How to Become a Notary in Montana: 4-Year Term, Exam

How to become a notary public in Montana: a 4-year commission, a surety bond, a required course, an exam, remote online notarization — verified from Montana Secretary of State, Notary & Certifications Division.

Source-verified

Requirements below are drawn from Montana Secretary of State, Notary & Certifications Division (official site) and last verified August 12, 2026. Boards change fees and rules often — confirm before acting.

Requirements at a glance

Per the Secretary of State's 'Applying for a Commission (New and Renewal)' page and 1-5-619/1-5-620, MCA, the steps in order are: (1) meet the qualifications in 1-5-619(1), MCA; (2) complete at least 4 hours of notary education approved by the Secretary of State or by the commission of continuing legal education (new applicants must complete training 'within 12 months of the notary's application submission'); (3) take and pass the Montana notary examination administered by the Secretary of State or an approved entity, with a passing grade of 80% and no more than six months before submitting the application (SOS quoting ARM 44.15.101(4)(a)); (4) obtain a $25,000 notary surety bond on the state's standardized form, which also contains the Statement of Qualifications and Oath of Office and must itself be notarized; (5) file the application online through the Secretary of State's online notary portal, uploading the training certificate, exam certificate and bond, and pay the $25 non-refundable filing fee -- 'All applications must be filed online; paper submissions will be returned unprocessed'; (6) after approval, download the Certificate of Commission from the portal and then obtain the official seal/stamp and a journal. 1-5-619(4)(f), MCA requires the application, bond, certification and fee to be submitted 'within 30 days before or after the effective date of the surety bond or the expiration of the previous commission.'

Legal basis

Montana Secretary of State, Notary & Certifications Division commissions notaries public in Montana. Every figure below is verified against the commissioning authority’s own official pages and dated.

What it’s called

The statutory noun is ’notary public,’ and what the state issues is a ‘commission as a notary public’ (1-5-619, MCA; the Secretary of State’s page is titled ‘Applying for a Commission (New and Renewal)’). Montana does not issue a ’notary license’ – the folk terms ‘Montana notary license’ and ’notary certification’ are colloquial names for the commission. Statute also uses the broader term ’notarial officer,’ which covers commissioned notaries AND judges, court clerks and deputy clerks (1-5-604(1), MCA), so ’notarial officer’ is not a synonym for ’notary public.’ The Secretary of State’s own shorthand for the technology authorities is ‘IPEN,’ ‘R.O.N.’ and ‘Remote’ (the last meaning remote notarization of tangible/paper records, which elsewhere is usually called RIN); the SOS explicitly warns that ‘There is a great deal of misunderstanding and misuse of these terms - they are not interchangeable.’ ‘Notary signing agent’ / ’loan signing agent’ is a private vendor credential, not anything Montana issues; no Montana source read on 2026-08-12 addresses it.

Types of notary commission

Notary public commission (traditional / tangible-record notarization) — Anyone meeting the qualifications in 1-5-619, MCA who wants to notarize paper documents with the signer physically present Montana issues ONE notary public commission, for a 4-year term (1-5-619(5), MCA). The Secretary of State’s technology page describes traditional notarization as: physical presence of signer and notary, paper (tangible) document, wet signatures, and an ink impression of the notary’s seal/stamp.
In-person electronic notarization (IPEN / ’eNotarization’) authority — A commissioned Montana notary who wants to notarize electronic records with the signer physically present Not a separate commission. Before the first such act the notary must notify the Secretary of State, identify the electronic notarization system, and complete an approved course and pass an examination on it (1-5-615(3), MCA). SOS: IPEN involves ‘physical presence of the signer(s) and the notary, electronic document, digital signatures of the signer and the notary, digital notary seal’ and ‘Montana notaries must perform IPEN notarizations within the state of Montana.’
Remote online notarization (RON) authority — A commissioned Montana notary who wants to notarize ELECTRONIC records for a signer appearing by live two-way audio-video Same notification-plus-course-plus-exam registration step as IPEN, under 1-5-615(3), MCA. SOS: RON ‘may be performed by Montana notaries beginning October 1, 2019’; ‘The notary must be physically located in Montana; the signer can be anywhere in the world.’
Remote notarization of TANGIBLE records (remote ink / RIN) authority — A commissioned Montana notary taking an ACKNOWLEDGMENT on a paper document from a remotely located signer The Secretary of State states: ‘Montana is one of only two states currently that allow the remote notarization of tangible documents,’ that the paper document must have been signed and subsequently delivered to the notary, that wet signatures and an ink seal impression are used, and that ‘Acknowledgments are the only notarial act that can be performed in this manner.’ Registration requirement is the same as IPEN/RON.

Who can be commissioned

1-5-619(1), MCA: an individual must (a) be at least 18 years old; (b) be a citizen or permanent legal resident of the United States; (c) satisfy ONE of five Montana-nexus alternatives – be a Montana resident, OR be the spouse or legal dependent of military personnel assigned to active duty in Montana, OR maintain a Montana place of business registered under Title 25 [statute text: ‘registered pursuant to Title 35’] meeting local business-licensing requirements, OR be regularly employed at a Montana office/business/facility by an employer registered and licensed to do business in Montana, OR hold a current Montana professional license issued by an appropriate Montana authority; and (d) be able to read and write English. 1-5-619(2) adds that the applicant must pass the examination, meet the 1-5-620 education requirements, and not have been disqualified under 1-5-621. 1-5-621(1)(c) makes a felony or a crime involving fraud, dishonesty or deceit a ground to deny, ‘although conviction of a criminal offense is not a complete bar to receiving a commission if the individual’s full rights have been restored.’ 1-5-619(6): ‘An individual may not have more than one Montana notary public commission in effect at the same time.’

Requirements

Per the Secretary of State’s ‘Applying for a Commission (New and Renewal)’ page and 1-5-619/1-5-620, MCA, the steps in order are: (1) meet the qualifications in 1-5-619(1), MCA; (2) complete at least 4 hours of notary education approved by the Secretary of State or by the commission of continuing legal education (new applicants must complete training ‘within 12 months of the notary’s application submission’); (3) take and pass the Montana notary examination administered by the Secretary of State or an approved entity, with a passing grade of 80% and no more than six months before submitting the application (SOS quoting ARM 44.15.101(4)(a)); (4) obtain a $25,000 notary surety bond on the state’s standardized form, which also contains the Statement of Qualifications and Oath of Office and must itself be notarized; (5) file the application online through the Secretary of State’s online notary portal, uploading the training certificate, exam certificate and bond, and pay the $25 non-refundable filing fee – ‘All applications must be filed online; paper submissions will be returned unprocessed’; (6) after approval, download the Certificate of Commission from the portal and then obtain the official seal/stamp and a journal. 1-5-619(4)(f), MCA requires the application, bond, certification and fee to be submitted ‘within 30 days before or after the effective date of the surety bond or the expiration of the previous commission.’

Training

Montana requires a training course.

Required for BOTH new and renewal commissions. 1-5-620(3), MCA: ‘On and after July 1, 2020, in addition to passing the examination: (a) for a new commission, the applicant must have completed within the previous 12 months at least 4 hours of notary public education approved by the secretary of state or by the commission of continuing legal education; (b) to renew a commission, an applicant must have completed: (i) within the previous 12 months, at least 4 hours of notary public continuing education…; or (ii) in each of the previous 3 years, at least 2 hours of notary public continuing education…’. Courses come from providers pre-approved by the Notary & Certifications Division, listed on the Secretary of State’s Notary Academy page; the SOS says it ‘has approved several notary education courses that applicants can choose from to fulfill the education requirements.’ The provider issues a certificate of completion that must be uploaded with the online application. A separate approved course and examination is required before a notary’s FIRST electronic or remote notarial act (1-5-615(3)(c), MCA), which ‘may be completed in conjunction with any course required by the secretary of state for a notary public commission.’

Exam

Montana requires an exam.

Required for every new AND renewal commission. 1-5-620(1), MCA: ‘An applicant for a new or renewed commission as a notary public in this state shall pass an examination administered by the secretary of state or by an entity approved by the secretary of state. The examination must be based on the course of study described in subsection (2).’ The Secretary of State publishes the exam at https://sosmt.gov/notary/montana-notary-exam/ (the notary home page labels it ‘Revised March 2025’). Scoring and retake rules, quoted by the SOS from ARM 44.15.101: ‘(4)(a) New and renewing applicants must take and pass the examination no more than six months before submitting the application. (i) A grade of 80% is considered passing. (ii) If the applicant fails to achieve a passing score after three attempts, the applicant must wait three months before attempting to take the exam again.’ A separate examination based on the technology provider’s or an approved third party’s course is required before performing IPEN/RON/remote notarizations (1-5-615(3)(c), MCA). No dollar exam fee is published on the SOS exam page or the applying-for-a-commission page; 1-5-620(4), MCA authorizes the Secretary of State to ‘collect fees commensurate with the cost incurred by the secretary of state’s office for providing notary public education and examination’. Searched: MCA Title 1, ch. 5, part 6; the SOS applying-for-a-commission page; the SOS exam page; the SOS notary landing page, on 2026-08-12; ARM 44.15 could not be fetched.

Your surety bond

A $25,000 surety bond (or ‘its functional equivalent’) is required of every applicant for a new or renewed commission. 1-5-619(4)(d), MCA: ‘obtain an assurance in the form of a surety bond or its functional equivalent in the amount of $25,000… 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… 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.’ The surety must give the Secretary of State 30 days’ notice before cancelling and must notify the SOS within 30 days after paying a claim. The SOS ‘Bonds, Stamps, and Journals’ page adds: statutory amount $25,000; ‘Approximate Cost - $50 - 70 for the four-year term of the commission’; ‘Montana notary surety bonds must be on a standardized form that includes the notary’s statement and oath of office which must be notarized’; and the bond’s effective date, if it has one, ‘must be within 30 days before or after the date your Application for Appointment as a Montana Notary Public is received in the Secretary of State’s office.’ ERRORS & OMISSIONS INSURANCE IS NOT REQUIRED AND IS SEPARATE FROM THE BOND – the same SOS page states: ‘A bond is not insurance to protect the notary. It is a financial guarantee that a person who suffers a financial loss because of a Notary’s misconduct will be reimbursed up to the bond’s limit’ and ‘Montana does not require notaries to obtain or carry liability insurance - Errors & Omissions Insurance - to protect themselves; however notaries should discuss the need for such insurance with their employer and their insurance agent.’

Fees

Commission filing fee: $25, non-refundable, paid online by credit/debit card or eCheck (Secretary of State, ‘Applying for a Commission (New and Renewal)’: ‘The application fee for becoming a notary public is $25, which is non-refundable’; state employees may use Procards or Inter-unit Journals). The statute itself sets no dollar amount – 1-5-619(4)(b), MCA requires the applicant to ‘pay a filing fee set by rule’. Surety bond: not a state fee; purchased from a surety, with the SOS estimating ‘approximately $50 - 70 for the four-year term of the commission’. Education: charged by the approved course provider, not by the state; 1-5-620(4), MCA authorizes the SOS to ‘collect fees commensurate with the cost incurred’ for education and examination, but no dollar figure is published on the SOS exam, academy or application pages as read on 2026-08-12. Seal/stamp and journal: bought by the notary from vendors; ‘The Secretary of State does not provide the seal/stamp.’ No separate state registration fee for IPEN/RON/remote authority is published – the technology page requires only submission of the ‘Notary Public Information Update form’ with proof of course and examination. No county recording or filing step exists in Montana: the commission is issued by, and the bond filed with, the Secretary of State.

How long the commission lasts, and renewing it

4 years. 1-5-619(5), MCA: ‘The secretary of state shall issue a commission for a 4-year term as a notary public to an applicant for a new or a renewed commission who has complied with this section.’ The term runs from issuance of the commission by the Secretary of State, not from a county qualification step (Montana has none); 1-5-619(4)(f) ties the filing window to the surety bond’s effective date or the previous commission’s expiration. Renewal is a full re-application every 4 years, not a light-touch renewal: 1-5-620(1), MCA requires ‘an applicant for a new or renewed commission’ to pass the examination, and 1-5-620(3)(b) requires continuing education (see ce_hours). The Secretary of State states the process ‘is the same for both new and renewing applicants’ and that ‘The online filing system will not allow renewals to be submitted more than thirty days prior to the expiration date of the current commission or after the thirty-day grace period following the commission expiration date.’ The notary home page labels renewals ‘Permissible Within Thirty Days of Expiration Date.’ A fresh $25,000 bond covering the new term is required each time (1-5-619(4)(d), MCA). Continuing education IS required to renew. 1-5-620(3)(b), MCA: to renew, an applicant must have completed ‘within the previous 12 months, at least 4 hours of notary public continuing education approved by the secretary of state or by the commission of continuing legal education; or… in each of the previous 3 years, at least 2 hours of notary public continuing education approved by the secretary of state or by the commission of continuing legal education.’ The Secretary of State restates this as: ‘Renewing notaries must complete at least four hours of continuing education in the 12 months preceding application or two hours in each of the 3 years preceding renewal.’ This is in addition to passing the renewal examination.

Your seal or stamp

A seal/stamp is REQUIRED and must be obtained after the Certificate of Commission is issued. Secretary of State, ‘Bonds, Stamps, and Journals’: ‘Montana notaries are required to have an ink stamp unit, rectangular in shape and approximately 1" x 2 1/2" in size, that contains a seal (as described below) and the additional statutorily mandated information: the notary’s printed name; the title, “Notary Public for the State of Montana”; the words, “Residing at” with the name of the city or town where the notary lives; and the notary’s commission expiration date, shown as Month/Day/Four Digit Year. The stamp may be either blue or black ink only.’ The same page adds: ‘The rectangular border is a REQUIRED part of the seal/stamp’; ‘The commission expiration date must be complete. It is not acceptable to “fill in” the year’; ‘If any of the information contained in the seal/stamp changes during the notary’s term of office, the stamp must be replaced. Handwritten corrections are not allowed’; and ‘Notaries must purchase a new seal/stamp for each term of office.’ A digital notary seal is used for IPEN and RON; an ink impression of the seal is used for traditional and for remote notarization of tangible records (SOS technology page). Lost or stolen stamps are reported to the SOS through the online portal (‘Report Lost or Stolen Stamp … by Accessing Filing Actions’).

Keeping a journal

Montana requires a notary journal.

Required for EVERY notarial act, paper or electronic. 1-5-618(2)(a), MCA: ‘A notary public shall maintain one or more journals in which the notary public chronicles all notarial acts that the notary public performs.’ Format: ‘A journal may be created on a tangible medium or in an electronic format… The format of a journal maintained on a tangible medium must be a permanent, bound register designed to deter fraud. A journal maintained in an electronic format must be in a permanent, tamper-evident electronic format that complies with the rules adopted by the secretary of state’ (1-5-618(2)(b)). Entries must be contemporaneous and contain: date and time; a description of the record including its date if indicated and the type of notarial act; the full name and address of each principal; the signature of each principal (except transcripts of depositions and certified copies, and for communication-technology acts the entry references the storage location of the audiovisual recording instead); a statement if identity rested on personal knowledge; a brief description of the identification method and credential with issuance/expiration date if satisfactory evidence was used; a notation identifying the electronic system or communication technology used; and the fee, if any, charged (1-5-618(3)). PROHIBITED entries: ‘A notary public may not record in the journal a social security number, passport number, driver’s license number, birth date, or any other information prohibited by the secretary of state’ (1-5-618(4)). Retention: ‘a notary public shall retain a journal for 10 years after the performance of the last notarial act chronicled in the journal’ (1-5-618(9)(a)); a former notary may instead transmit it to a repository approved by the Secretary of State. Journals may not be surrendered to an employer on termination without SOS approval (1-5-618(5)(b)); loss or theft must be reported promptly to the SOS (1-5-618(7)); on revocation the journal and audiovisual recordings go to an SOS-approved repository (1-5-618(11)); on death or adjudication of incompetency the representative or guardian must transmit all journals and recordings (1-5-618(10)). Separately, when a notarial act is performed using communication technology the notary must make an audiovisual recording of the ENTIRE communication and retain it for 10 years (1-5-618(1)). 1-5-618(12) exempts attorneys from any provision that Montana Supreme Court rules of professional conduct would prohibit them from following.

Online (remote) notarization

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

Montana authorizes remote notarization under Title 1, ch. 5, part 6, MCA. The Secretary of State states RON ‘may be performed by Montana notaries beginning October 1, 2019’ – the enabling amendments are Ch. 123, L. 2019 (see the History notes on 1-5-603, 1-5-615 and 1-5-618, each ‘amd. Sec. …, Ch. 123, L. 2019’); electronic notarization itself dates to Ch. 391, L. 2015. 1-5-603(9)(a), MCA: the individual ‘shall appear physically before the notarial officer or by communication technology as authorized in 1-5-615 and rules adopted pursuant to 1-5-628.’ 1-5-603(10)(d): ‘A notarial act performed by means of communication technology is considered to have been performed in Montana and is governed by Montana law regardless of the physical location of the principal at the time of the notarization.’ REGISTRATION: there is no separate commission, but 1-5-615(3), MCA requires that BEFORE the first electronic or remote act the notary (a) notify the Secretary of State that they will perform such acts, (b) identify the system or communication technology, which must comply with any SOS standards – ‘If the system or technology complies with the standards, the secretary of state shall approve the use of the system or technology’ – and (c) ‘complete a course of instruction approved by the secretary of state and pass an examination based on the course… A notary shall submit proof to the secretary of state that the notary has successfully completed the course and examination.’ The SOS technology page restates this as: select one or more systems, complete an approved course from the technology provider or an approved third-party provider, pass an examination on it, and ‘Submit the Notary Public Information Update form and proof of completion of the course and examination.’ SYSTEM STANDARDS (SOS page): simultaneous visual and audio transmission; evidence of any change or tampering; integrity in creation, transmittal, storage or authentication; live real-time signal; recorded transmission. IDENTIFICATION for remote acts uses multi-factor technology – the SOS lists dynamic knowledge-based authentication (DKBA), public key certificate, identity proofing, credential analysis and remote presentation, and blockchain – and notes ‘The notary has final authority to accept or deny the identification for any remote or RON transaction.’ The SOS publishes a list of approved platforms (including Amrock, BlueNotary, DocuSign, Notarize, NotaryCam, OneNotary, OneSpan, Pavaso, Proof, Qualia, Signix, Simplifile, Snapdocs and Stavvy) with the caveat that it is provided ’to exemplify Montana-approved technology providers’ and details should be verified with the provider. No extra state fee for this authority is published. DISTINCT FEATURE: Montana also permits REMOTE notarization of TANGIBLE records (‘remote ink’), which the SOS says only two states allow, limited to acknowledgments, with the signed paper document delivered to the notary and wet signatures plus an ink seal used.

What you may charge

$10 per notarial act. 1-5-626(1), MCA: ‘A notary public may charge a fee not to exceed $10 for each notarial act: (a) performing an acknowledgment; (b) witnessing a signature; (c) executing a verification on oath or affirmation (jurat); (d) certifying a transcript; (e) certifying a copy; (f) performing a certification of fact; or (g) performing another notarial act authorized by law, unless charging a fee for the act is expressly prohibited by that law.’ ADDITIONAL fees are permitted, ‘as provided by rule,’ to perform an act using an electronic notarization system or communication technology, or to travel (1-5-626(2)(a)), but only if the notary explains that the fee is in addition to the $10 and ‘is an amount not determined by law’ and the requester ‘must agree in advance on the amount’ (1-5-626(2)(b)-(c)). TRAVEL FEE CAP: ‘A fee charged for travel must be equal to or less than the standard mileage rates allowed by the internal revenue service’ (1-5-626(2)(d)). A notary may also charge the actual cost of providing a copy of a journal entry or audiovisual recording (1-5-626(3)). A notary who charges fees ‘shall display in English a list of the fees the notary public will charge’ (1-5-626(4)). A notary employed by a private entity may agree that fees accrue to the entity (1-5-626(5)), and a public body may collect the fees for acts performed by its employed notaries (1-5-626(6)).

Who does NOT need a commission — exemptions

A commission is not the only route to performing a notarial act in Montana. 1-5-604(1), MCA: ‘A notarial act may be performed in this state by: (a) a notary public of this state; (b) a judge, clerk, or deputy clerk of any court of this state; or (c) any other individual authorized to perform the specific act by the law of this state.’ 1-5-604(5) adds that ‘The signature and title of a notarial officer described in subsection (1) conclusively establish the authority of the notarial officer to perform the notarial act.’ 1-5-604(4) limits two acts – ‘certifying or attesting a transcript of an affidavit or deposition and noting a protest of a negotiable instrument’ – to notarial officers ‘who are knowledgeable of the applicable legal requirements’; the SOS ‘Bonds, Stamps, and Journals’ page repeats that these ‘require additional training and may only be performed by notaries who are knowledgeable about these processes.’ Attorneys get a narrow carve-out from the journal section: 1-5-618(12) provides that if Montana Supreme Court rules of professional conduct or ethics opinions prohibit an attorney from complying with a provision of that section, ’that provision does not apply to the attorney.’ ACTS THAT NO LONGER NEED A NOTARY: the Secretary of State’s notary landing page reports that HB 165 (69th Legislature) amended 61-3-220(2), MCA by striking the requirement that a signature on a certificate of title be acknowledged, ‘subsequently eliminating the need to notarize a title transfer,’ effective October 1, 2025. NOT ADDRESSED BY ANY SOURCE READ: military notarial authority under 10 U.S.C. 1044a is not mentioned in MCA Title 1, ch. 5, part 6, on the SOS notary landing page, the applying-for-a-commission page, the bonds/stamps/journals page or the technology page, all read 2026-08-12; this record therefore asserts nothing about it. Tiers searched for exemptions: statute (MCA Title 1, ch. 5, part 6, full section index plus the text of 1-5-603, 1-5-604, 1-5-615, 1-5-618, 1-5-619, 1-5-620, 1-5-621, 1-5-626, 1-5-627), the agency’s notary pages, and the application instructions; the administrative rules (ARM Title 44, ch. 15) could not be fetched –.

How to apply

Applications are handled by Montana Secretary of State, Notary & Certifications Division. Start at the official application page .

Verify a license in Montana

Montana Secretary of State publishes a public license search , searchable by Notary name or Commission number. It covers The Secretary of State’s notary database. 1-5-627, MCA requires the SOS to maintain an electronic database of notaries public ‘(1) through which a person may verify the authority of a notary public to perform notarial acts; (2) that indicates whether a notary public has notified the secretary of state that the notary public will be performing notarial acts on electronic records; and (3) that describes any active or pending administrative or disciplinary action against the notary public.’ The SOS notary landing page labels the Notary Search ‘Search by Name or Commission Number,’ and the technology page adds that the search identifies notaries ‘registered as a Remote, RON, RIN, IPEN, or Traditional notary.’.

Records come from Montana Secretary of State’s own system. LicensingAtlas does not hold license records and cannot confirm any individual’s status — the date on this page refers to the requirements described above, not to anyone’s credential.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a Montana notary commission last?

Four years. Mont. Code Ann. 1-5-619(5) directs the Secretary of State to ‘issue a commission for a 4-year term as a notary public to an applicant for a new or a renewed commission who has complied with this section.’

Does Montana require a notary exam?

Yes, for new AND renewal commissions. Mont. Code Ann. 1-5-620(1): ‘An applicant for a new or renewed commission as a notary public in this state shall pass an examination administered by the secretary of state or by an entity approved by the secretary of state.’ The Secretary of State, quoting ARM 44.15.101(4)(a), says the exam must be passed no more than six months before the application is submitted, that ‘A grade of 80% is considered passing,’ and that after three failed attempts the applicant must wait three months to retest.

How much does it cost to become a notary in Montana?

The state filing fee is $25 and is non-refundable, payable online by credit/debit card or eCheck (Montana Secretary of State, ‘Applying for a Commission’). On top of that the applicant buys a $25,000 surety bond, which the Secretary of State estimates at ‘approximately $50 - 70 for the four-year term of the commission,’ plus whatever the approved education provider charges and the cost of a seal/stamp and journal, which the state does not supply.

Does Montana require a notary bond, and is errors & omissions insurance required too?

A $25,000 surety bond is required; E&O insurance is not. Mont. Code Ann. 1-5-619(4)(d) requires ‘an assurance in the form of a surety bond or its functional equivalent in the amount of $25,000,’ and the Secretary of State states plainly: ‘Montana does not require notaries to obtain or carry liability insurance - Errors & Omissions Insurance - to protect themselves.’ The same page explains the difference: ‘A bond is not insurance to protect the notary. It is a financial guarantee that a person who suffers a financial loss because of a Notary’s misconduct will be reimbursed up to the bond’s limit.’

Do Montana notaries have to keep a journal?

Yes, for every notarial act. Mont. Code Ann. 1-5-618(2)(a): ‘A notary public shall maintain one or more journals in which the notary public chronicles all notarial acts that the notary public performs.’ Entries must be made at the time of the act and must be kept for 10 years after the last act recorded in that journal. Social Security numbers, passport numbers, driver’s license numbers and birth dates may not be recorded.

How much can a Montana notary charge per notarization?

No more than $10 per notarial act (Mont. Code Ann. 1-5-626(1)). A notary may add a fee for using an electronic system or communication technology, or for travel, but only after explaining that it is extra and ’not determined by law’ and getting the requester’s advance agreement; a travel fee ‘must be equal to or less than the standard mileage rates allowed by the internal revenue service.’ Any notary who charges fees must display a list of them in English.

Can a Montana notary perform remote online notarizations?

Yes. The Secretary of State states that remote online notarization ‘may be performed by Montana notaries beginning October 1, 2019.’ It is not a separate commission, but before the first electronic or remote act the notary must notify the Secretary of State, identify the electronic notarization system or communication technology, and complete an approved course and pass an examination on it (Mont. Code Ann. 1-5-615(3)), submitting the Notary Public Information Update form with proof. The notary must be physically in Montana; the signer may be elsewhere.

Can a Montana notary notarize a paper document for someone who is not physically present?

For acknowledgments only. The Secretary of State says ‘Montana is one of only two states currently that allow the remote notarization of tangible documents,’ describing it as personal appearance via communication technology, a paper document that has been signed and then delivered to the notary, wet signatures, an ink seal impression, and ‘Acknowledgments are the only notarial act that can be performed in this manner.’ The notary must be physically located in Montana.

What has to be on a Montana notary stamp?

The Secretary of State requires ‘an ink stamp unit, rectangular in shape and approximately 1" x 2 1/2" in size’ showing the notary’s printed name, the title ‘Notary Public for the State of Montana,’ the words ‘Residing at’ with the city or town where the notary lives, and the commission expiration date as Month/Day/Four Digit Year, in blue or black ink only. The rectangular border is required, handwritten corrections are not allowed, the stamp must be replaced if any of its information changes, and ‘Notaries must purchase a new seal/stamp for each term of office.’

See every license and certification LicensingAtlas covers in Montana.

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.