How to Become a Notary in Maine: 7-Year Term, Exam

Q: Do Maine notaries have to keep a journal?

Only for electronic and remote notarizations -- but then strictly. 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1920(1): 'A notarial officer shall maintain a journal for all electronic and remote notarizations. A notarial officer may maintain a journal for all tangible notarizations,' and the journal must be kept for 10 years after the last act recorded in it. A tangible journal must be a permanent bound register with numbered pages; an electronic journal must be permanent and tamper-evident. Each entry must be made at the time of the act and must record the date and time, the record and act type, the full name and address of each individual, how identity was established, and the fee charged. A lost or stolen journal must be reported to the Secretary of State, and on death or incapacity the journal must be transmitted to the Secretary of State or an approved repository.

How to become a notary public in Maine: a 7-year commission, an exam, remote online notarization — verified from official sources.

Source-verified

Requirements below are drawn from Maine Secretary of State, Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions -- Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions (Notaries Public and Dedimus Justice) (official site) and last verified August 12, 2026. Boards change fees and rules often — confirm before acting.

Requirements at a glance

1) Complete the current paper 'Application for a Notary Public Commission' (Form No. ME NOT APP - 7/1/2023). A new commission CANNOT be applied for online -- SOS FAQ Q3: 'No. All applicants for a new notary public commission must complete and deliver to the Secretary of State the most recent "Application for a Notary Public Commission".' 2) Pass the examination, which is printed on the application itself: the form's 'Notary Public Examination' section contains multiple-choice, true/false and definition-matching items, so an applicant sits the exam by completing pages 3-4 of the application. 3) Sign the declaration that you have read 4 M.R.S. chapter 39 and the Secretary of State's Rules Governing Notaries Public, Notarial Officers, Notarial Acts and the Procedures for Electronic and Remote Notarization, Chapter 700. 4) Pay $50 to the Treasurer, State of Maine (application page 5: 'Please remit the $50 application fee made payable to the Treasurer, State of Maine'). 5) On approval the Secretary of State issues a Certificate of Qualification; the appointee then has, per SOS FAQ Q5, '30 calendar days from the date of appointment to appear before a Dedimus Justice to take the oath prescribed by 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1922(3)' and '45 calendar days from the date of appointment to return the completed certificate of qualification to the Secretary of State.' Miss either and the Secretary notifies the applicant of failure to qualify, after which 'the applicant has 90 calendar days to request a reappointment by the Secretary of State.' 6) The oath is statutory and is taken before a DEDIMUS JUSTICE -- a distinct Maine office, searchable in the same public directory as notaries. THE ORDER MATTERS: in Maine the exam is part of the application, and the oath comes AFTER appointment, not before it.

Legal basis

Maine Secretary of State, Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions – Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions (Notaries Public and Dedimus Justice) commissions notaries public in Maine. 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 is issued is a COMMISSION – 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1922 is headed ‘Notary public commission; qualifications’ and Sec. 1922(4) speaks of ‘a notary public commission valid for a term of 7 years’. Maine’s own umbrella term is ’notarial officer’, which covers notaries plus judges, court clerks and Maine attorneys, so a Maine source saying ’notarial officer’ is not a synonym for ’notary public’ and should not be flattened into one. Folk terms: ‘Maine notary license’, ’notary certification’ and ‘getting notarized’ are lay phrasings with no statutory basis; the SOS page furniture does use the everyday word ‘Notaries’ but the forms and statute say commission. TWO MAINE-SPECIFIC TERMS a reader will meet and misread: a DEDIMUS JUSTICE is not a notary but a separate officer who administers the oath of office to notaries (and other public officers), listed alongside notaries in the state’s public search; and a MARRIAGE OFFICIANT is the separate licence that took over marriage solemnization from notaries on July 1, 2023. ‘Notario’ and ’notario publico’ are PROHIBITED titles for a non-attorney Maine notary – 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1926(3): ‘A notary public who is not an attorney licensed to practice law in this State may not use the title “notario” or “notario publico”’, and the state’s Course of Study repeats it as a rule of practice. A ’notary signing agent’ or ’loan signing agent’ is a private vendor designation; nothing in ch. 39, ch. 700 or the SOS notary pages read on 2026-08-12 recognises or requires it.

Types of notary commission

Notary public commission — Maine residents, and non-residents who have a business or place of employment/practice in Maine 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1922(2)(B) requires the applicant to ‘Be a resident of or have a place of employment or practice in this State.’ The SOS FAQ is explicit that non-residents qualify: ‘Yes. However, you must meet one of the following provisions to be eligible: Must have a place of employment located in Maine; or Must have a business located in Maine.’ The paper application has separate ‘Maine Resident Applicant’ and ‘Nonresident Applicant’ checkboxes, and the nonresident section must be signed by the Maine employer if eligibility rests on employment.
Electronic and/or remote online notarization authorization — An already-commissioned notarial officer who wants to notarize electronic records or notarize for remotely located individuals Not a separate commission: it is an authorization added to an existing one by filing the ‘Notarial Officer’s Notice to Perform Electronic and/or Remote Online Notarizations’ and receiving the Secretary of State’s approval. Electronic and remote are two different things and both are covered by the same notice – in an electronic notarization the signer is physically present and signs an electronic record; in a remote notarization the signer is remotely located (SOS Remote/Electronic Notary page).
Marriage officiant license (SEPARATE OFFICE – not part of the notary commission since July 1, 2023) — Maine residents who want to solemnize marriages SOS FAQ Q6: ‘Effective July 1, 2023, 19 M.R.S Sec. 655 repealed the authority of a notary public to solemnize marriages in Maine. However, 5 M.R.S. Sec. 90-G created a separate office of “Marriage Officiant”.’ Maine-resident notaries were auto-issued the marriage officiant licence unless they opted out by July 1, 2023, and the current application form still carries an opt-out box: ‘If you opt out of being issued a marriage officiant license, you will not be able to opt back in. Instead, if you later decide you want to be authorized to solemnize marriages, you will be required to submit a separate marriage officiant license application and pay the $25 application fee.’
Other notarial officers (not commissioned by application) — Judicial officers and Maine attorneys SOS FAQ Q19: ‘A notarial officer is a notary public or other individual authorized to perform a notarial act under Maine law. Such as: A notary public commissioned by the Secretary of State; A justice, judge, clerk or deputy clerk of a court of this State; or An attorney-at-law duly admitted and eligible to practice in the courts of this State.’ The same definition appears in 29-250 C.M.R. ch. 700 Sec. 1(5). These officers hold no notary commission and pay no commission fee.

Who can be commissioned

4 M.R.S. Sec. 1922(2): the applicant must be at least 18 years of age; be a resident of or have a place of employment or practice in Maine; be able to read and write English; not be disqualified under 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1924; and have passed the Sec. 1923(1) examination. The SOS FAQ expands the disqualification list: an applicant must ‘Not have been convicted of or pled guilty or no contest to a disqualifying offense; Not have been convicted of or pled guilty or no contest to any crime punishable by one year or more of imprisonment; Not have been convicted of any crime involving fraud, dishonesty or deceit; Not have received a finding or have made any admission of liability in any legal proceeding or disciplinary action against you based on fraud, dishonesty, or deceit; and Not had a notary commission in any state revoked, suspended, conditioned, or not renewed for cause.’ The application asks each of those as a separate sworn question. PUBLICITY OF PERSONAL DATA IS PART OF THE DEAL – SOS FAQ Q9: ‘Once your notary public commission becomes active, your name, city or town of residence (not your street address), contact telephone number, and email address will be posted on the Secretary of State’s publicly accessible website.’ No United States citizenship requirement appears in 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1922, in 29-250 C.M.R. ch. 700, on the application form or in the SOS FAQ, all of which were read on 2026-08-12.

Requirements

Complete the current paper ‘Application for a Notary Public Commission’ (Form No. ME NOT APP - 7/1/2023). A new commission CANNOT be applied for online – SOS FAQ Q3: ‘No. All applicants for a new notary public commission must complete and deliver to the Secretary of State the most recent “Application for a Notary Public Commission”.’ 2) Pass the examination, which is printed on the application itself: the form’s ‘Notary Public Examination’ section contains multiple-choice, true/false and definition-matching items, so an applicant sits the exam by completing pages 3-4 of the application. 3) Sign the declaration that you have read 4 M.R.S. chapter 39 and the Secretary of State’s Rules Governing Notaries Public, Notarial Officers, Notarial Acts and the Procedures for Electronic and Remote Notarization, Chapter 700. 4) Pay $50 to the Treasurer, State of Maine (application page 5: ‘Please remit the $50 application fee made payable to the Treasurer, State of Maine’). 5) On approval the Secretary of State issues a Certificate of Qualification; the appointee then has, per SOS FAQ Q5, ‘30 calendar days from the date of appointment to appear before a Dedimus Justice to take the oath prescribed by 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1922(3)’ and ‘45 calendar days from the date of appointment to return the completed certificate of qualification to the Secretary of State.’ Miss either and the Secretary notifies the applicant of failure to qualify, after which ’the applicant has 90 calendar days to request a reappointment by the Secretary of State.’ 6) The oath is statutory and is taken before a DEDIMUS JUSTICE – a distinct Maine office, searchable in the same public directory as notaries. THE ORDER MATTERS: in Maine the exam is part of the application, and the oath comes AFTER appointment, not before it.

Training

Maine does not require a training course.

No course completion is required to be commissioned. 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1923(2) requires the STATE to offer the course, not the applicant to take it: ‘The Secretary of State or an entity approved by the Secretary of State shall offer regularly a course of study to applicants for notary public commissions in this State. The course must cover the laws, rules, procedures and ethics relevant to notarial acts.’ The course of study is published free as a PDF and is the sole announced basis of the examination, so in practice it is study material rather than an attendance requirement. TRAINING IS REQUIRED FOR ELECTRONIC/REMOTE WORK, and it is vendor-delivered rather than state-delivered: the notice filed with the Secretary of State must include ‘A certification from each provider of technology confirming that the notarial officer has received training in the use of that technology and has been approved as a user of that technology’, and the SOS answers the question directly – ‘Does the notarial officer need to take training or another test to be approved to do remote or electronic notarizations? Yes. A notarial officer is required to do the training in the use of the approved provider’s technology. No additional test is required with the Secretary of State.’ No hour count is published for that training. Tiers searched for a training-hours figure: 4 M.R.S. ch. 39 (all 33 section headings), 29-250 C.M.R. ch. 700 in full, the SOS Course of Study PDF, the SOS notary FAQ PDF, and the SOS apply/renew and remote-electronic pages.

Exam

Maine requires an exam.

Required. 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1923(1): ‘An applicant for a notary public commission who at the time of application does not hold a commission in this State must pass an examination administered by the Secretary of State or an entity approved by the Secretary of State. The examination must be based on the course of study described in subsection 2.’ HOW IT IS ACTUALLY TAKEN, WHICH IS UNUSUAL: for a NEW commission the examination is printed inside the paper application (Form No. ME NOT APP - 7/1/2023, section headed ‘Notary Public Examination’), so there is no separate exam appointment, no proctor, no exam fee and no testing centre – the sample items include ‘To qualify for appointment as a notary public in Maine, the applicant must:’, ‘When is it acceptable to perform a notarial act without identification of the signer?’, ‘A notary public may perform a marriage for a family member. True/False’, and a definition-matching block covering acknowledgement, jurat, credible witness, direct beneficial interest, remote notarization, electronic notarization, certified or attested copy and notarial officer. For a RENEWAL the exam is online inside the Total Notary Solution service: ‘If renewing your Notary Public Commission, you must take an online Notary Public Examination. The examination is based on the Course of Study … While taking the examination, if you provide an incorrect answer, you will not be able to advance to the next category of questions until a correct response has been provided’ (SOS FAQ Q24) – i.e. it is a mastery-until-correct instrument, and no passing score is published for either version. WORTH FLAGGING TO A VERIFIER: Sec. 1923(1) by its terms imposes the exam only on an applicant ‘who at the time of application does not hold a commission in this State’, yet the Secretary of State requires an examination on renewal as well. Both are recorded here as read; no source read resolves the relationship between them. No examination fee is published anywhere read on 2026-08-12; the $50 is an application fee.

Bond & insurance

Maine requires NO surety bond and NO errors and omissions insurance for a notary public commission. This is a sourced negative, not an omission: the word ‘bond’ appears ZERO times in the Secretary of State’s Rules Governing Notaries Public (29-250 C.M.R. ch. 700, 52,053 characters of extracted text), ZERO times in the official Course of Study PDF, ZERO times in the Frequently Asked Maine Notary Public Questions PDF, and ZERO times in the five-page application form – counts run mechanically on the extracted text on 2026-08-12. 4 M.R.S. ch. 39 (the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts) has no bond section: its 33 sections run Sec. 1901 short title, 1902 definitions, 1903 applicability, 1904 authority, 1905-1909 act requirements, 1910-1915 acts in this State/another state/tribal/federal/foreign/for remotely located individuals, 1916-1917 certificates, 1918 official stamp, 1919 stamping device, 1920 journal, 1921 notification regarding electronic records, 1922 commission and qualifications, 1923 examination, 1924 grounds to deny/revoke, 1925 database, 1926 prohibited acts, 1927 validity, 1928 rules, 1929-1933 transitional. 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1922 lists the prerequisites to a commission – application, qualifications, oath – and no financial security among them. E&O insurance is a private product; nothing read requires or references it. THE VENDOR SMELL TEST: any page saying a Maine notary needs a bond, or needs both a bond and E&O, is describing a product sale, not Maine law.

Fees

$50 to become or renew, and that is the whole state charge. The amount is fixed by statute and matches the live form exactly, so there is no code-versus-form divergence here. 5 M.R.S. Sec. 87: ‘A fee of $50 must be paid to the Secretary of State by a person appointed to the office of notary public, commissioner to take depositions and disclosures, disclosure commissioner or commissioner appointed under Title 33, section 251, before the person enters upon the discharge of official duties.’ The live application form (Form No. ME NOT APP - 7/1/2023, page 5) says: ‘Please remit the $50 application fee made payable to the Treasurer, State of Maine.’ The SOS FAQ Q4 agrees: ‘The fee is $50.00. The fee may be paid using a check or credit or debit card.’ The rules route both new and renewal applications to the same statute: ‘Every application for a notary public commission must be accompanied by payment of a fee prescribed by 5 M.R.S. Sec. 87’ and ‘Every application for renewal of a notary public commission, or a new commission, must be accompanied by payment of a fee prescribed by 5 M.R.S. Sec. 87’ (29-250 C.M.R. ch. 700). A credit card payment voucher PDF is published for mail-in payment. NO OTHER STATE FEE WAS FOUND: no examination fee, no oath fee, no fee for the Dedimus Justice appearance, and no fee is stated on or for the ‘Notarial Officer’s Notice to Perform Electronic and/or Remote Online Notarizations’ – the notice form itself contains no dollar amount. Two adjacent fees are NOT the notary’s: technology providers pay an application and annual renewal fee under 5 M.R.S. Sec. 86, and a provider pays ‘$20’ for the Secretary of State to accept service of process as the provider’s agent (29-250 C.M.R. ch. 700, implementing 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1915(15)). One optional adjacent fee IS the notary’s: a $25 application fee if a notary who opted out of the automatic marriage officiant licence later applies for one. There is no county or municipal recording fee – the commission is issued and recorded by the Secretary of State, and the only local step is appearing before a Dedimus Justice, for which no fee is published. The stamp is bought privately and Maine sets no stamp price.

How long the commission lasts, and renewing it

7 years. 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1922(4): ‘The Secretary of State shall issue to an applicant who has complied with this section a notary public commission valid for a term of 7 years.’ SOS FAQ Q7 restates it: ‘A Maine notary commission is valid for seven (7) years.’ The term runs from the commission the Secretary issues after qualification, and qualification is itself time-boxed: the oath must be taken before a Dedimus Justice within 30 calendar days of the date of appointment and the completed certificate of qualification returned within 45 calendar days, failing which the Secretary notifies the applicant of the failure to qualify and the applicant has 90 calendar days to request reappointment (SOS FAQ Q5). The commission expiration date must appear on the notarial certificate of every act and on the official stamp, so the term is visible on the face of the work product (SOS FAQ Q20 and Q23). Renewals are online and require an examination. SOS FAQ Q24: ‘To renew your commission, please use our “Total Notary Solution” … You will need to log in by providing your first and last name, date of birth and commission expiration date.’ The renewal flow is: update your record (middle/last name, legal, physical and mailing addresses, telephone numbers, email, other language fluency), take the online Notary Public Examination based on the Course of Study, pay the renewal fee, then ‘print the application for renewal, Oath of Office form, and the notice providing important information on how to complete the renewal process’ and ‘appear before a Dedimus Justice with your Oath of Office form to be sworn in as you did when you initially were commissioned.’ The SOS apply/renew page adds that the originally signed exam and oath must be mailed in: ‘Once completed you must print the documents, appear before a Dedimus Justice to have the oath administered, and mail the complete originally signed exam and oath to this office.’ No early-renewal window, grace period or late fee is published on the apply/renew page, in the FAQ PDF, in 29-250 C.M.R. ch. 700 or in 4 M.R.S. ch. 39, all read on 2026-08-12. CHANGES DURING THE TERM: ‘You must notify the Secretary of State within thirty (30) calendar days of any change to the notary’s status or information previously submitted’, a name change additionally requires a Change of Signature form emailed to [email protected] , and ‘An amended certificate of commission will be issued by the Secretary of State upon receipt of notice of a name change or change of residence to a new municipality’ (SOS FAQ Q22). A technology-provider change must be reported within ten business days (SOS FAQ Q17). No continuing education is required of a Maine notary public. What Maine substitutes is an examination at every renewal: ‘If renewing your Notary Public Commission, you must take an online Notary Public Examination’ (SOS FAQ Q24). Tiers searched on 2026-08-12 and found silent on continuing education: 4 M.R.S. ch. 39 (all 33 section headings, with Sec. 1922 ‘Notary public commission; qualifications’ and Sec. 1923 ‘Examination of notary public’ read in full), 29-250 C.M.R. ch. 700 in full, the SOS Course of Study PDF, the SOS Frequently Asked Maine Notary Public Questions PDF, the SOS apply/renew page and the SOS remote/electronic notary page. The only recurring training obligation attaches to technology, not to law: a notarial officer approved for electronic or remote work must be trained by each approved technology provider and re-certified by a new provider if the provider changes.

Your seal or stamp

OPTIONAL ON PAPER, MANDATORY ELECTRONICALLY – this is the field most likely to be wrong on a generic page. 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1918 is permissive: ‘A notary public MAY keep an official stamp’ which must include the notary public’s name, jurisdiction, commission expiration date and other information required by the Secretary of State, and must be capable of being copied together with the record. The SOS FAQ Q23 states the split: ‘A notarial act regarding an in-person paper record does not require the use of a notary public stamp. However, the Secretary of State strongly suggests that a notary stamp be used on all notarizations, unless the use of the stamp is prohibited. However, use of a notary public stamp is required on all electronic or remote notarizations.’ REQUIRED CONTENTS when a stamp is used (SOS FAQ Q23 and 29-250 C.M.R. ch. 700 Sec. 7): the notary public’s name as it appears on the commission; the words ‘Notary Public’ and ‘State of Maine’ or ‘Maine’; and the commission expiration date. SHAPE IS PRESCRIBED BY RULE: ’the stamp must be a rectangular or circular stamp’ (ch. 700 Sec. 7). No dimensions and no ink colour are prescribed in Sec. 1918, in ch. 700 Sec. 7, in the FAQ or in the Course of Study, all read on 2026-08-12. WHAT ELSE MUST APPEAR ON THE DOCUMENT, stamp or no stamp: every notarial act must be evidenced by a notarial certificate that is executed during the act, signed and dated by the officer in the same manner as the signature on file with the Secretary of State, identifies the jurisdiction, contains the title of office, includes the commission expiration date for a notary public, and contains the legibly printed or typed name of the officer (SOS FAQ Q20; 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1916). ON A NAME CHANGE the notary must notify the Secretary of State within 30 days, file a Change of Signature form, and – per ch. 700 – make the change to the stamping device bearing the new name before using it.

Keeping a journal

Maine requires a journal for some notarial acts.

Required for electronic and remote notarizations; optional for paper ones. 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1920(1): ‘A notarial officer shall maintain a journal for all electronic and remote notarizations. A notarial officer may maintain a journal for all tangible notarizations. The notarial officer shall retain the journal for 10 years after the performance of the last notarial act chronicled in the journal.’ The SOS FAQ Q10 restates it and adds the state’s recommendation: ‘A journal is not required for in-person paper notarizations. However, the Secretary of State strongly suggests that you maintain a journal for all notarial acts.’ FORMAT (Sec. 1920(2)): tangible or electronic; a tangible journal ‘must be a permanent, bound register with numbered pages’; an electronic journal ‘must be in a permanent, tamper-evident electronic format complying with the rules of the Secretary of State.’ The one-versus-many rule cuts both ways: only ONE journal at a time for tangible records, but ‘one or more journals to chronicle all notarial acts performed regarding electronic records.’ REQUIRED ENTRY CONTENT, contemporaneous with the act (Sec. 1920(3)): date and time; 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; a statement if identity rested on personal knowledge; if identity rested on satisfactory evidence, a brief description of the method and of the identification credential presented including its issuance and expiration dates; and ‘The fee, if any, charged by the notarial officer.’ LOSS, EXIT AND DEATH (Sec. 1920(4)-(7)): a lost or stolen journal must be reported to the Secretary of State promptly on discovery; on resignation, revocation or suspension the former notary keeps the journal for the balance of the 10 years and must tell the Secretary of State where it is located; instead of retaining it the former notary may transmit it to the Secretary of State or an approved repository; and on death or adjudication of incompetency the personal representative, guardian or any other person knowingly in possession must transmit it. SEPARATE FROM THE JOURNAL, the audiovisual recording of a remote notarization must be retained for at least 10 years (4 M.R.S. Sec. 1915(11); 29-250 C.M.R. ch. 700).

Online (remote) notarization

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

Authorized since July 1, 2023, when Maine’s Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts took effect (Public Law 2021, chapter 651; codified at 4 M.R.S. ch. 39). The SOS states it plainly: ‘Yes. Effective July 1, 2023, Maine adopted the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (RULONA) which provides for remote and electronic notarizations.’ A SEPARATE APPROVAL IS REQUIRED, AND IT IS APPROVAL, NOT MERE NOTICE: ‘before a notarial officer can perform a remote notarization or a notarial act with respect to an electronic document or using an electronic signature, the notarial officer must complete and submit the “Notice to Perform Electronic and/or Remote Online Notarizations” form to the Secretary of State and must receive approval by the Secretary of State.’ The notice must carry: the names of the Secretary-approved technology providers the officer has selected; a certification from each provider that the officer has been trained on and approved as a user of that technology; a certification by the officer that the officer has read and understands 4 M.R.S. ch. 39 and the administrative rules; and an example of the officer’s electronic signature and official electronic stamp. The Secretary of State publishes a list of Approved Technology Providers, and consumer video tools are excluded in terms: ‘You may not use software or apps such as Zoom or FaceTime.’ Provider changes must be reported within ten business days. No additional state test is required, and no fee for the notice is published. TECHNICAL AND RECORD DUTIES: communication technology must allow the officer and the remotely located individual to communicate simultaneously by sight and sound (4 M.R.S. Sec. 1915(1)(A)); the remotely located individual may be in another state or outside the United States (SOS FAQ Q11); an audiovisual recording must be made and retained at least 10 years (Sec. 1915(11); ch. 700 requires retention ‘for a period of at least 10 years’); a journal entry and the official stamp are mandatory for these acts; and the certificate of notarial act must indicate that communication technology was used (Sec. 1915(12)). ELECTRONIC IS NOT REMOTE: ‘In an electronic notarization, the signer of the record must be in person with the notarial officer and not remotely located’, and ‘Regardless of the method used to perform a notarization, personal appearance is always required’ – appearance by communication technology being a statutory substitute for physical appearance under Sec. 1915(2). ACTS EXCLUDED FROM REMOTE NOTARIZATION are all election-related, which is unusual: under 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1915(16) a notarial officer may not, for a remotely located individual, witness the marking and sealing of an absentee ballot (21-A M.R.S. Sec. 754-A), administer an oath or affirmation to a candidate for office (21-A M.R.S. Sec. 336 or 355) or to the circulator of a candidate petition (21-A M.R.S. Sec. 335 or 354), or witness the signing of an application for a people’s veto referendum or direct initiative (21-A M.R.S. Sec. 901). Technology providers appoint the Secretary of State as agent for service of process, with a $20 acceptance fee (ch. 700; Sec. 1915(15)).

What you may charge

Maine sets no maximum, but it does regulate HOW the fee is agreed, which is the more useful fact. The official Course of Study, under the heading ‘Fees For Notarial Services’: ‘The State of Maine does not statutorily set fees for notarial services. Any fee to be charged by a commissioned notary public for performing a notarial act must be disclosed in writing to the individual requesting the services of the notary public before the notarial act is performed and the notary public must obtain the individual’s agreement to any fee to be charged prior to performing the notarial act.’ The rule states the same duty in mandatory terms: ‘Fees for notarial services. Any fee to be charged by a commissioned notary public for performing a notarial act must be disclosed in writing to the individual requesting the services of the notary public before the notarial act is performed. The notary public must obtain the individual’s consent to any fee to be charged prior to performing the notarial act’ (29-250 C.M.R. ch. 700). The Secretary of State additionally ‘suggests that notaries adopt a fee schedule to be provided when notarial services are requested.’ Whatever is charged must be entered in the journal for any act that is journalled – ‘The fee, if any, charged by the notarial officer’ (4 M.R.S. Sec. 1920(3)(F)). NO TRAVEL-FEE RULE was found; tiers searched on 2026-08-12: 4 M.R.S. ch. 39 (all section headings, plus Sec. 1915, 1916, 1918, 1920, 1922, 1923, 1926 in full), 29-250 C.M.R. ch. 700 in full, the Course of Study PDF, the notary FAQ PDF and the SOS apply/renew page. Note the fee-related trap in the conflict-of-interest rule: ‘direct beneficial interest’ is defined as ‘a fee other than the customary fee for performance of the notarial act, or any advantage, right, title, interest, cash, property or other consideration received in connection with the record’ (ch. 700 Sec. 1(2), defining 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1904(3)(B)).

Who does NOT need a commission — exemptions

WHO CAN NOTARIZE WITHOUT A COMMISSION: Maine’s operative category is the ’notarial officer’, which is broader than ’notary public’. Per SOS FAQ Q19 and 29-250 C.M.R. ch. 700 Sec. 1(5), a notarial officer is ‘a notary public commissioned by the Secretary of State; a justice, judge, clerk or deputy clerk of a court of this State; or an attorney-at-law duly admitted and eligible to practice in the courts of this State’, plus ‘any other individual authorized by the laws of this State to perform a specific notarial act.’ A Maine attorney and a court clerk therefore perform notarial acts by virtue of office, with no commission, no application and no $50 fee – but they are bound by the same chapter 39 duties, including the journal duty for electronic and remote acts. WHAT A NOTARY MAY NO LONGER DO: solemnize marriages. That authority was repealed effective July 1, 2023 (19 M.R.S. Sec. 655) and moved to the separate office of Marriage Officiant (5 M.R.S. Sec. 90-G). WHO MAY NOT BE SERVED: a notarial officer may not perform an act ‘For any person if that person is the notary’s spouse, domestic partner, parent, sibling or child or an in-law or a step or half relative’, or for a record to which such a relative is a party or in which any of them has a direct beneficial interest (SOS FAQ Q18; 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1904(3)). NOT ESTABLISHED: nothing read on 2026-08-12 addressed military notarial authority under 10 U.S.C. 1044a, so this record makes no claim about it; nor did any source read list categories of documents that need no notarization in Maine. Tiers searched: 4 M.R.S. ch. 39 section list plus Sec. 1915, 1916, 1918, 1920, 1922, 1923, 1926 in full; 29-250 C.M.R. ch. 700 in full; the Course of Study, FAQ and application PDFs; and the SOS notary, apply/renew and remote/electronic pages.

How to apply

Applications are handled by Maine Secretary of State, Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions – Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions (Notaries Public and Dedimus Justice). Start at the official application page .

Verify a license in Maine

Maine Secretary of State, Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions (Total Notary Solution) publishes a public license search , searchable by search type (Notary Public or Dedimus Justice), first or last name, county, town/city, language other than English, performs electronic notarizations or performs remote notarizations. It covers Live text from the search page: ‘This free service will allow you to search for active Notaries Public or active Dedimus Justices in Maine. You may search by first or last name, location, or by language (you may search for a language other than English).’ Results ‘will include the name, town, county, contact telephone numbers, and commission expiration date for each notary public or dedimus justice meeting your search criteria.’ The search type selector also offers ‘Performs Electronic Notarizations’ and ‘Performs Remote Notarizations’, so the portal doubles as the public register of who holds the electronic/remote authorization. IMPORTANT CAVEAT PUBLISHED ON THE PAGE ITSELF: ‘Important Notice: This Notary Public directory does not contain the entire list of Maine Notaries Public or Dedimus Justices.’ A verifier should treat a nil result as inconclusive, not as proof of no commission. A separate Marriage Officiant search runs at https://apps1.web.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/notary/search/marriage_officiant.pl , and the SOS also publishes Bulk Data.

Records come from Maine Secretary of State, Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions (Total Notary Solution)’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

How long does a Maine notary commission last?

Seven years. 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1922(4): ‘The Secretary of State shall issue to an applicant who has complied with this section a notary public commission valid for a term of 7 years.’ Qualification after appointment is on a tighter clock – the oath must be taken before a Dedimus Justice within 30 calendar days of appointment and the certificate of qualification returned within 45 calendar days, or the Secretary of State notifies the applicant of failure to qualify and a reappointment must be requested within 90 calendar days (SOS FAQ Q5).

Does Maine require a notary bond?

No. Maine requires no surety bond and no errors and omissions insurance. The word ‘bond’ does not appear anywhere in the Secretary of State’s notary rules (29-250 C.M.R. ch. 700), the official Course of Study, the notary FAQ or the application form, and 4 M.R.S. chapter 39 – which lists every prerequisite to a commission in Sec. 1922 – contains no bond section. The only cost to be commissioned is the $50 fee set by 5 M.R.S. Sec. 87.

Is there a notary exam in Maine, and what does it cost?

Yes, and it costs nothing extra. 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1923(1) requires an applicant who does not already hold a Maine commission to pass an examination administered by the Secretary of State or an approved entity, based on the state’s published Course of Study. For a new commission the exam is printed inside the paper application form itself – multiple-choice, true/false and definition-matching items – so there is no separate exam sitting, proctor or exam fee. Renewals take an online examination inside the Total Notary Solution service, where ‘if you provide an incorrect answer, you will not be able to advance to the next category of questions until a correct response has been provided’ (SOS FAQ Q24). No passing score is published for either version.

Can I become a Maine notary if I don't live in Maine?

Yes, if you have a Maine work connection. 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1922(2)(B) requires the applicant to ‘Be a resident of or have a place of employment or practice in this State’, and the SOS FAQ Q8 confirms: ‘Must have a place of employment located in Maine; or Must have a business located in Maine.’ The application form has a Nonresident Eligibility section, and where eligibility rests on employment the Maine employer must sign the certification. Note one asymmetry: the separate marriage officiant licence is described on the application as ‘Maine Residents Only’.

Does a Maine notary need a stamp?

Not for paper, yes for electronic and remote. 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1918 says a notary public ‘may keep an official stamp’, and the SOS FAQ Q23 states that ‘A notarial act regarding an in-person paper record does not require the use of a notary public stamp’ while ‘use of a notary public stamp is required on all electronic or remote notarizations.’ When a stamp is used it must show the notary’s name as it appears on the commission, the words ‘Notary Public’ and ‘State of Maine’ or ‘Maine’, and the commission expiration date, must be rectangular or circular (29-250 C.M.R. ch. 700 Sec. 7), and must be capable of being copied with the record. Whether or not a stamp is used, every act needs a completed notarial certificate showing the officer’s signature, printed name, jurisdiction, title of office and commission expiration date.

Do Maine notaries have to keep a journal?

Only for electronic and remote notarizations – but then strictly. 4 M.R.S. Sec. 1920(1): ‘A notarial officer shall maintain a journal for all electronic and remote notarizations. A notarial officer may maintain a journal for all tangible notarizations,’ and the journal must be kept for 10 years after the last act recorded in it. A tangible journal must be a permanent bound register with numbered pages; an electronic journal must be permanent and tamper-evident. Each entry must be made at the time of the act and must record the date and time, the record and act type, the full name and address of each individual, how identity was established, and the fee charged. A lost or stolen journal must be reported to the Secretary of State, and on death or incapacity the journal must be transmitted to the Secretary of State or an approved repository.

Can Maine notaries do remote online notarizations?

Yes, with the Secretary of State’s approval. Maine adopted the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts effective July 1, 2023. Before performing any electronic or remote act, a notarial officer must file the ‘Notice to Perform Electronic and/or Remote Online Notarizations’ and receive approval; the notice must name Secretary-approved technology providers, include each provider’s certification that the officer was trained on its technology, certify that the officer has read chapter 39 and the rules, and include a sample electronic signature and stamp. Consumer video apps are excluded – ‘You may not use software or apps such as Zoom or FaceTime.’ An audiovisual recording must be kept at least 10 years. Maine bars remote notarization for a short list of election documents, including absentee ballots and candidate and petition-circulator oaths (4 M.R.S. Sec. 1915(16)).

How much can a Maine notary charge per notarization?

Maine sets no maximum, but the fee must be agreed in writing first. The state’s Course of Study says ‘The State of Maine does not statutorily set fees for notarial services,’ and both the Course of Study and 29-250 C.M.R. ch. 700 require that any fee ‘must be disclosed in writing to the individual requesting the services of the notary public before the notarial act is performed’ and that the notary obtain the individual’s agreement to it beforehand. The Secretary of State suggests notaries adopt a published fee schedule. Any fee charged must also be written into the journal entry for acts that are journalled.

Can a Maine notary still perform marriages?

No, not as a notary. Effective July 1, 2023 the notary’s authority to solemnize marriages was repealed (19 M.R.S. Sec. 655) and a separate office of Marriage Officiant was created (5 M.R.S. Sec. 90-G). Maine-resident notaries were automatically issued a marriage officiant licence unless they opted out by July 1, 2023, and the notary application still carries the opt-out box – with a warning that opting out is irreversible: a later application costs $25. Notary and marriage officiant are separate offices, and a name or address change has to be filed with the Secretary of State for each.

See every license and certification LicensingAtlas covers in Maine.

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.