How to Become a Notary in New Jersey — Requirements & Fees

How to become a notary public in New Jersey: remote online notarization — verified from New Jersey Department of the Treasury.

Source-verified

Requirements below are drawn from New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services (DORES) - Business Services Bureau / Notary Public Unit; commissions are issued by the State Treasurer (official site) and last verified August 12, 2026. Boards change fees and rules often — confirm before acting.

Requirements at a glance

1) Meet the eligibility criteria in P.L.2021, c.179 (at least 18 years old; NJ legal resident OR a place of employment or practice in NJ; not disqualified under the denial/revocation grounds). 2) Non-attorney applicants for an INITIAL commission must 'provide satisfactory proof that the applicant has: 1. Completed a six-hour course of study approved by the State Treasurer; and 2. Passed an examination prescribed by the State Treasurer' (NJ Notary Public Manual, Ch. 4; DORES education/testing announcement). Attorneys-at-law admitted in NJ are outside those steps - the DORES portal step list says '(Attorneys: Please skip to step 4)'. 3) File electronically through the DORES Notary Public Application portal - 'All applications shall be submitted electronically through a means provided by the State Treasurer' - and pay the $25 non-refundable fee (plus a $5 online convenience fee per the DORES FAQ). 4) The application must be 'endorsed by a member of the Legislature'; the FAQ states online applications 'will be endorsed electronically by State Legislators' while paper applications 'must be submitted to a State Legislator for endorsement before filing with DORES.' 5) DORES mails a Notary Public Commission Packet. 6) 'Within three months of the receipt of an initial or renewed commission, each notary public shall take and subscribe an oath before the clerk of the county in which the notary public resides' (Manual, Ch. 4); the FAQ words it as taking the packet to the County Clerk 'within 90 days to swear to the Notary Public Oath of Office' and paying 'an additional fee of $15 to your County Clerk for the recording of your Oath of Office.' The clerk transmits the endorsed certificate of commission and qualification to the State Treasurer within 10 days. 7) Missing that window voids the appointment: 'The State Treasurer shall cancel and revoke the appointment of any notary public who fails to take and subscribe the oath within three months of the receipt of the commission and any appointment so canceled and revoked shall be null, void and of no effect.'

Legal basis

New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services (DORES) - Business Services Bureau / Notary Public Unit; commissions are issued by the State Treasurer commissions notaries public in New Jersey. 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 - the act’s section heading is ‘Commission; Term; Application; Renewal’, and a notary public is ‘an individual commissioned by the State Treasurer to perform a notarial act.’ Because the appointment is completed by an oath of office filed with a county clerk, a New Jersey notary is a sworn public officer rather than a licensee: ‘A Notary Public is a public officer of the State of New Jersey who serves as an impartial witness to the signing of documents and to the acknowledgement of signatures on documents’ (DORES FAQ). ‘Notary license’ and ’notary certification’ are folk terms - New Jersey issues no notary license and no notary certificate of that name, and the portal’s labels are ‘Notary Commissioning Application’, ‘Notary Renewal’ and ‘Notary Public Commission Packet’. ‘Notarial officer’ is the broader statutory term covering notaries and other officials authorized by law to perform notarial acts. ’eNotary’ and ‘RON’ name notifications appended to an existing commission, not separate New Jersey credentials. ‘Notary signing agent’ and ’loan signing agent’ are not New Jersey credentials of any kind and appear nowhere in the statute, Manual, FAQ or portal.

Types of notary commission

Notary public commission (traditional / tangible records) — Any qualifying applicant; the baseline commission issued by the State Treasurer Statute: ‘The State Treasurer may commission so many notaries public as the State Treasurer deems necessary to commission. Notaries public shall hold their respective offices for a term of five years.’ (P.L.2021, c.179, sec. 2). The commission is not complete until the oath is taken and subscribed before the county clerk.
Electronic notarization (eNotary) authorization — A commissioned NJ notary who wants to notarize electronic records Not a separate commission. NJ Notary Public Manual, Ch. 9: ‘Before a notary public performs an initial electronic notarization, the notary public shall notify the State Treasurer electronically … that the notary public will be performing notarial acts with respect to electronic records and identify the technology that the notary public intends to use.’ Filed through the ‘Remote/Electronic Notarization’ option on the DORES notary portal.
Remote (communication-technology) notarization authorization - RON — A commissioned NJ notary who wants to notarize for remotely located individuals Also a notification, not a separate commission. P.L.2021, c.179 sec. 12(m): ‘Before a notary public performs the notary public’s initial notarial act under this section, the notary public must notify the State Treasurer that the notary public will be performing such notarial acts and identify the technologies the notary public intends to use.’ The DORES portal handles electronic and remote under one ‘Remote/Electronic Notarization’ filing, validated by Commission Number + Date of Birth.

Who can be commissioned

Age: ‘Be at least 18 years of age’ (Manual, Ch. 3, Eligibility Criteria). Residency / employment nexus: ‘Be a legal resident of this State or have a place of employment or practice in this State’ (Manual, Ch. 3). The DORES FAQ words it as ‘A resident of New Jersey; or A resident of an adjoining state that regularly works in New Jersey or maintains an office here.’ Non-residents must certify their NJ office or place of employment through the online commissioning site and, per the FAQ, ‘upload an electronic copy of a business affidavit to attest that you are employed in New Jersey’; the Manual extends the nexus to an employee of a business domiciled in NJ who ‘performs his employment duties remotely from a home office or a co-working space.’ Criminal history: not an automatic bar. The FAQ states ‘A person who has been convicted of a crime under the laws of any state or the United States, for an offense involving dishonesty, or a crime of the first or second degree, may only be appointed by the State Treasurer with approval from the Attorney General of New Jersey,’ and such applicants ‘will need to upload certified copy of the judgment(s) of convictions and certificate showing completion of a rehabilitative program(s).’ The Manual’s Ch. 5 grounds for denial include ‘A conviction of a crime of the second degree or above, but nothing in this paragraph shall be deemed to supersede P.L.1968, c.282 (N.J.S.A.2A:168A-1 et seq.)’ (the Rehabilitated Convicted Offenders Act). Legal presence / citizenship: no citizenship or immigration-status qualification is stated in P.L.2021, c.179’s qualifications section, the Manual’s Eligibility Criteria, or the DORES FAQ eligibility list - all three searched 2026-08-12. Language: no English-language qualification appears in those same three tiers; the law instead regulates non-English ADVERTISING, requiring a notary who advertises in any language to publish the statutory notice ‘I am not an attorney licensed to practice law and may not give legal advice about immigration or any other legal matter or accept fees for legal advice.’

Requirements

Meet the eligibility criteria in P.L.2021, c.179 (at least 18 years old; NJ legal resident OR a place of employment or practice in NJ; not disqualified under the denial/revocation grounds). 2) Non-attorney applicants for an INITIAL commission must ‘provide satisfactory proof that the applicant has: 1. Completed a six-hour course of study approved by the State Treasurer; and 2. Passed an examination prescribed by the State Treasurer’ (NJ Notary Public Manual, Ch. 4; DORES education/testing announcement). Attorneys-at-law admitted in NJ are outside those steps - the DORES portal step list says ‘(Attorneys: Please skip to step 4)’. 3) File electronically through the DORES Notary Public Application portal - ‘All applications shall be submitted electronically through a means provided by the State Treasurer’ - and pay the $25 non-refundable fee (plus a $5 online convenience fee per the DORES FAQ). 4) The application must be ’endorsed by a member of the Legislature’; the FAQ states online applications ‘will be endorsed electronically by State Legislators’ while paper applications ‘must be submitted to a State Legislator for endorsement before filing with DORES.’ 5) DORES mails a Notary Public Commission Packet. 6) ‘Within three months of the receipt of an initial or renewed commission, each notary public shall take and subscribe an oath before the clerk of the county in which the notary public resides’ (Manual, Ch. 4); the FAQ words it as taking the packet to the County Clerk ‘within 90 days to swear to the Notary Public Oath of Office’ and paying ‘an additional fee of $15 to your County Clerk for the recording of your Oath of Office.’ The clerk transmits the endorsed certificate of commission and qualification to the State Treasurer within 10 days. 7) Missing that window voids the appointment: ‘The State Treasurer shall cancel and revoke the appointment of any notary public who fails to take and subscribe the oath within three months of the receipt of the commission and any appointment so canceled and revoked shall be null, void and of no effect.’

Training

New Jersey requires training for some commission types.

Six hours for a non-attorney initial commission; three hours of continuing education on renewal. DORES announcement ‘New Notary Educational and Testing Requirements’: ‘For initial commissions. Non-attorney applicants for initial notary public commissions must provide proof that they have: Completed a six-hour course of study approved by the State Treasurer; and Passed an examination prescribed by the State Treasurer.’ ‘For renewed commissions. A commissioned notary public applying to renew a commission who has satisfactorily completed the six-hour course of study and passed an examination prescribed by the State Treasurer at least one time, or those who were commissioned for the first time before the October 22, 2021 effective date of P.L. 2021, c.179 must complete a three-hour continuing education course.’ Attorneys-at-law admitted in NJ are outside the requirement: the statute and Manual apply it only to a ’non-attorney applicant’, defined as ‘an applicant for an initial or renewal commission as a notary public who is not also a licensed attorney-at-law in this State.’ Approved-provider rule: the Manual says only that the course must be ‘approved by the State Treasurer’ and that ‘The Treasurer shall set forth the procedures for compliance … and provide certificates of approval evidencing completion of the required education and testing online.’ NOTE the live portal describes step 1 as ‘Review the NJ Notary Public Manual and watch the entire series of Notary Public Manual Training Videos’ with no hour count - DORES publishes the training itself, and no list of approved private course providers was found on the DORES notary pages or the application portal on 2026-08-12. No validity window for the course is published in the statute, the Manual or the DORES announcement (all three searched).

Exam

New Jersey requires an exam for some commission types.

Required for non-attorney INITIAL applicants; not required on timely renewal. Statute and Manual: the applicant must have ‘Passed an examination prescribed by the State Treasurer.’ The exam is prescribed and administered by the State Treasurer (DORES), not a private testing vendor - the portal’s applicant steps read ‘Complete the Notary Commissioning Application (Attorneys: Please skip to step 4) / Take & Pass the Notary Public Exam / Complete your Notary Registration Application.’ Renewal: ‘If you are an active Notary Public and need to renew, you are NOT required to take the Notary Public Exam and are only required to submit your Notary Renewal Application.’ Lapse rule: ‘If it has been over 30 days since your Notary Commission has expired, you will be considered a New Notary Applicant & be required to take the Notary Public Exam’ (njportal.com/DOR/Notary). Fee: ‘The State Treasurer may charge up to a $15.00 fee for each test administered online’ (Manual, Ch. 4) - a statutory ceiling, not a confirmed charge; DORES does not publish the amount actually charged on its notary program pages or the portal’s public pages. Format, question count, passing score and retake policy: not published in P.L.2021, c.179, the NJ Notary Public Manual, the DORES education/testing announcement, the DORES FAQ, or the portal’s public pages - all five searched 2026-08-12; the exam itself sits behind the authenticated portal.

Bond & insurance

New Jersey does NOT require a surety bond, and does not require errors-and-omissions insurance. The word ‘bond’ does not appear anywhere in the 23-page enacted text of P.L.2021, c.179 (the Notary Public Act, N.J.S.A. 52:7-10.1 et al.) - a zero-hit search of the full act as approved July 22, 2021. The NJ Notary Public Manual (October 22, 2021), which implements P.L.2021, c.179 and N.J.A.C. 17:50, has no bond chapter and no bond step in its commissioning process; the DORES FAQ’s application checklist (fee, legislator endorsement, oath before the county clerk) contains no bond; and the online application portal’s step list contains no bond step. Tiers searched 2026-08-12: the enacted statute (full text), the official Manual (all 11 chapters), the DORES program FAQ, the DORES education/testing announcement, and the live application portal. The only ‘insurance’ references in the act are to title insurance companies (whose agents may keep business files in lieu of a journal) and to insurance benefits in an unrelated exclusion list - neither is a notary E&O requirement. E&O insurance is a commercial product New Jersey neither mandates nor addresses.

Fees

$25 application fee, statutory and non-refundable: ‘The State Treasurer shall collect a nonrefundable fee of $25 for each commission or renewal. In collecting the fee, the State Treasurer shall accept the use of a credit card, debit card, or electronic funds transfer’ (P.L.2021, c.179; Manual Ch. 4: ‘The fee for each application for a commission is $25.00 and is non-refundable’). $5 online convenience fee - DORES FAQ: ‘pay the filing fee of $25 (plus a convenience fee of $5 if filing online).’ Up to $15 examination fee - Manual, Ch. 4: ‘The State Treasurer may charge up to a $15.00 fee for each test administered online’ (a cap; the amount actually charged is not published outside the authenticated portal). $15 county clerk oath recording fee - DORES FAQ: ‘you must pay an additional fee of $15 to your County Clerk for the recording of your Oath of Office.’ Remote/electronic notarization: no registration fee is published in P.L.2021, c.179 sec. 12(m), Manual Ch. 8 or Ch. 9, the DORES FAQ, or the portal’s ‘Remote/Electronic Notarization’ entry screen (which asks only for Commission Number and Date of Birth) - all four tiers searched 2026-08-12; the filing is framed as a notification to the State Treasurer, not a paid registration. Seal/stamp: not a state-set fee - the stamping device is bought privately and ‘is the property of the notary public and not of the notary public’s employer, even if the employer paid for the stamping device’ (Manual, Ch. 6).

How long the commission lasts, and renewing it

‘Notaries public shall hold their respective offices for a term of five years’ (P.L.2021, c.179, sec. 2, ‘Commission; Term; Application; Renewal’), and the DORES FAQ: ‘Notary Publics in New Jersey are commissioned for a period of 5 years.’ The commission is issued first and qualified afterwards: the notary must take and subscribe the oath before the county clerk within three months of RECEIPT of the commission, and ‘The State Treasurer shall cancel and revoke the appointment of any notary public who fails to take and subscribe the oath within three months of the receipt of the commission.’ Whether the five years runs from issuance or from the filing of the oath is not stated in P.L.2021, c.179 sec. 2, Manual Ch. 4, or the DORES FAQ - all three searched 2026-08-12, so this record does not assert either. Five-year renewal, filed the same way as an original application: ‘Renewals shall be made in the same manner as the original application’ (Manual, Ch. 4). DORES FAQ: ‘Commissions may be renewed for additional 5 year periods. We will mail you a reminder notice before your commission expires providing information about the renewal application process.’ A renewing notary who has already passed the exam once, or who was first commissioned before the October 22, 2021 effective date of P.L.2021, c.179, takes a three-hour continuing education course instead of the six-hour course and exam. The portal states renewals are ‘NOT required to take the Notary Public Exam’, but ‘If it has been over 30 days since your Notary Commission has expired, you will be considered a New Notary Applicant & be required to take the Notary Public Exam.’ A renewed commission also requires a fresh oath before the county clerk within three months of receipt. No early-renewal window is published on the portal, in the Manual, or in the FAQ (all three searched 2026-08-12). Three hours on renewal, for renewing notaries who have already satisfied the six-hour course and examination once, or who were first commissioned before October 22, 2021: ‘A commissioned notary public applying to renew a commission who has satisfactorily completed the six-hour course of study and passed an examination prescribed by the State Treasurer at least one time, or those who were commissioned for the first time before the October 22, 2021 effective date of P.L. 2021, c.179 must complete a three-hour continuing education course’ (DORES, ‘Announcement - New Notary Educational and Testing Requirements’; same text in Manual Ch. 4). The statute leaves the detail to the Treasurer: such a notary ‘shall comply with any additional educational requirements that the State Treasurer sets forth in rules adopted pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act.”’ There is no mid-term annual CE obligation in the statute, the Manual or the FAQ - the requirement attaches to the renewal application.

Your seal or stamp

An official stamp is REQUIRED on every notarial act: ‘All notarial acts shall be evidenced by a certificate and be stamped by the notary public’ (Manual, Ch. 6). Required elements - the stamp ‘shall: 1. Include the name of the notary public, the title “Notary Public, State of New Jersey,” and the notary public’s commission expiration date; and 2. Be capable of being copied together with the record to which it is affixed or attached or with which it is logically associated.’ Either a stamp or an embosser is contemplated: a ‘stamping device’ is ‘A physical device capable of affixing to or embossing on a tangible record an official stamp’, and for tangible records ‘an official stamp shall be affixed to or embossed on the certificate near the signature of the notary public to be clear and readable.’ For electronic records the stamp ‘must be attached to or logically associated with the certificate’, and the electronic signature and stamp must be ‘Unique to the notarial officer; Capable of independent verification; Retained under the notary public’s sole control; and Attached to or logically associated with the electronic document in a tamper-evident manner.’ Security: ‘A notary public is responsible for the security of the stamping device used by the notary public and may not allow another individual to use the device to perform a notarial act, except at the specific instruction of a notary public who cannot physically use the stamping device’; the device belongs to the notary, not the employer. Loss or theft must be reported to the State Treasurer ‘within 10 calendar days.’ Name change: before signing under a new name the notary ‘shall make, sign and file a statement in writing and under oath, on a form prescribed and furnished online … by the State Treasurer, setting out the circumstances under which the notary public has adopted the new name’; that statement ‘shall be evidence of the right of the notary public to continue to exercise the powers and privileges and perform the duties of a notary public in the changed or new name.’ No shape, size or ink-colour specification appears in P.L.2021, c.179, Manual Ch. 6, or the DORES FAQ (all three searched 2026-08-12), and none of those tiers says what becomes of the stamping device when a commission expires.

Keeping a journal

New Jersey requires a notary journal.

Required for ALL notarial acts, tangible and electronic: ‘A notary public shall maintain a journal of all notarial acts performed’ (P.L.2021, c.179, sec. 27, codified at N.J.S.A. 52:7-10.18; repeated verbatim in the NJ Notary Public Manual, Ch. 6, ‘Journal Requirement’). Form: tangible or electronic; only one journal at a time; if tangible, ‘a permanent, bound register with consecutively numbered lines and consecutively numbered pages’; if electronic, ‘a permanent, tamper-evident electronic format.’ For each act the notary must record ‘1. The date and time of the notarial act; 2. The type of notarial act …; 3. The name and address of each person for whom the notarial act is performed; 4. If the identity of the individual is based on personal knowledge, a statement to that effect; 5. If the identity of the individual is based on satisfactory evidence, a brief description of the method of identification and the identification credential presented …; and 6. An itemized list of all fees charged for the notarial act.’ Loss or theft must be reported to the State Treasurer within 10 days. Retention: ‘Retain the journal for 10 years after the performance of the last notarial act chronicled in the journal; or … [w]rite to the State Treasurer … for instructions on how to send or transmit the [journal] securely to the Division’ - the same choice applies on resignation, revocation or suspension; on death or adjudication of incompetency the personal representative, guardian, or other person in possession must write to the State Treasurer for instructions within 45 days. Exception: ‘In lieu of maintaining a journal, a notary public who is an attorney-at-law admitted to practice in this State or who is employed by an attorney-at-law, or who is employed by or acting as an agent for a title insurance company licensed to do business in this State pursuant to P.L.2001, c.210 (N.J.S.A. 17:22A-26 et seq.), may maintain a record of notarial acts in the form of files regularly maintained for the attorney’s law practice or the title insurance company’s business.’ *** TWO OFFICIAL DORES DOCUMENTS CONFLICT: the DORES ‘New Jersey Notary Public Program Frequently Asked Questions’ PDF still answers question 8, ‘Do I need to keep a journal of my notary actions?’, with ‘No. However, it is recommended that you do so.’ That answer contradicts both the enacted statute (N.J.S.A. 52:7-10.18) and the DORES Notary Public Manual dated October 22, 2021. The FAQ carries other pre-2021 markers (it never mentions the education, testing, journal or remote-notarization provisions of P.L.2021, c.179). Both are recorded here; the statute and the Manual are the later and controlling texts.

Online (remote) notarization

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

Authorized by P.L.2021, c.179 (the Notary Public Act), approved July 22, 2021. Effective dates, from sec. 39 of the act: ‘Sections 6 and 7 of this act shall take effect on the 365th day following enactment. Sections 1 through 5 and sections 8 through 38 of this act shall take effect on the 90th day following enactment.’ The remote-notarization provisions fall in the 8-38 block and took effect on the 90th day, which DORES states as October 22, 2021; the education and testing provisions (sections 6 and 7) took effect on the 365th day, which DORES describes as ‘July of 2022.’ Registration is a notification, not a separate commission: ‘Before a notary public performs the notary public’s initial notarial act under this section, the notary public must notify the State Treasurer that the notary public will be performing such notarial acts and identify the technologies the notary public intends to use’ (sec. 12(m); Manual Ch. 8). It is filed at njportal.com/DOR/Notary under ‘File an Application’ > ‘Remote/Electronic Notarization’, which validates the notary by Commission Number and Date of Birth. Scope: ‘A notarial officer located in this State may perform a notarial act using a communication technology for a remotely located individual, regardless of whether the individual is physically located in this State’, and ‘A notarial act performed using communication technology for a remotely located individual is deemed performed in New Jersey and is governed by New Jersey law.’ Duties: ensure the session is ‘interactive and secure, meaning the notary and person are viewing each other directly in real time and that the session cannot not be viewed and/or recorded by an unauthorized party’; obtain satisfactory identification of the remotely located individual; create and retain (or cause a designated repository to retain) an audio-visual recording ‘for a period of 10 years’; and mark the certificate to ‘indicate that the notarial act was performed using communication technology.’ Oaths may be administered remotely under the same identification and 10-year recording rules. Wills and codicils: Ch. 8 ‘does not apply to a record to the extent it is governed by a law governing the creation and execution of wills or codicils, except as to tangible records that are governed by a law governing the creation or execution of wills and codicils.’ Approved-vendor rule: the Manual publishes no list of approved RON platforms; it instead states that ‘The notarial officer must follow the security procedures of the National Notary Association as supplemented and amended’, linking a National Association of Secretaries of State e-notarization standards resolution - that sentence is quoted here as the State’s own text, and no private notary organization is cited as a source for this record. Extra fee: none published (see fees).

What you may charge

Set by statute and reproduced in the Manual, Ch. 11, ‘Fees for Notarial Services’: ‘1. For administering oaths, taking affidavits, taking proofs of a deed, and taking acknowledgements, $2.50 per act. 2. For administering oaths, taking affidavits, taking proofs of a deed, and taking acknowledgments of the grantors in the transfer of real estate, regardless of the number of such services performed in a single transaction to transfer real estate, $15.00. 3. For administering oaths, taking affidavits, and taking acknowledgments of the mortgagors in the financing of real estate, regardless of the number of such services performed in a single transaction to finance real estate, $25.00.’ The DORES FAQ lists only the per-act tier - ‘Administering an oath/affirmation $2.50/ea.; Executing a jurat $2.50/ea.; Taking proof of a deed (proof of execution) $2.50/ea.; Taking an acknowledgment $2.50/ea.’ - and does not mention the $15 real-estate-transfer or $25 mortgage-financing flat fees; the Manual is the fuller text and both are recorded. Travel fees are not addressed in P.L.2021, c.179, Manual Ch. 11, or the DORES FAQ (all three searched 2026-08-12), and no separate cap for remote or electronic notarizations appears in those tiers.

Who does NOT need a commission — exemptions

Attorneys: an applicant who is ‘a licensed attorney-at-law in this State’ is not a ’non-attorney applicant’ and is therefore outside the six-hour course and the examination - the portal’s own step list says ‘(Attorneys: Please skip to step 4).’ Attorneys, their employees, and employees or agents of a licensed title insurance company are also excused from keeping a notary journal and may instead keep ‘files regularly maintained for the attorney’s law practice or the title insurance company’s business.’ Other officers who may notarize without a notary commission: the statute defines ‘Notarial officer’ as ‘a notary public or other individual authorized by law to perform a notarial act’, and the Manual cross-references N.J.S.A. 46:14-2.1 (‘officers authorized to take acknowledgements and proofs’) for that roster. N.J.S.A. 46:14-2.1 itself could NOT be read: the New Jersey Legislature’s site (njleg.state.nj.us, every host tried) refused all connections from every fetch rung on 2026-08-12, so this record does not name New Jersey’s ex officio notarial officers rather than guess at them. Military notarial powers under 10 U.S.C. 1044a are not addressed in P.L.2021, c.179, the NJ Notary Public Manual, the DORES FAQ, or the DORES program pages - all four searched 2026-08-12. Tiers searched for this field: the enacted statute (full text), the NJ Notary Public Manual (all 11 chapters), the DORES program FAQ, the DORES notary program web pages, and the live application portal.

How to apply

Applications are handled by New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services (DORES) - Business Services Bureau / Notary Public Unit; commissions are issued by the State Treasurer. Start at the official application page .

Verify a license in New Jersey

New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services (DORES) publishes a public license search , searchable by Last Name, City, Zip Code or Commission ID. It covers Active New Jersey notaries public, ‘along with information on their commission periods (valid through dates) and location (city and zip)’. The page reported ‘Currently 149276 Notaries on file’ and ‘File updated on: 08/12/26 at 17:45 PM’ when read on 2026-08-12, and offers the whole list as a pipe-delimited download. DORES labels it informational only: ‘The service is for informational purposes only … this file is updated from the record database periodically and therefore cannot be used for certification purposes. If you need a formal look up and/or certification or Apostille, please visit our certification service page.’ Application STATUS, as opposed to an issued commission, is checked separately at njportal.com/DOR/Notary/Status/Search using a Payment Confirmation Number.

Records come from New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services (DORES)’s own system. LicensingAtlas does not hold license records and cannot confirm any individual’s status — the date on this page refers to the requirements described above, not to anyone’s credential.

Frequently asked questions

Does New Jersey require a surety bond to become a notary public?

No. The word ‘bond’ does not appear anywhere in P.L.2021, c.179, the Notary Public Act that governs New Jersey commissions, and neither the NJ Notary Public Manual’s commissioning chapter, the DORES FAQ, nor the online application lists a bond step. New Jersey also does not require errors-and-omissions insurance.

Do I have to take a course and pass an exam?

For an initial commission, yes, unless you are a New Jersey attorney. DORES states that non-attorney applicants ‘must provide proof that they have: Completed a six-hour course of study approved by the State Treasurer; and Passed an examination prescribed by the State Treasurer.’ On renewal, a notary who has already passed once - or who was first commissioned before October 22, 2021 - takes a three-hour continuing education course instead, and the application portal states renewing notaries are ‘NOT required to take the Notary Public Exam.’

How long does a New Jersey notary commission last?

Five years. The statute reads ‘Notaries public shall hold their respective offices for a term of five years’, and the DORES FAQ confirms commissions ‘may be renewed for additional 5 year periods.’

What does it cost?

$25 to DORES for the commission or renewal (‘a nonrefundable fee of $25 for each commission or renewal’), plus a $5 convenience fee if you file online, plus up to $15 for an online test, plus $15 to your County Clerk to record your Oath of Office.

Why does my application need a legislator's signature?

Because the statute requires it: an application is made ‘on a form prescribed by the State Treasurer and endorsed by a member of the Legislature.’ DORES states that applications filed online ‘will be endorsed electronically by State Legislators’, while paper applications must be taken to a State Legislator for endorsement before filing.

What happens after DORES approves my application?

DORES mails a Notary Public Commission Packet, and you must take it to your County Clerk within three months (the FAQ says 90 days) to swear the Oath of Office and pay the $15 recording fee. Miss that window and ‘The State Treasurer shall cancel and revoke the appointment’, leaving you to apply and pay again.

Does a New Jersey notary have to keep a journal?

Yes under the current law. P.L.2021, c.179 (N.J.S.A. 52:7-10.18) and the October 2021 NJ Notary Public Manual both say ‘A notary public shall maintain a journal of all notarial acts performed’, with specified entries and a 10-year retention period. Note that DORES’s older FAQ PDF still answers this question ‘No. However, it is recommended that you do so’ - that answer predates the 2021 Act. Attorneys, their employees, and title-company employees or agents may keep their regular business files instead of a journal.

Can a New Jersey notary perform remote online notarizations?

Yes, after notifying the State Treasurer. The statute requires that ‘Before a notary public performs the notary public’s initial notarial act under this section, the notary public must notify the State Treasurer that the notary public will be performing such notarial acts and identify the technologies the notary public intends to use.’ That notice is filed through the ‘Remote/Electronic Notarization’ option on the DORES notary portal, and the notary must record the session audio-visually and keep the recording for 10 years.

How much can a New Jersey notary charge?

The Manual’s fee schedule allows $2.50 per act for oaths, affidavits, proofs of a deed and acknowledgments; $15.00 in total for the grantors’ acknowledgments in a single real-estate transfer ‘regardless of the number of such services performed’; and $25.00 in total for the mortgagors’ acknowledgments in a single real-estate financing. The DORES FAQ lists only the $2.50 tier.

Can someone who lives outside New Jersey be a New Jersey notary?

Yes, with a New Jersey work nexus. The eligibility rule is to ‘Be a legal resident of this State or have a place of employment or practice in this State’; the FAQ describes this as a resident of an adjoining state who ‘regularly works in New Jersey or maintains an office here.’ Non-residents upload a business affidavit and take the oath before the clerk of the county where their New Jersey office or employer is located.

See every license and certification LicensingAtlas covers in New Jersey.

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.