How to Become a Notary in Missouri: $10,000 Bond, Exam

How to become a notary public in Missouri: a $10,000 surety bond, a required course, an exam, remote online notarization — verified from official sources.

Source-verified

Requirements below are drawn from Missouri Secretary of State, Notaries & Commissions Unit (Business Services Division); the county clerk of the county of commission administers the oath and takes the bond (official site) and last verified August 12, 2026. Boards change fees and rules often — confirm before acting.

Requirements at a glance

The Secretary of State publishes the sequence as six steps: '1. Meet the general qualifications. 2. Read the Missouri Notary Public Handbook. 3. Take the online training course or written training course. 4. Apply (online or by mail) for a commission. 5. Purchase a notary public surety bond. 6. Qualify at your local county clerk's office.' In statute: the applicant files an application under Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.625 and 486.630 disclosing date of birth, residence and work addresses and phone numbers, employer, county, a declaration of US citizenship or proof of legal residency, a declaration of English literacy, ALL issuances, denials, revocations, suspensions, restrictions and resignations of any notarial commission, professional license or public office in any state or nation, ALL criminal convictions and pleas of guilty or nolo contendere anywhere, and all claims pending or disposed against any notary bond the applicant has held plus any civil findings or admissions of fault as a notary; signs the statutory Declaration of Applicant under penalty of perjury ('I understand the official duties and responsibilities of a Notary Public in Missouri, as explained in the notary public handbook'); attests to having read the handbook or received training prescribed by the Secretary; scores at least 80% on the Secretary's examination; and pays the $25 fee. QUALIFYING IS A SEPARATE, TIME-BOXED STEP - Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.615.1: 'A notary commission shall not become effective until an oath of office and a ten thousand dollar bond have been presented to the county clerk of the county in which a person has been commissioned.' Under 486.620 the Secretary forwards the commission to the county clerk, the notary must take the oath in the presence of the clerk or a designee 'within sixty days of the commission issue date', and must then mail the oath and bond to the Secretary 'with a postmarked date not exceeding seven days from the date of the oath'. The SOS FAQ adds the mechanics: the applicant 'must appear in person', present the $10,000 bond, take the oath, and 'submit a handwritten specimen of their official signature on the oath of office. This signature MUST match the exact name typed on their commission certificate.' The clerk then hands over the commission certificate. MISS THE WINDOW AND YOU START OVER - 486.620.3-4: a commission that fails to qualify within sixty days 'shall be marked by the county clerk as not qualified and shall be returned to the secretary within fifteen days', and the notary 'may be required to reapply'. The SOS states it as a certainty: 'Failure to qualify within 60 days will result in the commission being cancelled.'

Legal basis

Missouri Secretary of State, Notaries & Commissions Unit (Business Services Division); the county clerk of the county of commission administers the oath and takes the bond commissions notaries public in Missouri. 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 the instrument is a COMMISSION issued by the Secretary of State (Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.605.1, 486.610.1). Missouri’s own vocabulary distinguishes three registrations that outsiders routinely blur: a ’notary public’ (paper acts); an ’electronic notary public’, defined by 486.900(7) as ‘a notary public who has registered with the secretary the capability to perform electronic notarial acts’ and scoped by 486.902 to IN-PERSON electronic acts; and a ‘remote online notary public’ under 486.1100(11), who must be physically in Missouri and separately registered. Note that the Secretary of State’s Electronic Notary Information page uses ’electronic notary’ loosely to mean the remote-capable notary, which does not match the statutory split - see ron_detail. Folk terms: ’notary license’ and ’notary certification’ are lay phrasings for the commission; ‘qualifying’ is Missouri’s term of art for the county-clerk step of taking the oath and filing the bond, not a synonym for being approved. ‘Notary signing agent’ or ’loan signing agent’ is a private industry title with no standing in chapter 486. ‘NOTARIO PUBLICO’ IS PROHIBITED - Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.680.3: ‘A notary may not use the term “notario publico” or any equivalent non-English term in any business card, advertisement, notice, or sign’, and the same section requires a non-attorney notary who advertises in a language other than English to include the fees for notarial acts specified in 486.685 in the advertisement.

Types of notary commission

Notary public commission (paper/tangible documents) — Missouri residents, and non-residents who work in Missouri and will use the seal in that employment The base commission. Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.610.1: ‘A person commissioned as a notary may perform notarial acts in any part of this state, and only in this state, for a term of four years.’ The applicant is commissioned for the county of residence or regular place of work but may notarize anywhere in Missouri. Authorized acts under 486.640: acknowledgments, oaths and affirmations, jurats, signature witnessings, COPY CERTIFICATIONS, and any other act authorized by Missouri law.
Electronic notary registration - IN-PERSON electronic acts — A commissioned Missouri notary who wants to notarize electronic documents with the signer present Governed by Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.900 to 486.1010, which ‘supplement the provisions of sections 486.600 to 486.825 FOR IN-PERSON ELECTRONIC NOTARIAL ACTS’ (486.902). Requires a separate registration with the Secretary of State (486.905) AND a separate approved course plus an examination on it (486.910), on top of the course and exam required for the base commission. Must be re-registered at every recommissioning.
Remote online notary (RON) registration — A commissioned Missouri notary, physically located in Missouri, who wants to notarize for a remotely located signer Governed by Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.1100 to 486.1205, which supplement BOTH the base sections and the electronic-notary sections. 486.1100(11) defines a ‘remote online notary public’ as ‘a notary public physically located in this state who has registered with the secretary of state to perform remote online notarizations.’ Requires its own registration (486.1120) and its own approved course and examination (486.1125), and the Secretary of State must test, certify and approve the software before use (486.1115).

Who can be commissioned

Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.605.2 requires an applicant to ‘(1) Be at least eighteen years of age; (2) Reside or have a regular place of work or business in the state of Missouri; (3) Reside legally in the United States; (4) Read and write English; and (5) Pass the examination required in section 486.630.’ NON-RESIDENTS - 486.605.3: a non-resident ‘may qualify to be a notary if he or she works in Missouri and will use the notary seal in the course of his or her employment in Missouri’, and must ‘authorize the secretary as the agent and representative of such person to accept service of any process’. The SOS adds that a non-resident must ‘Have a work address in the county within and for which applying to be commissioned.’ PERMANENT RESIDENT ALIENS ARE ELIGIBLE - the SOS states: ‘Any person is eligible to apply for a commission as a notary public if they are a permanent resident alien under Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. If the applicant qualifies under Section 245, they must send a copy of their “green card” with a completed application to our office.’ DISCRETIONARY DENIAL GROUNDS - 486.605.4: a material misstatement or omission; a felony or any offense involving dishonesty or moral turpitude (conviction, guilty plea or nolo contendere) anywhere, with a five-year bar - ‘a commission shall not be issued to the applicant within five years after such conviction or plea’; a finding or admission of liability in a civil suit based on the applicant’s deceit; revocation, suspension, restriction or denial of a notarial commission or professional licence by any state or nation, also with a five-year bar; or an official finding of prior official misconduct ‘regardless of whether disciplinary action resulted’. A denial may be appealed within thirty days, EXCEPT where the Secretary has within the previous five years denied or revoked one of the applicant’s commissions or licences for disciplinary reasons, or found grounds for revocation under 486.810. A MOVE INTO MISSOURI - the SOS: a non-resident notary who becomes a Missouri resident ‘may immediately be appointed and commissioned as a notary upon becoming a resident’, returning the non-resident certificate with a cancellation request, a resident reapplication and the $25 fee. Application records disclosing prior commission/licence discipline are a CLOSED RECORD under 486.635.

Requirements

The Secretary of State publishes the sequence as six steps: ‘1. Meet the general qualifications. 2. Read the Missouri Notary Public Handbook. 3. Take the online training course or written training course. 4. Apply (online or by mail) for a commission. 5. Purchase a notary public surety bond. 6. Qualify at your local county clerk’s office.’ In statute: the applicant files an application under Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.625 and 486.630 disclosing date of birth, residence and work addresses and phone numbers, employer, county, a declaration of US citizenship or proof of legal residency, a declaration of English literacy, ALL issuances, denials, revocations, suspensions, restrictions and resignations of any notarial commission, professional license or public office in any state or nation, ALL criminal convictions and pleas of guilty or nolo contendere anywhere, and all claims pending or disposed against any notary bond the applicant has held plus any civil findings or admissions of fault as a notary; signs the statutory Declaration of Applicant under penalty of perjury (‘I understand the official duties and responsibilities of a Notary Public in Missouri, as explained in the notary public handbook’); attests to having read the handbook or received training prescribed by the Secretary; scores at least 80% on the Secretary’s examination; and pays the $25 fee. QUALIFYING IS A SEPARATE, TIME-BOXED STEP - Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.615.1: ‘A notary commission shall not become effective until an oath of office and a ten thousand dollar bond have been presented to the county clerk of the county in which a person has been commissioned.’ Under 486.620 the Secretary forwards the commission to the county clerk, the notary must take the oath in the presence of the clerk or a designee ‘within sixty days of the commission issue date’, and must then mail the oath and bond to the Secretary ‘with a postmarked date not exceeding seven days from the date of the oath’. The SOS FAQ adds the mechanics: the applicant ‘must appear in person’, present the $10,000 bond, take the oath, and ‘submit a handwritten specimen of their official signature on the oath of office. This signature MUST match the exact name typed on their commission certificate.’ The clerk then hands over the commission certificate. MISS THE WINDOW AND YOU START OVER - 486.620.3-4: a commission that fails to qualify within sixty days ‘shall be marked by the county clerk as not qualified and shall be returned to the secretary within fifteen days’, and the notary ‘may be required to reapply’. The SOS states it as a certainty: ‘Failure to qualify within 60 days will result in the commission being cancelled.’

Training

Missouri requires a training course.

Missouri requires training before commissioning, and separate additional training for each electronic endorsement. BASE COMMISSION - Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.630.3(1): every applicant shall ‘Attest to having read the Missouri notary public handbook or having received training in a manner prescribed by the secretary’, and 486.630.4 fixes the content: ‘The content of the training and the basis for the written examination required by subsection 3 of this section shall be based on notarial laws, procedures, and ethics.’ The Secretary of State operationalises this as step 3 of six - ‘Take the online training course or written training course’ - and offers two routes: an online course, or the paper ‘Written Notary Training Course’ (form Comm 59). The SOS’s own application instructions list among the REQUIREMENTS: ‘$25 application fee as required under 28.160 RSMo. Certificate of state approved notary training or completed written notary training form.’ So a training certificate or the completed written-course form is filed WITH the application. ELECTRONIC NOTARY - 486.910.1: ‘Before initially registering the capability to perform electronic notarial acts, an electronic notary shall complete a course of instruction as approved by the secretary, IN ADDITION TO the course required for commissioning as a notary, and pass an examination based on the course’, the content being ’notarial laws, procedures, and ethics pertaining to electronic notarization’. REMOTE ONLINE NOTARY - 486.1125 imposes the identical structure for RON, with content ‘pertaining to remote online notarization’. The SOS’s electronic-notary page mirrors it: ‘Step 1: Complete the Online Registration Form. Step 2: Complete the Online Training Course.’ No renewal-cycle hours are imposed (see ce_hours), but a reapplication for a new commission runs the whole process again, training and examination included.

Exam

Missouri requires an exam.

Missouri requires a passing score on an examination administered by the Secretary of State before a commission issues, and separate examinations for each electronic endorsement. Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.630.3(2): every applicant shall ‘Receive a score of eighty percent or better on an examination administered by the secretary prior to being issued a commission.’ Passing the exam is also written into the qualifications themselves - 486.605.2(5), a person shall ‘(5) Pass the examination required in section 486.630.’ The subject matter is fixed by 486.630.4: ’notarial laws, procedures, and ethics’. The examination is taken as part of the Secretary’s online training course, or via the written training course form for applicants who take the paper route; the SOS requires the resulting ‘Certificate of state approved notary training or completed written notary training form’ with the application. NO SEPARATE EXAM FEE is published in Mo. Rev. Stat. 28.160 (which sets only the $15 commission fee and the $10 technology-trust-fund fee), in 486.630.5, or on the SOS’s application-instructions page, all searched on 2026-08-12. ADDITIONAL EXAMS FOR ENDORSEMENTS: 486.910.1 requires an electronic-notary applicant to ‘pass an examination based on the course’ for in-person electronic notarization, and 486.1125.1 requires the same for remote online notarization - each is a separate course and a separate examination on top of the base one. No passing score is stated in the statute for those two endorsement examinations; only the base examination carries the express 80% figure.

Your surety bond

A $10,000 surety bond is required, and it is presented to the COUNTY CLERK - the commission does not take effect without it. Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.615.1: ‘A notary commission shall not become effective until an oath of office and a ten thousand dollar bond have been presented to the county clerk of the county in which a person has been commissioned. The bond shall be executed by a licensed Missouri surety, for a term of four years commencing on the commission’s issue date and terminating on its expiration date, with payment of bond funds to any person conditioned upon the notary’s official misconduct.’ The Secretary of State’s bond page restates the term-matching rule twice: ‘The bond must be written for a term of four years, covering the same dates as the term of office’, and adds a purchase deadline - ‘The bond should be executed by the licensed Missouri surety within 60 days after the application is approved by our office’ - which lines up with the 60-day qualifying window. The bond STACKS rather than substitutes: ‘The notary bond is separate from any other bond coverage the notary might presently have and is required in addition to other bond coverage.’ EXHAUSTION SUSPENDS THE COMMISSION - 486.615.2-3: the surety must report all claims to the Secretary, and ‘If a notary bond has been exhausted by claims paid out by the surety, the secretary shall suspend the notary’s commission until: (1) A new bond is obtained by the notary; and (2) The notary’s fitness to serve the remainder of the commission term is determined by the secretary.’ ERRORS-AND-OMISSIONS INSURANCE IS EXPRESSLY NOT REQUIRED, and the Secretary of State says so in terms on its own bond page: ‘An errors and omissions policy does not replace a bond. An errors and omissions policy is not required by law, but may be purchased as it protects the notary public and pays for any charges the notary might owe for legal fees and costs should the notary be sued.’ That sentence is also the cleanest statement in this cluster of the bond-vs-E&O distinction: the bond pays claimants for the notary’s official misconduct, the E&O policy protects the notary. The SOS notes the bond ‘may be purchased from a personal insurance agent, a bank or from a bonding company’; no premium figure is published.

Fees

STATE APPLICATION FEE: $25, and it is two fees in one. Mo. Rev. Stat. 28.160: ’each applicant for appointment and commission as a notary public shall submit to the secretary of state a commission fee of fifteen dollars. An additional fee of ten dollars for the issuance of new and renewal notary commissions which shall be deposited in the state treasury and credited to the secretary of state’s technology trust fund account.’ Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.630.5 makes it non-refundable: ‘Every applicant for a notary commission shall pay to the state of Missouri a nonrefundable application fee as stated in section 28.160.’ The SOS’s application instructions confirm the operative figure: ‘$25 application fee as required under 28.160 RSMo.’ The same $25 applies to a reappointment and to a non-resident converting to a resident commission (‘a completed reapplication as a resident and the $25 fee for issuing another commission’). BOND PREMIUM: a private market price for the $10,000 four-year bond; the SOS publishes no figure and names insurance agents, banks and bonding companies as sources. SEAL: bought privately from a vendor registered with the Secretary of State; no state-set price. COUNTY CLERK: the statute imposes no separate county fee for qualifying - the clerk administers the oath, takes the bond and hands over the certificate. ELECTRONIC CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY: Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.975 caps the fee for issuing one at ‘a maximum of ten dollars’. ELECTRONIC AND RON REGISTRATION FEES: none is published in Mo. Rev. Stat. 28.160, 486.905, 486.920, 486.1120 or 486.1130, nor on the SOS’s Electronic Notary Information page, all searched on 2026-08-12; this record therefore says ’no fee published’ rather than ‘$0’. RON SOFTWARE TESTING IS PAID BY THE VENDOR, not the notary - 486.1115.4: ‘The expenses of any such testing shall be paid by the vendor of the software.’ JOURNAL COPIES: under 486.710 a notary responding to an authorised request ‘shall charge not more than one dollar per copy’, and must furnish certified copies to the Secretary on written request ‘without cost’.

How long the commission lasts, and renewing it

Four years, running from the commission’s ISSUE DATE - not from the date the notary qualifies before the county clerk. Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.610.1: a commissioned notary ‘may perform notarial acts in any part of this state, and only in this state, for a term of four years, unless the commission is earlier revoked under section 486.810 or resigned under section 486.790.’ The bond must run on exactly the same dates - 486.615.1 requires it ‘for a term of four years commencing on the commission’s issue date and terminating on its expiration date’. The SOS gives a worked example: ‘Your commission is good for a period of four years (example: commissioned on 7/27/2020, expires 7/27/2024).’ The practical consequence of the issue-date rule is that the sixty days spent qualifying come OUT of the four years rather than being added to them, and a commission that is never qualified is cancelled rather than extended. A grandfather clause protects the pre-2020 cohort - 486.610.2: ‘The existing bond, seal, length of commission term, and liability of current notaries commissioned before August 28, 2020, shall not be invalidated, modified, or terminated by this chapter, but notaries shall comply with this chapter beginning August 28, 2020, in performing notarizations and in applying for new commissions.’ There is no renewal in the sense of a lighter-touch filing - each term is a fresh application that repeats every step. Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.625.2: ‘A current or former notary applying for a new notary commission shall submit a new completed application and comply anew with all of the provisions of this section and sections 486.605 and 486.615’ - which means the training, the 80% examination, the $25 fee, a new $10,000 four-year bond and a new oath before the county clerk. The SOS FAQ answers ‘Is my commission automatically renewed?’ with ‘Your commission is good for a period of four years… In order to be a commissioned notary, you must reapply for your commission every four years’, and its reappointment checklist runs: meet the general qualifications, refer to the handbook, ‘Take the Online Notary Training Course or the Written Notary Training Course when your term of office expires’, secure the reappointment (resident or non-resident), purchase the bond, and ‘Qualify at your County Clerk’s office’. ENDORSEMENTS DO NOT SURVIVE A RECOMMISSIONING - Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.905.3: ‘Upon recommissioning, a notary shall again register with the secretary before notarizing electronically’, and 486.1120.3 says the same for remote online notarization; both allow the reapplication and the re-registration to be filed at the same time. The electronic and RON registrations otherwise run with the commission - 486.915: the term of an electronic notary’s registration ‘shall continue as long as the notary’s commission remains in effect or until registration is terminated’. No continuing education is required during a Missouri commission term. What Missouri requires instead is that the full training-and-examination requirement be satisfied again at every reappointment: Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.625.2 requires a current or former notary applying for a new commission to ‘comply anew with all of the provisions’ of the application sections, which include the 486.630.3 duty to attest to training and to score at least 80% on the Secretary’s examination, and the SOS’s reappointment checklist accordingly says to ‘Take the Online Notary Training Course or the Written Notary Training Course when your term of office expires’. Tiers searched on 2026-08-12 for any mid-term hours requirement, all negative: Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.605, 486.610, 486.625, 486.630, 486.910 and 486.1125 (the two endorsement-course sections, both of which condition INITIAL registration only); the SOS ‘How to Become a Notary’ and reappointment pages; the SOS Notary FAQ; and the Missouri Notary Public Handbook. So the honest description is: substantial training every four years at reappointment, and none in between.

Your seal or stamp

A SEAL IS MANDATORY on every paper notarial certificate. Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.725.1: ‘In notarizing a paper document, a notary public shall affix an official signature and an official seal on the notarial certificate at the time the notarial act is performed’, and 486.725.2 bars using it for anything else. REQUIRED ELEMENTS - 486.730.1: near the official signature the notary shall affix ‘a sharp, legible, permanent, and photographically reproducible image of the official seal’ including ‘(1) The notary’s name exactly as stated on the commission; (2) The identification number of the notary’s commission; (3) The words “Notary Public”, “Notary Seal”, and “State of Missouri” and “My commission expires (commission expiration date)”; and (4) A border in a rectangular or circular shape no larger than one sixteenth of an inch, surrounding the required words.’ Illegible information may be typed or printed ‘adjacent to but not within the impression’, or a second impression affixed nearby. AN EMBOSSER IS SUPPLEMENTARY ONLY - 486.730.3: ‘An embossed seal impression that is not photographically reproducible may be used in addition to, but not in place of, the official seal.’ The seal ‘shall not be affixed over printed or written matter’ (486.730.4). MISSOURI REGULATES THE SEAL VENDORS THEMSELVES - Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.735: a vendor or manufacturer must register with the Secretary before selling or making notary seals; may not supply one unless the purchaser presents a commission issued by the Secretary and is identified in person or confirmed through the Secretary’s internet site if ordering remotely; may make or sell ‘only one seal and, if requested… only one embossing seal’ per commission; must send an image of every seal made to the Secretary on a prescribed form within seven business days and keep a copy for five years; and faces ‘a fine of one thousand dollars for each violation’ plus possible withdrawal of permission to sell. A notary getting a new seal after a name change must present the Secretary’s confirmation of the change. LOST OR STOLEN SEAL: reported to the Secretary (the SOS provides a dedicated Lost or Stolen Seal form), and 486.725 governs return or disposal on resignation, expiration, death or revocation.

Keeping a journal

Missouri requires a notary journal.

MISSOURI REQUIRES A JOURNAL FOR EVERY NOTARIAL ACT, and it must be a bound paper book even for a notary who works electronically. Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.700.1: ‘A notary shall keep, maintain, protect, and provide for lawful inspection a chronological journal of notarial acts that is a permanently bound book with numbered pages.’ Only one active bound journal at a time (486.700.2), and it must be kept ‘for a period of no less than ten years from the date of the last entry’ (486.700.3). CONTENTS, RECORDED AT THE TIME OF NOTARIZATION - 486.705.1: the date and time of day; the type of act; the type, title or description of the document or proceeding; ‘The signature, printed name, and address of each principal’; the printed name and address of each requester of fact; evidence of identity (personal knowledge, or the type of ID with its issuing agency, serial or identification number and issuance or expiration date, or the handwritten signature, name and address of each credible witness plus a description of the IDs relied on for witnesses not personally known); the fee charged, if any; and the address where the act was performed if not the notary’s regular place of work. PROHIBITED CONTENT - 486.705.2: ‘A notary shall not record a Social Security number or credit card number in the journal.’ CORRECTIONS to a completed certificate must be noted against the journal entry (486.705.4). SAFEGUARDING - 486.715: the journal is kept in a secure area under the notary’s exclusive control, may not be used by another notary, and ‘shall not be surrendered to an employer upon termination of employment’; it may be surrendered or destroyed ‘only by court order or at the direction of the secretary’. LOSS: within ten days of discovering the journal is stolen, lost, destroyed, damaged or otherwise unusable, the notary must notify the Secretary by a means providing a tangible receipt, after informing law enforcement in a theft or vandalism case, and provide the police report copy or number. END OF COMMISSION - 486.715.4: ‘Upon resignation, revocation, or expiration of a notary commission, or death of the notary, the journal and notarial records shall be delivered to the secretary’. INSPECTION - 486.710: the journal may be examined and copied without restriction by a law enforcement officer in an official investigation, under subpoena or court order, or at the Secretary’s direction, with the notary free to seek protective orders; copies cost no more than $1 per copy, and certified copies for the Secretary are free. ELECTRONIC AND RON NOTARIES KEEP TWO SETS - 486.1180.1: a registered remote online notary ‘shall keep an electronic journal of remote online notarial acts as described in section 486.1190’ AND ‘shall also keep a record of remote online notarial acts in the permanently bound journal’. Electronic journal entries are kept at least ten years, backups must be retained as long as the original, the Secretary must be given read-only access instructions on the registration form and notified of any change to them, and electronic journals and backups are ‘safeguarded until both are erased or expunged after ten years from the date of the last entry’.

Online (remote) notarization

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

Missouri authorizes remote online notarization under Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.1100 to 486.1205, enacted by 2020 H.B. 1655 (the same act that rewrote the whole of chapter 486, effective August 28, 2020). A ‘remote online notary public’ is ‘a notary public physically located in this state who has registered with the secretary of state to perform remote online notarizations’ (486.1100(11)), and ‘remote online notarization’ is ‘an electronic notarial act performed by means of communication technology’ meeting those sections’ standards. THREE THINGS ARE REQUIRED BEFORE ACTING: (1) a Missouri notary commission - 486.1120.1; (2) a separate RON registration with the Secretary - 486.1120.2, repeated at every recommissioning under 486.1120.3, though the commission application and the registration may be filed together; and (3) a separate approved course AND examination - 486.1125.1: ‘Before initially registering the capability to perform remote online notarial acts, a notary shall complete a course of instruction as approved by the secretary, in addition to the course required for commissioning as a notary, and pass an examination based on the course.’ SOFTWARE IS APPROVED, TESTED AND CERTIFIED BY THE STATE - 486.1115.3-4: ‘Before use by remote online notaries in this state, the secretary shall approve the software to be used in remote online notarial acts’, and the Secretary ‘shall test and certify remote online notarization software’ at the vendor’s expense. Minimum software criteria: it records and archives the session; provides audio clarity and video resolution letting notary and principal ‘see and communicate to each other simultaneously through live, real time transmission’; provides reasonable security against unauthorized access to the live transmission, the recording, the identity-verification methods and credentials, and the documents; uses video ‘of sufficient high-definition for the notary to reasonably assess the principal’s comprehension and volition’; permits authentication of the principal complying with 486.1145; permits the principal to identify the notary; and presents the document as an electronic document. The Secretary must set standards for credential analysis and identity proofing by rule, ‘review and consider standards established by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS)… and national standard setting bodies, such as the Mortgage Industry Standards and Maintenance Organization (MISMO)’, and publishes a list of approved software from which registering notaries choose (‘As part of the online application, you will be required to select from a list of approved software for notarizing items remotely’). WHERE THE SIGNER MAY BE - 486.1155 permits a remotely located principal in Missouri, elsewhere in the United States, or ‘Outside the United States if the electronic notarization is not prohibited in the jurisdiction in which the principal is physically located at the time of the remote online notarial act’; the notary must be physically in Missouri. RECORDING - 486.1195: ‘The remote online notary public shall create an audio and video recording of the performance of the notarial act’, maintained ‘for at least ten years after the date of the transaction or proceeding’, under retention standards the Secretary sets by rule; a custodian may be designated - the notary’s employer under a signed record, or a repository meeting the Secretary’s standards. JOURNALS: both an electronic journal (486.1185, with prescribed contents including a recognized biometric identifier where used and ‘The name of the program or software… used to create the electronic signature that was notarized’) and the ordinary permanently bound paper journal. EXTRA FEE - 486.1160 allows ‘a remote online notary transaction fee’ on top of the ordinary notarial fee if the notary and principal agree in advance and the notary explains that it ‘is separate from the notarial fee prescribed in subsection 2 of section 486.960 and is not mandated by law’ - the statute sets no ceiling on that transaction fee. A NAMING CONFLICT WORTH KNOWING: the Secretary of State’s ‘Electronic Notary Information’ page opens ‘An electronic notary is a notary public who is approved to provide services remotely’, while Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.902 defines the electronic-notary sections as supplementing the base chapter ‘for IN-PERSON electronic notarial acts’ and puts remote work in a different set of sections with its own registration and its own course. Both are recorded; the statute is the better guide to what each registration actually authorises.

What you may charge

Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.685.2 sets the maximums for paper acts: ‘(1) For an acknowledgment, five dollars per signature; (2) For a jurat, five dollars per signature; (3) For a signature witnessing, five dollars per signature; (4) For a certified copy, one dollar per page certified with a minimum total charge of three dollars; and (5) For an electronic notarization, as specified in section 486.960.’ A notary may charge less or waive the fee entirely (486.685.1). ELECTRONIC ACTS - 486.960.2 mirrors the first three: $5 per signature for an acknowledgment, a jurat, or a signature witnessing. TRAVEL FEES ARE ALLOWED WITH TWO CONDITIONS - 486.685.3: the travel fee must be agreed in advance, and the notary must explain that it ‘is both separate from the notarial fee prescribed in subsection 2 of this section and neither specified nor mandated by law’; 486.960.3 applies the identical rule to electronic acts. REMOTE ONLINE TRANSACTION FEE - 486.1160 permits an additional, uncapped remote online notary transaction fee on the same agree-in-advance-and-explain conditions. NO FEE MAY BE CHARGED FOR AN ABSENTEE BALLOT - 486.685.5: ‘A notary shall not charge a fee for notarizing the signature on any absentee ballot or absentee voter registration.’ NO DISCRIMINATORY PRICING - 486.685.4 forbids varying fees based on the characteristics listed in 486.650.1, ’though a notary may waive or reduce fees for humanitarian or charitable reasons.’ A PUBLISHED FEE SCHEDULE IS MANDATORY FOR ANYONE WHO CHARGES - 486.685.6: the notary ‘shall conspicuously display in their regular place of work or business, or present to each principal outside their regular place of work or business, an English-language schedule of fees for notarial acts… No part of any notarial fee schedule shall be printed in smaller than twelve-point type’, and 486.960.6 extends the duty to electronic notaries’ internet sites. PREPAYMENT - 486.690: fees may be required in advance and are non-refundable if the act was completed, or, for travel fees, if the act was not completed because it was prohibited under 486.645 or because the notary knew or reasonably believed the act or transaction was unlawful. EMPLOYERS - 486.695: an employer may bar an employee from charging for acts done on the employer’s time but may not require the employee to surrender or share fees; a governmental employer that absorbed the notary’s costs must require fees for acts on its time to be waived or surrendered as agency revenue.

Who does NOT need a commission — exemptions

TIERS SEARCHED on 2026-08-12: Mo. Rev. Stat. ch. 486 as reproduced in full in the Secretary of State’s Missouri Notary Public Handbook (sections 486.600 through 486.1205), Mo. Rev. Stat. 28.160, the SOS ‘General Qualifications’ page, the SOS Notary FAQ, and the SOS handbook’s non-statutory guidance. WHAT THOSE SOURCES ESTABLISH: (a) NON-RESIDENTS ARE NOT EXEMPT BUT ARE ACCOMMODATED - a person who lives outside Missouri may hold a Missouri commission if they work in Missouri, will use the seal in that employment, have a work address in the county of commission, and appoint the Secretary as agent for service of process (486.605.3 and the SOS general-qualifications page); (b) PERMANENT RESIDENT ALIENS under INA Section 245 may apply, filing a copy of the green card - so US citizenship is not required, only legal US residence (486.605.2(3) and the SOS page); (c) EMPLOYERS get no notarial powers of their own and cannot take the notary’s journal - 486.715.2 bars surrendering it to an employer on termination, and 486.695 limits what an employer may do about fees; (d) A ’notary signing agent’ is not a Missouri status - chapter 486 knows only notaries, electronic notaries and remote online notaries. WHAT IS NOT SOURCED: no Missouri source read when this page was last verified addresses ex officio notarial powers for judges, clerks or other officials, notarial acts by military officers under 10 U.S.C. 1044a, or documents Missouri exempts from notarization entirely. Chapter 486 as published in the handbook is written around commissioned notaries, and 486.775 addresses the effect of acts performed under other authority rather than granting notary powers to officeholders. This record therefore makes no claim about ex officio or military notarial authority in Missouri; that is an unsearched-to-conclusion tier, not a negative.

How to apply

Applications are handled by Missouri Secretary of State, Notaries & Commissions Unit (Business Services Division); the county clerk of the county of commission administers the oath and takes the bond. Start at the official application page .

Verify a license in Missouri

Missouri Secretary of State, Notaries & Commissions Unit publishes a public license search , searchable by notary name, commission number or county. It covers Commission status of Missouri notaries public - the SOS labels it ‘Notary Public Search’ and ‘Search for Notary’ from the Notaries & Commissions landing page, and states that the office maintains ‘The oaths of office and official signatures of more than 70,000 active Missouri notaries’. A related but separate public system exists for seal vendors: Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.735.1 requires the Secretary to ‘maintain an internet site for the purpose of allowing vendors and manufacturers to confirm the current standing of any notary in the state’ before selling that notary a seal.

Records come from Missouri Secretary of State, Notaries & Commissions Unit’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

Is there a test to become a Missouri notary?

Yes. Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.630.3(2) requires every applicant to ‘Receive a score of eighty percent or better on an examination administered by the secretary prior to being issued a commission’, and passing it is itself one of the statutory qualifications in 486.605.2. The exam covers notarial laws, procedures and ethics, and comes with the Secretary of State’s training - which you take either as the online course or as the paper ‘Written Notary Training Course’ filed with your application.

What is the Missouri notary bond, and do I need insurance too?

A $10,000 surety bond executed by a licensed Missouri surety, running for four years on exactly the same dates as your commission. It is presented to your county clerk, and under Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.615.1 the commission ‘shall not become effective until an oath of office and a ten thousand dollar bond have been presented’ there. Errors-and-omissions insurance is optional - the Secretary of State says plainly that an E&O policy ‘does not replace a bond’ and ‘is not required by law’, though it protects you rather than the public.

What does it mean to 'qualify' at the county clerk's office?

It is the step that switches your commission on, and it is time-boxed. Within sixty days of the commission’s issue date you appear in person before the county clerk, present the $10,000 bond, take the oath of office, and give a handwritten specimen signature that must match the name on your commission certificate exactly. You then have seven days to mail the oath and bond to the Secretary of State. Miss the sixty days and the clerk marks the commission not qualified and returns it - you may have to reapply.

How long does a Missouri notary commission last?

Four years from the ISSUE date, not from the day you qualify - so the time you spend getting your bond and taking the oath comes out of the four years. Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.610.1 sets the term, and the Secretary of State gives the example ‘commissioned on 7/27/2020, expires 7/27/2024’. There is no automatic renewal: you reapply, retrain, retake the exam, buy a new bond and qualify again.

Does Missouri require a notary journal?

Yes, for every notarial act, and it must be ‘a permanently bound book with numbered pages’ (Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.700.1). Only one active journal at a time, kept at least ten years from the last entry. Entries are made at the time of notarization and include the date and time, the act, the document, each principal’s signature, printed name and address, how identity was proven, the fee, and the address if not your usual workplace - but never a Social Security or credit card number. Even remote online notaries must keep the bound paper journal in addition to their electronic one.

How much can a Missouri notary charge?

Up to $5.00 per signature for an acknowledgment, a jurat or a signature witnessing, and $1.00 per page for a certified copy with a $3.00 minimum (Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.685.2). Travel fees are allowed if agreed in advance and explained as separate and not required by law. You may not charge anything for notarizing an absentee ballot or absentee voter registration, and if you charge at all you must display an English-language fee schedule in type no smaller than twelve points.

Can Missouri notaries do remote online notarizations?

Yes, with a separate registration and separate training. Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.1100-486.1205, added by 2020 H.B. 1655, require a commissioned notary to register the RON capability with the Secretary of State and to complete an approved RON course and pass an examination on it, in addition to the base commission course and exam. You must be physically located in Missouri when you perform the act, and you must use software the Secretary has approved, tested and certified. Every session must be audio-video recorded and the recording kept at least ten years.

What is the difference between an electronic notary and a remote online notary in Missouri?

The statute treats them as different registrations. Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.902 says the electronic-notary sections govern ‘in-person electronic notarial acts’ - electronic documents, signer present. Remote work for a signer who is somewhere else falls under the separate remote online notary sections, with their own registration, course, exam, software approval and recording duties. Note that the Secretary of State’s Electronic Notary Information page describes an electronic notary as one ‘approved to provide services remotely’, which does not track the statutory split.

What must a Missouri notary seal contain?

A photographically reproducible image with your name exactly as on the commission, your commission identification number, the words ‘Notary Public’, ‘Notary Seal’ and ‘State of Missouri’, the phrase ‘My commission expires’ with the date, and a rectangular or circular border no larger than one sixteenth of an inch (Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.730). An embosser that will not photocopy may be used only in addition to that seal, never instead of it. Missouri also regulates the sellers: a vendor must be registered with the Secretary, must verify your commission, and may make only one seal per commission.

Can someone who lives outside Missouri be a Missouri notary?

Yes, if they work in Missouri. Mo. Rev. Stat. 486.605.3 allows a non-resident to qualify ‘if he or she works in Missouri and will use the notary seal in the course of his or her employment in Missouri’, and requires them to appoint the Secretary of State as agent for service of process. The Secretary of State adds that a non-resident applicant must have a work address in the county for which they are applying. If they later move to Missouri they may be recommissioned as a resident immediately, returning the old certificate with a cancellation request and the $25 fee.

See every license and certification LicensingAtlas covers in Missouri.

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.