Mississippi Secretary of State, Business Services Division (notary commissions are administered by the Regulation & Enforcement / Business Services section) commissions notaries public in Mississippi. 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 (Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-3(g), 25-34-41(5)). Mississippi’s umbrella term for anyone who may perform a notarial act - a notary, an elected judge, a court clerk or deputy clerk, or the Secretary of State or an Assistant Secretary of State - is ’notarial officer’ (25-34-3(f)). Folk terms: ’notary license’ and ’notary certification’ are lay phrasings for the commission; ’e-notary’ in Mississippi means an IN-PERSON electronic notarization authorization, not a remote one, and a reader who takes ’e-notary’ to mean online notarization will misread this state. ‘Notary signing agent’ is a private industry title with no Mississippi status. ‘NOTARIO’ AND ‘NOTARIO PUBLICO’ ARE PROHIBITED for non-attorneys - Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-47(3): ‘A notary public who is not an attorney licensed to practice law in this state may not use the term “notario” or “notario publico”.’ Subsection (4) also requires a non-attorney notary who advertises notarial services in any medium to include, prominently and in each language used, the statement: ‘I am not an attorney licensed to practice law in this state. I am not allowed to draft legal records, give advice on legal matters, including immigration, or charge a fee for those activities.’ Where the format is too small to carry the statement, it must be displayed prominently or provided at the place of the notarial act before the act is performed.

Types of notary commission

  • Notary public commission (tangible/paper records) — Any qualifying Mississippi resident; jurisdiction is statewide Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-3(g) defines ’notary public’ as ‘an individual commissioned to perform a notarial act by the Secretary of State.’ Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-41(5): ’the Secretary of State shall issue a commission as a notary public to an applicant for a term of four (4) years.’ The SOS FAQ confirms statewide reach: ‘Mississippi Notaries have statewide jurisdiction. A Notary may notarize in any county within Mississippi. Your seal or stamp, however, must show the county of your residence in Mississippi.’
  • Electronic notarization (e-notary) registration - IN-PERSON electronic acts only — A commissioned Mississippi notary who wants to notarize electronic records while the signer is physically present A separate registration on top of the commission. Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-39(3): ‘A notary public seeking to perform notarial acts with respect to electronic records must file an additional registration with the Secretary of State subsequent to being granted a notary commission.’ Notary Rule 8.1 requires the notary to hold a current unrestricted commission, ‘submit an additional application on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State for performing in-person electronic notarial acts’, and receive proof of approval. Rule 8.2(C) is explicit that this does NOT relax presence: ‘All requirements of a notarial act performed with respect to a tangible document apply to an electronic document, including the personal appearance and identification of the individual appearing before the notary public.’ Renewing the commission renews this authorization automatically.

Who can be commissioned

Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-41(2) requires an applicant to: ‘(a) Be at least eighteen (18) years of age; (b) Be a citizen or permanent legal resident of the United States; (c) Be a resident of Mississippi for not less than thirty (30) days immediately preceding the date of the application; (d) Be able to read and write English; (e) Not be disqualified to receive a commission under Section 25-34-43; and (f) Meet such other requirements as the Secretary of State may establish by rule.’ The live application form turns those into sworn declarations and adds a categorical criminal bar as the applicant must certify it: ‘I have never been convicted of a felony in this State or other state-nation and am not presently incarcerated or on parole; I have never had a denial, revocation, suspension, restriction, or resignation of a notarial commission in this State or any other state or nation.’ Notary Rule 2.3(B) lists the same declarations plus date of birth, physical residence address, valid email, telephone, business address and employer. RESIDENCY IS CONTINUING, NOT JUST AN ENTRY TEST - Notary Rule 2.2: ‘If a notary public does not reside in this State, that notary public will be deemed to have resigned from the office of notary public as of the date the residency ceases or employment within this State terminates’, with written or electronic notice to the SOS within 30 calendar days. The SOS FAQ puts it bluntly: ‘Moving out of state terminates the Notary.’ FEDERAL EMPLOYEES ARE ELIGIBLE - Notary Rule 2.1: ‘Individuals who are employed by the legislative, executive, or judiciary branch of the United States government but who are neither elected nor appointed to office are eligible for appointment and commission as a notary public.’ Discipline grounds are in Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-43, which lets the SOS deny, refuse to renew, revoke, suspend or condition a commission ‘for any act or omission that demonstrates the individual lacks the honesty, integrity, competence or reliability to act as a notary public.’

Requirements

  1. Complete SOS Form NP 001, ‘Application for Notary Public Commission’ (Form 11NP001, Revised 7/2021), typed or printed in ink. The applicant states a legal name and a separate ‘Commission Name’ - full last name required, an initial allowed only for the first or middle name, suffixes such as Jr./Sr./II/III allowed, and titles such as ‘Doctor’, ‘Reverend’ or ‘Esquire’ NOT allowed - and must sign exactly as the Commission Name reads, handwritten and legible (if the signature is not legible, the name must be printed immediately adjacent). Notary Rule 2.3(D): ‘An applicant’s commission name must contain their surname, and at least the initials of the applicant’s first and middle name.’ 2) Certify under penalty of perjury to the qualifications, and SWEAR THE APPLICATION BEFORE ANOTHER MISSISSIPPI NOTARY - the form carries a ‘Sworn to and subscribed before me’ block with the other notary’s seal. 3) Execute the oath of office prescribed by Section 268 of the Mississippi Constitution and submit it to the Secretary of State; Notary Rule 2.4(A) requires the oath to be taken ‘in the presence of a notary public of the State of Mississippi’, on SOS forms, and Rule 2.4(B) requires the applicant to present satisfactory evidence of identity before taking the oath or registering an official signature. 4) File a $5,000 surety bond (or functional equivalent) issued by a surety licensed by the Mississippi Department of Insurance. 5) Pay the $25.00 application fee, sent with the application to Secretary of State, Business Services Division, P.O. Box 136, Jackson, MS 39205-0136. THE BOND HAS A HARD DEADLINE: the application form warns, ‘If you do not submit your bond within (60) sixty days, your application will be in lapse status and applicant will have to start the notary process again.’ Rule 2.3(E) allows the SOS to issue a pre-commission document showing the starting and ending dates so the applicant can buy a bond that matches. 6) The SOS issues the commission certificate BY EMAIL - ‘Effective November 8, 2021, all new and renewal notary commissions will be delivered by email’ - and no paper copies are mailed. 7) Buy an official seal/stamp at your own expense showing your county of residence, and do not notarize until the commission is issued: the SOS FAQ answers ‘I have filed my application, paid my money and sworn my oath, may I notarize now?’ with ‘No. The Secretary of State must assign you a date for the beginning of your commission… And finally, you must obtain your official seal or stamp showing your county of residence.’ The SOS estimates ’less than one week provided that you submit a complete application along with your bond and Oath.’

Training

Mississippi does not require a training course.

Mississippi requires no course or training hours to be commissioned. Tiers searched on 2026-08-12: the Revised Mississippi Law on Notarial Acts (Miss. Code Ann. ch. 25-34) as published by the Secretary of State, read in full including 25-34-41 ‘Qualifications of applicant for commission’ - the six qualifications are age, citizenship/legal residence, 30-day Mississippi residency, English literacy, not being disqualified under 25-34-43, and ‘such other requirements as the Secretary of State may establish by rule’; the Secretary of State’s Notary Public Rules (Title 1, Part 5), read in full, whose Chapter 2 covers eligibility, application, appointment, reappointment and term and imposes no education requirement; the SOS ‘Notaries & Apostilles’ page; the SOS Notaries FAQ, whose ‘How do I become a Notary Public in Mississippi?’ answer lists residency, application, $25 fee, bond and oath, seal, and compliance - no course; and the live application form, which has no training field. The applicant certifies only that ‘I have read the instructions and the Notary Public Regulations and understand the qualifications for appointment to the Office of Notary Public.’

Exam

Mississippi does not require an exam.

Mississippi administers no notary examination and requires none. Tiers searched on 2026-08-12: Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-41 (qualifications and commissioning) and the rest of ch. 25-34 as published by the SOS; the SOS Notary Public Rules Chapter 2 (eligibility, application for appointment, appointment and issuance of commission, reappointment, term), read in full; the SOS Notaries FAQ; and the live SOS Form NP 001. None contains an examination, a passing score, or an exam fee. The only knowledge attestation is the perjury-backed certification on the application that the applicant has read the regulations and can read and write English.

Your surety bond

A $5,000 assurance - a surety bond or its functional equivalent - is required BEFORE the commission issues, and it is filed with the Secretary of State (not a county). Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-41(4): ‘Before issuance of a commission as a notary public, the applicant for a commission must submit to the Secretary of State an assurance in the form of a surety bond or its functional equivalent in the amount of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) pursuant to the rules set forth by the Secretary of State. The assurance must be issued by a surety or other entity licensed by the Mississippi Department of Insurance. The assurance must cover acts performed during the term of the notary public’s commission and must be in the form prescribed by the Secretary of State. If a notary public violates a law with respect to notaries public in this state, the surety or issuing entity is liable under the assurance.’ The same subsection makes the bond a CONDITION OF ACTING, not just of appointment: ‘A notary public may perform notarial acts in this state only during the period that a valid assurance is on file with the Secretary of State.’ Cancellation and claims are policed - ‘The surety or issuing entity must give thirty (30) days’ notice to the Secretary of State before canceling the assurance’ and must notify the SOS within 30 days after paying a claimant. Notary Rule 2.3(B)(9) requires ’evidence of a surety bond or its functional equivalent in the amount of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), signed by the notary public’ with the application, and the live application form sets the 60-day deadline: ‘If you do not submit your bond within (60) sixty days, your application will be in lapse status and applicant will have to start the notary process again.’ A NEW BOND IS ALSO REQUIRED ON A NAME CHANGE - SOS FAQ: ‘You will also need to obtain a new seal or stamp and a new bond.’ ERRORS-AND-OMISSIONS INSURANCE IS NOT REQUIRED. Tiers searched on 2026-08-12 with no E&O requirement found: Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-41 (which speaks only of the $5,000 assurance), the full chapter as published by the SOS, the SOS Notary Public Rules in full (Rule 2.3 lists what an application must include and names only the bond), the SOS FAQ’s how-to-become answer, and the application form. The statute’s phrase ‘surety bond or its functional equivalent’ refers to an alternative assurance instrument acceptable to the SOS, not to liability insurance for the notary - the bond protects claimants, and the surety may be held liable when the notary violates notary law.

Fees

APPLICATION FEE: $25.00. The live SOS Form NP 001 states: ‘Return completed Application and the $25.00 fee to the Secretary of State, Business Services Division, P.O. Box 136, Jackson, MS 39205-0136’, and the SOS Notaries FAQ lists ‘Pay a $25 application fee.’ Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-41(1) itself sets no dollar figure - it says the applicant must ‘pay any application fee’ - so the $25 is agency-published rather than statutory, which is worth knowing before quoting it as a statutory fee. The same fee applies on reappointment (the form is a single New/Current form). BOND PREMIUM: a private market price for the $5,000 assurance; no state-set amount, and the sources read do not quote a range. SEAL/STAMP: bought at the notary’s own expense - Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-33(1), ‘Every notary public appointed and commissioned must procure, at his own expense, a suitable official seal.’ No state-set price. NEW SEAL AND NEW BOND on a name change, and a NEW SEAL on a move to a different county (the county of residence appears on the stamp). E-NOTARY REGISTRATION: no fee is published in any tier searched on 2026-08-12 - Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-39(3) requires ‘an additional registration’ without a fee; Notary Rule 8.1 requires ‘an additional application on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State’ without a fee; and neither the SOS E-Notary Registration page (which serves the form inside an iframe) nor the SOS Fees & Forms Directory listing published one that could be read at this vantage. This record therefore says ’no fee published’, not ‘$0’. THIRD-PARTY TECHNOLOGY COSTS ARE SEPARATE AND UNCAPPED - Notary Rule 9.2: ‘Nothing in the act shall be construed to prevent a third person who provides technologies or storage capabilities to aid the notary public in the performance of an electronic notarization from separately charging and collecting any additional fee for the services rendered.’ COUNTY: Mississippi does NOT require a county filing or recording fee for the commission - the bond and oath go to the Secretary of State - although a notary’s JOURNAL must eventually be deposited with the circuit clerk on resignation, revocation or suspension.

How long the commission lasts, and renewing it

Four years. Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-41(5): ‘On compliance with this section, the Secretary of State shall issue a commission as a notary public to an applicant for a term of four (4) years.’ The SOS FAQ answers ‘When does my commission expire?’ with ‘Four years from the date the commission was issued.’ A REFINEMENT IN THE RULES THAT THE STATUTE DOES NOT STATE - Notary Rule 2.6(A): ‘The term of a notary public commission shall expire on the expiration date of the notary public’s surety bond, no more than four (4) years after the commission date.’ So the bond’s own expiry can shorten the commission below four years; four years is a ceiling, and the operative expiration date is the bond’s. Rule 2.6(B) adds: ‘A notary public shall reapply with the Secretary of State for each commission term before performing notarial acts.’ The term runs from the commission date assigned by the Secretary of State - the SOS FAQ notes that ‘The Secretary of State must assign you a date for the beginning of your commission.’ Reappointment rather than automatic renewal, on a four-year cycle - the SOS states plainly, ‘Notary public commissions are renewable every four years.’ The rules set a window with both an earliest and a latest date, and Notary Rule 2.5 makes the LATE end mandatory: ‘(A) A current notary public may submit an application for reappointment ninety (90) days prior to the expiration of an existing commission. The date of the new commission shall be the date immediately after the expiration date of the current commission. (B) Applications for reappointment to the office of notary public must be filed at least sixty (60) calendar days prior to the expiration of the commission under which the notary public is acting.’ THE SOS FAQ DESCRIBES A DIFFERENT WINDOW and is recorded here alongside the rule rather than reconciled: ‘How do I renew a commission? Within 60 days prior to the expiration of the current commission file a new application and oath, and submit a new bond when approved.’ The rule says applications must be IN at least 60 days before expiry (with filing allowed from 90 days out); the FAQ describes filing WITHIN the last 60 days. Reappointment requires a new application, a new oath and a new bond; there is no shortened renewal path and no continuing-education condition. Renewal of the commission automatically carries the electronic-notarization authorization forward - Notary Rule 8.1(B): ‘The renewal of the commission of a notary public who has previously qualified to perform in-person electronic notarizations under this section constitutes renewal of the notary public’s commission without the necessity of submission of another electronic notarization application.’ Commissions and renewals are delivered by email only since November 8, 2021. No continuing education is required of Mississippi notaries, during the term or as a condition of reappointment. Tiers searched on 2026-08-12: Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-41 (qualifications and the four-year commission) and 25-34-43 (grounds for denial, non-renewal, revocation, suspension - conduct-based, not education-based); the SOS Notary Public Rules Chapter 2, including Rule 2.5 ‘Reappointment’ and Rule 2.6 ‘Term of commission’, which require only a new application, oath and bond; the SOS Notaries FAQ renewal answer (‘file a new application and oath, and submit a new bond when approved’); and the live application form. No hours requirement appears in any of them.

Your seal or stamp

A SEAL/STAMP IS MANDATORY. Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-33(1): ‘Every notary public appointed and commissioned must procure, at his own expense, a suitable official seal. The official seal of a notary public must: (a) Include the notary public’s name, jurisdiction, commission expiration date and other information required by the Secretary of State; and (b) Be capable of being copied together with the record to which it is affixed or attached or with which it is logically associated.’ The Secretary of State’s Notary Rule 3.1(A) fixes the content AND THE ORDER: ‘1. The words “State of Mississippi”; 2. The notary public’s name as it appears on the commission; 3. The words “Notary Public”; 4. The name of the county in which the notary public maintains an office; 5. The notary public’s current commission expiration date; 6. The notary public’s commission identification number assigned by the Secretary of State.’ The rule prints a worked example (‘State of Mississippi / John Q. Doe, Notary Public / Hinds County / My commission expires July 1, 2024 / Commission number 1234567’), forbids abbreviations except approved name suffixes, requires the stamp to be placed near the notary’s signature (or logically associated with an electronic document), forbids stamping over any signature or over writing in the notarial certificate, forbids using the stamp for any non-notarial purpose, forbids lending it or using anyone else’s, and - notably - provides that ‘The official stamp must not contain the Mississippi state seal.’ Notaries commissioned on July 1, 2021 could keep using their old stamps until that commission expired. STAMPING-DEVICE SECURITY - Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-35: the notary is responsible for the device and ‘may not allow another individual to use the device to perform a notarial act’; on resignation, revocation or expiration the notary ‘must disable the stamping device by destroying, defacing, damaging, erasing or securing it against use in a manner that renders it unusable’; a lost or stolen device must be reported promptly to the Secretary of State. ON DEATH OR INCOMPETENCY - Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-33(3) requires the personal representative, guardian or anyone knowingly in possession to ‘destroy or deface, as soon as reasonably practicable, all official seals of the notary public so that they may not be misused.’ A COUNTY SEAL EXISTS SEPARATELY for ex officio officers: 25-34-33(2) requires every county board of supervisors to provide an official seal ‘with the inscription “notary public” around the margin and the image of an eagle in the center’, kept in the circuit clerk’s office, for use by judges, chancellors, clerks and deputy clerks and by the Secretary of State or an Assistant Secretary of State. MOVING COUNTIES OR CHANGING NAME REQUIRES A NEW STAMP (SOS FAQ), because the county of residence and the commission name are stamped on it.

Keeping a journal

Mississippi requires a notary journal.

MISSISSIPPI REQUIRES A JOURNAL FOR EVERY NOTARIAL ACT - one of the minority of states that does. Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-37(1): ‘A notary public must maintain a journal in which the notary public chronicles all notarial acts that the notary public performs.’ FORM - subsection (2): the journal may be tangible or electronic, only ONE journal may be maintained at a time ’to chronicle all notarial acts, whether those notarial acts are performed regarding tangible or electronic records’, and ‘If the journal is tangible, it must be a permanent, bound register with numbered pages. An electronic journal must conform to specifications set forth in rules by the Secretary of State.’ TIMING AND CONTENTS - subsection (3): ‘An entry in a journal must be made contemporaneously with performance of the notarial act’ and must contain (a) the date and time of the act; (b) a description of the record, if any, and the type of notarial act; (c) the full name and address of each individual for whom the act is performed; (d) a statement to that effect if identity is based on personal knowledge; (e) if identity is based on satisfactory evidence, ‘a brief description of the method of identification and the identification credential presented, if any, including the date of issuance and expiration of any identification credential’; (f) the address where the act was performed if not the notary’s business address; and (g) the fee, if any, charged. LOSS - subsection (4): a lost or stolen journal must be reported promptly to the Secretary of State. SURRENDER - subsection (5): ‘On resignation from, or the revocation or suspension of, a notary public’s commission, the notary public must deposit all journal records with the circuit clerk of the county of residence of the notary public.’ DEATH OR INCOMPETENCY - subsection (6): the personal representative, guardian or other person in possession must notify the Secretary of State in writing and, ‘Within thirty (30) days of death or adjudication of incompetency, transmit all journal records to the circuit clerk of the county of residence of the notary public.’ The Notary Rules develop this further in Chapter 4 (Rules 4.1 through 4.7: identification of the notary in the journal, journal entries, form and content of tangible and electronic journals, custody and control, inspection and response to subpoenas and investigative requests, and disposition). Note that Mississippi’s statute sets no fixed retention period in the notary’s own hands - the journal is surrendered to the circuit clerk on resignation, revocation, suspension, death or incompetency.

Online (remote) notarization

Mississippi does not authorize remote online notarization.

MISSISSIPPI DOES NOT AUTHORIZE REMOTE ONLINE NOTARIZATION. The controlling text is Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-15, ‘Physical presence required for person making statement in or executing signature on record’: ‘If a notarial act relates to a statement made in or a signature executed on a record, the individual making the statement or executing the signature must appear physically in person before the notarial officer at the time of the notarial act.’ There is no exception in the chapter. Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-11(1) reinforces it, requiring the officer to determine identity of ’the individual appearing in person before the officer’. WHAT MISSISSIPPI DOES HAVE IS ELECTRONIC (not remote) NOTARIZATION: Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-39 lets a notary notarize electronic records after filing ‘an additional registration with the Secretary of State’, gives the SOS ’the sole power to determine the methods by which notarial acts with respect to electronic records may be implemented’, and the SOS’s Notary Rule 8.1 calls the extra application one ‘for performing IN-PERSON electronic notarial acts’. Rule 8.2(C) closes the door explicitly: ‘All requirements of a notarial act performed with respect to a tangible document apply to an electronic document, including the personal appearance and identification of the individual appearing before the notary public.’ The system must let both parties affix electronic signatures, let the notary affix an electronic seal, ‘Employ the use of a public key certificate… to identify the principal’, and make the document tamper-evident; the SOS ‘may publish a list of approved electronic notarization system vendors on its website’ but states that it ‘does not endorse any electronic notarization system vendor and does not guarantee that the use of any electronic notarization system satisfies the minimum criteria’. TIERS SEARCHED FOR ANY RON AUTHORITY on 2026-08-12, all negative: the full text of the Revised Mississippi Law on Notarial Acts as published by the Secretary of State (two separate copies from two SOS paths - the words ‘remote’ and ‘online’ appear ZERO times in either); the Secretary of State’s complete Notary Public Rules, Title 1 Part 5 (two separate copies from two SOS paths - zero occurrences of ‘remote’ or ‘online notarization’); the SOS ‘Notaries & Apostilles’ hub; the SOS E-Notary Registration page; and the SOS Notaries FAQ. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY CONFIRMS THE NEGATIVE RATHER THAN CONTRADICTING IT - RON bills have been introduced repeatedly and have repeatedly failed: HB 1168 (2024 Regular Session, ‘Mississippi Law on Notarial Acts; revise to allow notaries to perform remote online notarization’) died in committee on 03/05; SB 2546 (2024, ‘Remote online notarization; allow’) died on the calendar on 03/14; and HB 1154 (2025), the same RON bill, passed the House but DIED IN COMMITTEE in the Senate on 03/04, per the Mississippi Legislature’s own bill-history records. A reader who finds the text of any of those bills will find full RON machinery in it - definitions, identity proofing, audio-visual recording - and none of it is Mississippi law. Anyone relying on a bill text, or on a summary that treats an introduced or House-passed bill as enacted, will get this state wrong.

What you may charge

$5.00 per act, set by statute and itemised by the rules. Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-9: ‘A notarial officer may charge a fee in an amount not to exceed Five Dollars ($5.00) for services rendered unless otherwise prohibited by law or by rules promulgated by the Secretary of State.’ Notary Rule 9.1(A) breaks it down: ‘1. for acknowledgments, five dollars ($5.00) per signature; 2. for oaths or affirmations without a signature, five dollars ($5.00) per person; 3. for jurats, five dollars ($5.00) per signature; 4. for signature witnessings, five dollars ($5.00) per signature.’ Rule 9.1(B): ‘A notary public need not charge for notarial acts.’ TRAVEL FEES ARE ALLOWED ON CONDITIONS - Notary Rule 9.3 permits a travel fee in addition to the notarial fee only if the notary and the requester ‘agree upon the travel fee in advance of the travel’ AND the notary ’explains to the individual requesting the notarial act that the travel fee is in addition to the notarial fee… and is not required by law.’ PREPAYMENT - Rule 9.4 allows requiring payment before the act, and makes prepaid fees non-refundable if the act was completed, or in the case of travel fees if the act was not completed after the notary had already travelled to meet the principal. EMPLOYERS - Rule 9.5: ‘An employer may prohibit an employee who is a notary public from charging for notarial acts performed on the employer’s time.’ A MANDATORY FREE ACT - Rule 9.6: ‘Notaries public shall waive the fee for notarizing an absentee voter application or ballot.’ TECHNOLOGY SURCHARGES ARE OUTSIDE THE CAP - Rule 9.2 preserves a third-party technology or storage provider’s right to charge separately for electronic-notarization services.

Who does NOT need a commission — exemptions

WHO MAY NOTARIZE WITHOUT A NOTARY COMMISSION - Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-21(1): ‘A notarial act may be performed in this state by: (a) A notary public of this state; (b) An elected judge, a clerk or deputy clerk of a court of this state; or (c) The Mississippi Secretary of State or a Mississippi Assistant Secretary of State.’ Those officers use the county-provided official seal kept in the circuit clerk’s office (Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-33(2)). Subsections (2) and (3) give the signature and title of such an officer prima facie evidentiary weight and make it conclusive of the officer’s authority. WHAT A COMMISSION DOES NOT AUTHORIZE - Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-47(1): a commission does not authorize an individual to ‘(a) Assist persons in drafting legal records, give legal advice or otherwise practice law; (b) Act as an immigration consultant or an expert on immigration matters; (c) Represent a person in a judicial or administrative proceeding relating to immigration to the United States, United States citizenship or related matters; or (d) Receive compensation for performing any of the activities listed in this subsection.’ Violations are an unfair or deceptive act under Miss. Code Ann. 75-24-5 and are criminally punishable: a first offence is a misdemeanor with a fine up to $1,000; a second within five years is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in county jail and/or a $1,000 fine; a third or subsequent within five years is a FELONY punishable by up to five years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and/or a $5,000 fine, and out-of-state convictions for substantially similar provisions count toward the tally. FEDERAL EMPLOYEES are eligible for a Mississippi commission if not elected or appointed to office (Notary Rule 2.1). NOT SOURCED: no Mississippi source read when this page was last verified addresses notarial acts by military officers under 10 U.S.C. 1044a, or classes of documents Mississippi exempts from notarization entirely; ch. 25-34 as published by the SOS, the SOS Notary Rules, the SOS hub page and the SOS FAQ are silent on those, so this record makes no claim about them.

How to apply

Applications are handled by Mississippi Secretary of State, Business Services Division (notary commissions are administered by the Regulation & Enforcement / Business Services section). Start at the official application page .

Verify a license in Mississippi

Mississippi Secretary of State, Business Services Division publishes a public license search , searchable by notary name, county or notary ID / commission number. It covers Commission status of Mississippi notaries public. Miss. Code Ann. 25-34-45 requires the Secretary of State to maintain an electronic database ‘Through which a person may verify the authority of a notary public to perform notarial acts’ and ‘Which indicates whether a notary public has notified the Secretary of State that the notary public will be performing notarial acts on electronic records.’ The SOS runs the general lookup at this page (the search application itself is served in an iframe from https://sos.ms.gov/content/NotaryPublicSearch/) , a separate E-Notary Search at /regulation-enforcement/notaries-apostilles/e-notary-search (iframe https://www.sos.ms.gov/content/notary/enotarysearch.aspx ) for the electronic-notarization roster, and publishes a ‘Revoked & Suspended Notary List’ PDF. Addresses appear only if the notary opted in - the application form has a checkbox ‘Check here if you would like this address published on the Notary Website’, and business information is published by default.

Records come from Mississippi Secretary of State, Business Services Division’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.