits the application to the district court of the parish for judicial review and a certificate of fitness (R.S. 35:191(C)(1)(b)). 2) After approval, take the mandatory online Notary Exam Pre-Assessment ($30), administered through the LSU Office of Testing and Evaluation Services -- 'This test is an evaluation and does not require a passing score for you to register for the state notary exam' (SOS Application Process). It is taken once and scores never expire. The pre-assessment 'shall be dispensed with' for Louisiana-licensed attorneys and current commission holders (R.S. 35:191(C)(2)(c)). 3) Register for and pass the state notary examination ($100 registration fee; R.S. 35:191.1(B)(1)). 4) File commission documents: an administered Oath of Office, an Official Signature form, and a $50,000 notary surety bond or personal surety bond (R.S. 35:201(A); SOS FAQ). Attorney applicants also file a letter of good standing from the Louisiana Supreme Court. 5) The Governor issues the commission on production of the certificate (if applicable), oath, bond and official signature (R.S. 35:201(A)); the documents are then deposited with the Secretary of State (R.S. 35:201(B)). DEADLINES: the Application to Qualify, pre-assessment and examination registration must all be completed 30 days before the exam, and the pre-assessment 37 days before (SOS Application Process and Get Exam Information pages); R.S. 35:191(C)(1)(d) sets the statutory application deadline at 'no later than thirty days prior to the date of the examination.' You may begin notarizing on your commission date without waiting for the paper certificate (SOS FAQ).

Legal basis

Louisiana Secretary of State, Notary Division (the commission itself is issued by the Governor under La. R.S. 35:201; the Secretary of State administers qualification, examination, bonding and the notary database) commissions notaries public in Louisiana. Every figure below is verified against the commissioning authority’s own official pages and dated.

What it’s called

The statutory noun is ’notary public’, and what the state confers is a COMMISSION, not a licence – La. R.S. 35:201 is headed ‘Granting of commission; prerequisites’ and the SOS FAQ asks ‘When does a Louisiana notary’s commission expire?’. Note the state’s own usage is not uniform: the SOS navigation labels the entry point ‘Become a Notary – Learn requirements and apply to become a licensed notary public.’ Folk terms: ’notary license’, ’notary certification’ and ‘becoming a notary in Louisiana’ are common lay phrasings, none of which is the statutory noun. In Louisiana the term ’notary’ names something substantially broader than in other states: a Louisiana notary passes authentic acts, and R.S. 35:199 makes the notary responsible for recording acts of sale, exchange, donation and mortgage of immovable property. R.S. 35:12(C) protects the title itself: ‘No person other than a regularly commissioned notary public shall use the title “Notary Public”.’ A ’notary signing agent’ or ’loan signing agent’ is a private, vendor-issued designation; no source read on 2026-08-12 (Title 35 section list, R.S. 35:12, 191, 199-202, or the SOS notary pages) shows Louisiana issuing, recognising or requiring any such credential.

Types of notary commission

Notary public commission (parish-based) — Non-attorney applicants who qualify, pass the state notary examination, post bond and take the oath La. R.S. 35:191(A)(1): ‘Any person may be appointed a notary public in and for the parish in which he resides and in and for any one other parish in which he maintains an office.’ Jurisdiction is parish-based by default, but La. R.S. 35:191(P)(1)(b) gives statewide functions to any validly appointed notary who took and passed the written examination under R.S. 35:191.1 ‘on or after June 13, 2005’. Numerous subsections (D, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, Q, R and following) also create reciprocal parish groups in which a notary may act without additional bonding or examination.
Attorney notary (Louisiana-licensed attorney) — Persons licensed to practice law in Louisiana The pre-assessment and the examination ‘shall be dispensed with if the applicant has been duly admitted to practice law in this state or holds a valid notarial commission in this state’ (R.S. 35:191(C)(2)(c) and (C)(3)(c)). Under R.S. 35:191(P)(1)(a), a Louisiana-licensed attorney who is a notary in any parish ‘may exercise the functions of a notary public in every parish in this state.’ The SOS FAQ adds that an attorney-notary must still transfer the commission on a change of parish of residence. Attorney applicants file commission documents including a letter of good standing from the Louisiana Supreme Court (SOS Application Process page).
Non-resident attorney ex officio notary — Attorneys who are not Louisiana residents SOS Ex-officio Status page, citing La. R.S. 35:412: requires the Application for Non-Resident Ex officio, an executed Oath of Office, a certificate of good standing from the Louisiana Supreme Court issued within the past 30 days, an Official Signature form, a $50,000 notary bond and a $35 filing fee.
Remote online notarization (RON) authorization — An already-commissioned Louisiana notary who wants to notarize for remotely located signers A separate authorization on top of an existing commission, not a separate commission. La. R.S. 35:625.1(A): ‘Only a regularly commissioned notary public who holds a valid notarial commission in the state of Louisiana may be authorized by the secretary of state to perform remote online notarization.’ Registration opened February 1, 2022 (SOS RON Requirements page).

Who can be commissioned

La. R.S. 35:191(A)(1) and (B), restated on the SOS Application Process page. The applicant must: be a resident citizen or alien of Louisiana; be 18 years of age or older; read, write, speak and be sufficiently knowledgeable of the English language; hold a high school diploma, a diploma for completion of a home study program approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, or a high school equivalency diploma; not be under interdiction or incapable of serving because of mental infirmity; and not have been convicted of a felony, ‘or if convicted of a felony, has been pardoned.’ A resident citizen seeking appointment in the parish of residence ‘must be a registered voter of that parish’ (R.S. 35:191(B)) – Louisiana is one of the few states that conditions a notary commission on voter registration. A commission is tied to the parish of residence: ‘if you change your parish of residence you must change your commission to that parish’, and this is true even between reciprocal parishes and even for attorney-notaries with statewide powers (SOS FAQ). An out-of-state notary commission cannot be transferred in: ‘This exam cannot be waived because you were a notary in another state’ (SOS FAQ).

Requirements

File an Application to Qualify with the Secretary of State ($35 qualifying fee; R.S. 35:191(C)(1)(c) sets the fee at ’thirty-five dollars’). The application requires the applicant to attest to good moral character, integrity and sober habits, and is filed under a sworn statement; if the answers call the applicant’s character into question the SOS submits the application to the district court of the parish for judicial review and a certificate of fitness (R.S. 35:191(C)(1)(b)). 2) After approval, take the mandatory online Notary Exam Pre-Assessment ($30), administered through the LSU Office of Testing and Evaluation Services – ‘This test is an evaluation and does not require a passing score for you to register for the state notary exam’ (SOS Application Process). It is taken once and scores never expire. The pre-assessment ‘shall be dispensed with’ for Louisiana-licensed attorneys and current commission holders (R.S. 35:191(C)(2)(c)). 3) Register for and pass the state notary examination ($100 registration fee; R.S. 35:191.1(B)(1)). 4) File commission documents: an administered Oath of Office, an Official Signature form, and a $50,000 notary surety bond or personal surety bond (R.S. 35:201(A); SOS FAQ). Attorney applicants also file a letter of good standing from the Louisiana Supreme Court. 5) The Governor issues the commission on production of the certificate (if applicable), oath, bond and official signature (R.S. 35:201(A)); the documents are then deposited with the Secretary of State (R.S. 35:201(B)). DEADLINES: the Application to Qualify, pre-assessment and examination registration must all be completed 30 days before the exam, and the pre-assessment 37 days before (SOS Application Process and Get Exam Information pages); R.S. 35:191(C)(1)(d) sets the statutory application deadline at ’no later than thirty days prior to the date of the examination.’ You may begin notarizing on your commission date without waiting for the paper certificate (SOS FAQ).

Training

Louisiana requires training for some commission types.

NO course or class is required for the ordinary commission: ‘No class or course is required by law’ (SOS FAQ) and ‘No course or class is required by law in order for you to take the exam’ (SOS Application Process). Exam-preparation providers must register annually with the Secretary of State, must themselves be commissioned notaries with statewide notarial authority (since February 28, 2015) and, unless they are state higher-education institutions, must post a $25,000 surety bond (La. R.S. 35:191.4(B)-(D)); the SOS publishes a Notary Education Provider Registry but states ‘Although the secretary of state does not recommend particular courses or instructors, we maintain a list of registered and bonded notary exam preparation course providers.’ TRAINING IS REQUIRED FOR RON: to be authorized for remote online notarization a commissioned notary must ‘Complete an online instruction course and pass a quiz’ and upload the PDF certificate of completion (SOS RON Requirements page), which implements R.S. 35:625.1(B) (‘complete any course of instruction required by the secretary of state’). The SOS does not publish an hour count for the RON course on the RON Requirements page.

Exam

Louisiana requires an exam.

Required by La. R.S. 35:191(C)(3)(a) for all applicants except those ‘duly admitted to practice law in this state’ or holding a valid Louisiana notarial commission (R.S. 35:191(C)(3)(c)). Administered by the Secretary of State. Format, from the SOS Get Exam Information page: ‘The examination is administered by computer in a four-hour sitting’; items are general-knowledge and scenario-based; ‘To pass, applicants must achieve a scaled score of 70 (of 100) on the examination.’ All items come from The Louisiana Notary Public Examination Official Study Guide 2026 – Fundamentals of Louisiana Notarial Law and Practice, published by the SOS, and applicants may bring the 2026 edition into the testing room (earlier editions are prohibited and using one ‘is considered an act of cheating’). Fee: $100 per examination (R.S. 35:191.1(B)(1): ‘Charge a fee of one hundred dollars for each examinee’); the study guide is a separate $100 (R.S. 35:191.1(B)(2)). Frequency: ‘The notary examination shall be given not less than twice per year’ (R.S. 35:191(C)(3)(b)(i)). A qualified candidate may register for any exam within one year of approval with no further application fee, but must pay the exam fee each time (R.S. 35:191(C)(3)(b)(iii)). CONFLICT ON EXAM LOCATION, RECORDED BOTH WAYS: R.S. 35:191.1(A) says the standards ‘shall be administered at regional testing centers by the secretary of state’ and the SOS FAQ says ‘The Secretary of State administers the exam regionally at least twice a year’, but the SOS Get Exam Information page states ‘All notary exams are offered at LSU Baton Rouge only.’ A separate, mandatory Notary Exam Pre-Assessment ($30, LSU Office of Testing and Evaluation Services, made mandatory for non-attorney applicants by Act 610 of the 2014 Regular Session) must be completed first, but has no minimum passing score.

Your surety bond

$50,000. La. R.S. 35:71(A) (current text as displayed by the Louisiana State Legislature on 2026-08-12): the notary’s authority remains in effect ‘provided that the notary posts and maintains bond, with good and solvent security, in the amount of fifty thousand dollars conditioned on the faithful performance of all duties required by law.’ The bond is filed with and kept on file with the Secretary of State (R.S. 35:71(B)) and is one of the four items the Governor requires before issuing the commission (R.S. 35:201(A)(3)). The SOS FAQ agrees: ‘Notary Surety Bonds and Personal Surety Bonds are required by law to be in the amount of $50,000.’ RENEWAL: ‘All notaries shall renew their bonds every five years except those notaries who are bonded with a personal surety’ (R.S. 35:71(D)(1)); a personal surety bond runs until cancellation or the death of the surety (SOS FAQ), and a $20 filing fee applies. Failure to renew or file automatically suspends the commission of any non-attorney notary (R.S. 35:71(E)). ERRORS AND OMISSIONS INSURANCE IS NOT AN ALTERNATIVE UNDER CURRENT LAW, AND THIS IS A RECENT CHANGE: the version of R.S. 35:71 captured by the Internet Archive on 2021-11-30 read ‘in the amount of ten thousand dollars … or that the notary maintains a minimum of ten thousand dollars in errors and omissions insurance coverage’, and its act history ended with Acts 2006, No. 796. The current text drops every reference to insurance and raises the amount to $50,000; the only amendment listed after the archived version is Acts 2025, No. 258, eff. Feb. 1, 2026. E&O insurance is a private product; no source read on 2026-08-12 (R.S. 35:71, R.S. 35:201, the SOS forms and fee schedule, or the SOS FAQ) requires a Louisiana notary to carry it. Non-resident attorney ex officio notaries also post a $50,000 bond (SOS Ex-officio Status page, citing R.S. 35:412).

Fees

From the Secretary of State’s published Notary Forms & Fee Schedule (https://www.sos.la.gov/notary/forms-fee-schedule) , read 2026-08-12: Application to Qualify for Appointment as Notary Public $35; Application for Non Resident Ex Officio Status $35; Commission Fee $20; Certificate of Notary Commission $35; Name Change $35; Notary Bond Renewal $20; Notary Exam Pre-Assessment $30; Notary Public Examination Registration $100; Notary Study Guide $100; Remote Online Notary Registration $100; Replacement ID Card $3; Replacement Notary Certificate $15. Credit card payments carry an additional statutory convenience fee of $5. The Notary Surety Bond ($50,000), Oath of Office, Official Notarial Signature Form, Personal Surety Bond ($50,000) and Retirement Status Affidavit are listed as forms with no SOS fee. STATUTORY CROSS-CHECK: the $35 application fee is fixed by R.S. 35:191(C)(1)(c) and the $100 exam fee and $100 study guide by R.S. 35:191.1(B). CONFLICT BETWEEN TWO OFFICIAL SOS PAGES, RECORDED BOTH WAYS: the Fee Schedule lists ‘Commission Fee $20’ and ‘Certificate of Notary Commission $35’, while the SOS FAQ (‘What do I do after I pass the exam?’) lists a ‘$35 commission filing fee’ among the documents required for commissioning. ANNUAL REPORT FEE: not itemized on the SOS notary fee schedule; R.S. 35:191.2(3) authorizes the SOS to ‘Collect a fee for receiving and processing the annual report of each notary, not to exceed twenty-five dollars per report’, and R.S. 35:202(B) authorizes a late fee ’not to exceed fifty dollars.’ No county/parish recording fee is charged to obtain the commission – the commission is filed with the Secretary of State, not a parish clerk (R.S. 35:201(B)). Louisiana does not set a seal or stamp fee because no seal is required (see seal_requirements). FUTURE-EFFECTIVE NOTICE ON THE SAME PAGES: a site-wide banner reads ‘Effective October 1, 2026, the fees for the Commercial Division of the Secretary of State will increase in accordance with Act 921 of the 2026 Regular Legislative Session’; that banner names the Commercial Division, and the notary fee table shown on 2026-08-12 is the one reproduced above.

How long the commission lasts, and renewing it

No fixed term – a Louisiana notary commission does not expire. SOS FAQ, ‘When does a Louisiana notary’s commission expire?’: ‘Notaries in Louisiana are commissioned for life pursuant to Attorney General Opinion 1940-42.’ The commission runs from the commission date (which the notary can look up in the Notary Public Database) rather than from receipt of the paper certificate: ‘No, you may start on your commission date’ (SOS FAQ). What is periodic is not the term but the upkeep: an annual report on the anniversary of the commission (R.S. 35:202(A)) and bond renewal every five years (R.S. 35:71(D)(1)). Both failures suspend, rather than expire, the commission (R.S. 35:202(C); R.S. 35:71(E)). Interim appointments requiring Senate confirmation are the one time-limited case (R.S. 35:201(C)). There is no renewal of the commission itself. Instead: (a) ANNUAL REPORT – ‘all regularly commissioned non-attorney notaries shall file an annual report with the secretary of state on or before the anniversary date of his commission … together with payment of the filing fee’ (R.S. 35:202(A)); the SOS mails or transmits the form at least 60 days before the anniversary (R.S. 35:191.2(2)(a)). Late filing draws a late fee of up to $50 (R.S. 35:202(B)), and failure to file within 60 days after the due date automatically suspends the commission until the report is filed and all accrued fees and late charges are paid, for a period not to exceed three years (R.S. 35:202(C)). (b) BOND RENEWAL every five years, $20 filing fee (R.S. 35:71(D)(1); SOS fee schedule). The SOS FAQ confirms what a lapse looks like from outside: ‘The suspended status refers to an expired bond or a past due annual report.’ Attorneys are excluded from the annual report duty by the words ’non-attorney notaries’ in R.S. 35:202(A). LEAVE AND RETIREMENT: a notary on a governor-granted leave of absence under R.S. 35:131 or 132 is not subject to those fees or penalties (R.S. 35:202(F)); a non-attorney notary aged 70 or older may elect a retired ‘special commission status’ by written request and affidavit and is then not required to maintain a bond or file an annual report, resuming by filing a current annual report with fees and posting bond in the amount then required by law (R.S. 35:202(G); the SOS fee schedule lists a Retirement Status Affidavit form). Address changes must be reported within 60 days (R.S. 35:191.3(A)). A name change requires a new oath, a changed bond, an official signature page and a name change affidavit with a $35 fee (SOS FAQ). No continuing education is required to keep a Louisiana notary commission. What recurs is administrative, not educational: the annual report (R.S. 35:202(A)) and the five-year bond renewal (R.S. 35:71(D)(1)). Tiers searched on 2026-08-12: the La. R.S. Title 35 section list (Chapters 1-5), R.S. 35:191, 191.1, 191.2, 191.3, 191.4, 199, 200, 201, 202 and 71 in full, and the SOS notary FAQ, Application Process, Get Exam Information, Exam Preparation, Forms & Fee Schedule and RON Requirements pages – none imposes continuing education on a commissioned notary. The only education obligations in Title 35 run the other way: exam-preparation PROVIDERS must register annually, be commissioned notaries with statewide authority and post a $25,000 bond (R.S. 35:191.4), and the SOS ‘may establish and require an annual professional development and education program for providers’ (R.S. 35:191.4(G)). A one-time course and quiz is required to be authorized for RON (SOS RON Requirements; R.S. 35:625.1(B)), but no source read states it repeats.

Your seal or stamp

Louisiana does not require a notary seal or stamp. SOS FAQ, ‘Are Louisiana notaries required to use a seal?’: ‘A Louisiana notary’s signature is his seal.’ What the law does require on the document is identification, not a seal: La. R.S. 35:12(A)(2) – ‘The notary shall type, print, or stamp his or her name as it appears on his or her commission’ – and R.S. 35:12(B) – ‘Every document notarized in this state shall bear the notary identification number assigned by the secretary of state, except that if the notary is an attorney licensed to practice law in this state, he may use his Louisiana state bar roll number in lieu of his notary identification number. The number shall be typed or printed legibly and placed next to the typed, printed, or stamped name of the notary.’ Consequence of omitting it: a clerk of court, recorder or register ‘may’ refuse a document filed on or after January 1, 2005 that lacks the notary identification or bar roll number and the typed/printed/stamped names, and no state office, agency, department or political subdivision ‘shall accept, file, or record’ such a document (R.S. 35:12(D)(1)-(2), with an exception for civil or criminal suit records). R.S. 35:12(C) also restricts the title: ‘No person other than a regularly commissioned notary public shall use the title “Notary Public”’, and ex officio notaries must indicate the actual position from which their authority derives plus their notary identification number. On a name change the notary executes a new oath, changes the bond and files an official signature page and name change affidavit with a $35 fee (SOS FAQ). NO STATE-SET STAMP DIMENSIONS, INK COLOR OR SHAPE were found; the tiers searched on 2026-08-12 were La. R.S. Title 35 (Chapters 1-4 section list), R.S. 35:12 in full, the SOS notary FAQ, the SOS Application Process page and the SOS Forms & Fee Schedule – none prescribes a seal, so none prescribes its form.

Keeping a journal

Louisiana requires a journal for some notarial acts.

Louisiana does not impose a general journal-of-all-notarial-acts duty of the kind most states impose; it imposes a record-book-and-recording duty for immovable (real) property acts. La. R.S. 35:199(A): ‘Notaries public shall record all acts of sale, exchange, donation, and mortgage of immovable property passed before them, together with all resolutions, powers of attorney, and other documents annexed to or made part of the acts, in their proper order, and after first making a careful record of the acts in record books to be kept for that purpose.’ Deadlines: for immovables outside Orleans Parish, record with the parish recorder ‘within fifteen days after they are passed’ (R.S. 35:199(A)(1)); in Orleans Parish, file with the custodian of notarial records and record with the register of conveyances or recorder of mortgages, and for an act of sale or transfer, register with the clerk as recorder ‘within forty-eight hours after the passage of the act’ (R.S. 35:199(A)(2)(a)-(b)); the original of essentially every authentic act passed before an Orleans Parish notary must first be filed in the notarial archives of Orleans Parish (R.S. 35:199(A)(2)(c)). Penalty: ‘All notaries who contravene the provisions of this Section shall be subject to a fine of two hundred dollars for each infraction’ plus damages (R.S. 35:199(C)). The duty is relieved when all parties direct the notary in writing to defer, refrain or deliver the instruments instead (R.S. 35:199(D)), and the section does not reach cemetery-plot instruments, inventories, partitions or acts done under court order (R.S. 35:199(B)). NO GENERAL RETENTION PERIOD OR SURRENDER RULE for a notary’s own record books was found in the sources read on 2026-08-12; tiers searched: the Title 35 section list (Chapters 1-4), R.S. 35:199 in full, R.S. 35:12, and the SOS notary FAQ, Application Process and Forms & Fee Schedule pages.

Online (remote) notarization

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

Authorized. The Remote Online Notarization Act, La. R.S. 35:621 et seq., was enacted by Acts 2020, No. 254; the SOS RON Requirements page states: ‘Due to the enactment of the Remote Online Notarization Act (R.S. 35:621 et. seq.), Louisiana began to allow notaries to register for remote online notarization (RON) on February 1, 2022.’ REGISTRATION IS SEPARATE AND REQUIRED: R.S. 35:625.1(A) ‘Only a regularly commissioned notary public who holds a valid notarial commission in the state of Louisiana may be authorized by the secretary of state to perform remote online notarization’, and (B) the notary ‘shall submit an application to the secretary of state in a format prescribed by the secretary of state, complete any course of instruction required by the secretary of state, and satisfy any other requirements imposed by rules’. The SOS lists four steps: complete an online instruction course and pass a quiz, obtaining a PDF certificate; choose a remote notary technology provider (the SOS publishes a List of Remote Notarization Technology Providers, and ‘The notary may select more than one provider’); file the RON registration through the online notary account with the certificate attached as a PDF – ‘The one-time filing fee is $100 and is unrelated to any fees charged by the provider’; and contract and pay the provider directly. Authorization then ‘shall continue as long as the notary public is validly commissioned’ unless revoked (R.S. 35:625.1(C)). LOCATION RULE: the notary must be physically located in a parish where the notary has power to act; the signer may be in or outside Louisiana; but ‘A witness to a remote online notarial act shall be in the physical presence of the party’ (R.S. 35:626(A), as amended by Acts 2022, No. 192). ACTS THAT MAY NOT BE DONE BY RON (R.S. 35:623(B)): testaments or codicils; trust instruments or acknowledgments thereof; donations inter vivos; matrimonial agreements or acknowledgments thereof; and acts modifying, waiving or extinguishing an obligation of final spousal support or acknowledgments thereof. R.S. 35:623(C) adds the distinctively Louisiana limit: ‘Remote online notarization may not be used to execute an authentic act as defined in Civil Code Article 1833’, though the act may still be valid as an act under private signature or an acknowledged act. Standards are set by SOS rule under the Administrative Procedure Act, adopted before February 1, 2022 with a named stakeholder committee (R.S. 35:624). Note on the statute book: R.S. 35:625 (a blanket authorization contingent on federal SECURE Notarization Act enactment) is displayed as ceasing to be effective February 1, 2022; R.S. 35:625.1 is the operative registration section.

What you may charge

Louisiana sets no cap. SOS FAQ, ‘What can a notary charge for his services?’: ‘Louisiana does not have a statutory fee schedule which would determine or limit what a notary can charge for his services.’ No maximum per act, per act type, and no travel-fee rule was found. Tiers searched on 2026-08-12: the La. R.S. Title 35 section list (Chapters 1-5, 129 sections indexed), R.S. 35:251 (which turns out to be repealed – ‘Sections 251 to 257 Repealed by Acts 1977, No. 451’), the SOS notary FAQ, the SOS Forms & Fee Schedule and the SOS Application Process page.

Who does NOT need a commission — exemptions

EX OFFICIO NOTARIES: Louisiana law authorizes state offices, agencies, departments and political subdivisions to appoint ex officio notaries or otherwise authorize persons to exercise notarial powers – R.S. 35:202(D) requires all such bodies to file their own annual report with the Secretary of State by July 1 each year, and R.S. 35:202(E) suspends both the individual’s authority and the body’s power to appoint if that report is more than 60 days late. R.S. 35:12(C) requires every such person, ‘other than a regularly commissioned notary, who is otherwise given notarial powers or authorized as a notary ex officio’, to indicate the actual position or title from which the authority derives, plus a notary identification number. Non-resident attorneys may obtain ex officio status under R.S. 35:412 through the SOS (application, oath, Louisiana Supreme Court certificate of good standing issued within 30 days, official signature, $50,000 bond, $35 fee). EXEMPT FROM THE EXAM AND PRE-ASSESSMENT, not from the commission: Louisiana-licensed attorneys and persons already holding a valid Louisiana notarial commission (R.S. 35:191(C)(2)(c), (C)(3)(c)). ATTORNEYS are also outside the annual-report duty, which by its terms binds ’non-attorney notaries’ (R.S. 35:202(A)), and outside the automatic bond-lapse suspension, which applies to ‘any qualified notary, other than a licensed attorney at law’ (R.S. 35:71(E)). NOT ESTABLISHED: no source read on 2026-08-12 addressed military notarial authority under 10 U.S.C. 1044a, and this record therefore makes no claim about it. Tiers searched for exemptions: the La. R.S. Title 35 section list, R.S. 35:12, 35:71, 35:191, 35:199-202 in full, and the SOS notary FAQ, Application Process and Ex-officio Status pages.

How to apply

Applications are handled by Louisiana Secretary of State, Notary Division (the commission itself is issued by the Governor under La. R.S. 35:201; the Secretary of State administers qualification, examination, bonding and the notary database). Start at the official application page .

Verify a license in Louisiana

Louisiana Secretary of State (CORAWeb) publishes a public license search , searchable by notary name, notary identification number or parish. It covers The SOS FAQ describes it as follows: ‘Our Notary Database contains current contact information on all notaries’, and it is the place a notary looks up their own commission date (‘you may start on your commission date which can be obtained from the Notary Public Database’). It also shows commission status, including a ‘suspended’ status which ‘refers to an expired bond or a past due annual report’, and whether a personal surety is on file. The SOS Search for Notaries page also offers a bulk download: ‘You can also download information about all notaries on file. For more information, see Notary Bulk Data.’ CAVEAT: the search form is delivered inside an iframe on https://www.sos.la.gov/notary/search-for-notaries; the field list above is from the embedded CORAWeb search page and its accompanying SOS text, and the exact search fields should be re-checked by a verifier against the live form.

Records come from Louisiana Secretary of State (CORAWeb)’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 a Louisiana notary commission expire?

No. The Secretary of State’s notary FAQ states: ‘Notaries in Louisiana are commissioned for life pursuant to Attorney General Opinion 1940-42.’ What does recur is upkeep – non-attorney notaries file an annual report on the anniversary of the commission (La. R.S. 35:202(A)) and all notaries with a commercial surety renew the bond every five years (R.S. 35:71(D)(1)). Missing either does not expire the commission; it automatically suspends it (R.S. 35:202(C); R.S. 35:71(E)), which is why the SOS notary database shows a ‘suspended’ status for ‘an expired bond or a past due annual report.’

Do I have to pass an exam to become a notary in Louisiana?

Yes, unless you are licensed to practice law in Louisiana or already hold a valid Louisiana notarial commission – for those applicants both the pre-assessment and the examination ‘shall be dispensed with’ (La. R.S. 35:191(C)(2)(c) and (C)(3)(c)). Everyone else takes a computer-administered four-hour examination and must ‘achieve a scaled score of 70 (of 100)’ (SOS Get Exam Information). The exam registration fee is $100 (R.S. 35:191.1(B)(1)), and it is given at least twice a year (R.S. 35:191(C)(3)(b)(i)).

How much does it cost to become a Louisiana notary?

From the Secretary of State’s published fee schedule: $35 Application to Qualify, $30 Notary Exam Pre-Assessment, $100 examination registration, $100 for the official study guide (optional to buy but the sole source of exam items), and then the commissioning fee. The SOS fee schedule lists ‘Commission Fee $20’ while the SOS FAQ describes a ‘$35 commission filing fee’ – the two official pages differ and both are recorded here. A $50,000 surety bond is also required, and its premium is paid to a private surety, not to the state. Credit card payments add a $5 statutory convenience fee. RON authorization is a further $100.

Does a Louisiana notary need a stamp or seal?

No. The Secretary of State’s FAQ answers the question directly: ‘A Louisiana notary’s signature is his seal.’ What the law does require on the face of every notarized document is the notary’s name typed, printed or stamped as it appears on the commission, plus the notary identification number assigned by the Secretary of State – or, for an attorney notary, the Louisiana bar roll number (La. R.S. 35:12(A)(2), (B)). Documents missing that number and those names may be refused for filing or recording (R.S. 35:12(D)).

Is the bond really $50,000, and can I use errors and omissions insurance instead?

The bond is $50,000 and, under current law, insurance is not an alternative. La. R.S. 35:71(A) requires the notary to post and maintain bond ‘in the amount of fifty thousand dollars.’ This is a recent change: the version of the same section captured by the Internet Archive on 2021-11-30 required only ten thousand dollars and allowed ‘a minimum of ten thousand dollars in errors and omissions insurance coverage’ instead; the only amendment listed after that archived text is Acts 2025, No. 258, eff. Feb. 1, 2026, and the current text contains no reference to insurance. E&O coverage remains a private product a notary may choose to buy; no Louisiana source read for this record requires it.

Can a Louisiana notary notarize anywhere in the state?

It depends how the commission was obtained. The commission is issued for the parish of residence (and one other parish where the notary maintains an office) under La. R.S. 35:191(A)(1). But a notary who ‘has taken and passed the written examination, as provided in R.S. 35:191.1 on or after June 13, 2005, may exercise the functions of a notary public in every parish in this state’ (R.S. 35:191(P)(1)(b)), and so may any Louisiana-licensed attorney notary (R.S. 35:191(P)(1)(a)). Separately, the statute creates named groups of reciprocal parishes – Orleans/Jefferson/St. Bernard/Plaquemines, the Caddo/Bossier group, the Baton Rouge-area group and others – in which a notary may act without additional bonding or examination. Moving parishes still requires transferring the commission, even inside a reciprocal group and even for attorney notaries.

Can Louisiana notaries perform remote online notarizations?

Yes, with a separate registration. Under the Remote Online Notarization Act (La. R.S. 35:621 et seq.), the Secretary of State began accepting RON registrations on February 1, 2022. A commissioned notary must complete an online instruction course and pass a quiz, select a technology provider from the state’s list, and file the registration with a one-time $100 fee (SOS RON Requirements; R.S. 35:625.1(B)). Louisiana excludes several instruments from RON entirely – testaments and codicils, trust instruments, donations inter vivos, matrimonial agreements and acts affecting final spousal support (R.S. 35:623(B)) – and R.S. 35:623(C) provides that ‘Remote online notarization may not be used to execute an authentic act as defined in Civil Code Article 1833.’ Any witness must be physically present with the signer (R.S. 35:626(A)).

What can a Louisiana notary charge?

Whatever the parties agree. The Secretary of State’s FAQ states: ‘Louisiana does not have a statutory fee schedule which would determine or limit what a notary can charge for his services.’ No maximum per act and no travel-fee rule was found in La. R.S. Title 35 or in the SOS notary pages searched on 2026-08-12.

Do I have to keep a notary journal in Louisiana?

Louisiana does not impose a general journal of all notarial acts, but it does impose a record-book and recording duty for real-property acts. La. R.S. 35:199(A) requires notaries to record all acts of sale, exchange, donation and mortgage of immovable property ‘after first making a careful record of the acts in record books to be kept for that purpose’ – within 15 days with the parish recorder outside Orleans Parish, and within 48 hours with the clerk as recorder for transfers in Orleans Parish, where the original must also be filed in the notarial archives. Contravening the section carries ‘a fine of two hundred dollars for each infraction’ plus damages (R.S. 35:199(C)).

See every license and certification LicensingAtlas covers in Louisiana.

Sources & verification

Last verified against these sources: August 12, 2026.

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

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