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

How to become a notary public in New Mexico: a 4-year commission, a surety bond, a required course, an exam, remote online notarization — verified from official sources.

Source-verified

Requirements below are drawn from New Mexico Secretary of State, Business Services Division (Notary & Apostille). Discipline is NOT handled by the Secretary of State: under the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts it is the New Mexico State Ethics Commission that 'may deny, refuse to renew, revoke, suspend or impose a condition on a commissioned notary public.' (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 (18+, New Mexico residence or place of employment, able to read and write English, clean five-year record on fraud/dishonesty/deceit convictions, no notary commission denied/suspended/revoked in another state, not disqualified under Section 14-14A-22 NMSA 1978). 2) 'Each applicant is required to take the New Mexico State Notary Qualification course and pass the corresponding exam. The course and exam must be from an approved vendor of the Secretary of State. Associated fees will be paid directly to the approved vendor supplying the course' (Handbook); the Secretary of State's training page states the pass mark is '80% score or higher.' 3) 'Each applicant is required to obtain a surety bond or its functional equivalent in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000). The assurance must be issued by a surety or other entity licensed or authorized to do business in this state', and the applicant's signature on the bond 'must be notarized by a current New Mexico Notary Public under the section "Acknowledgment of Principal (Applicant)". The applicant should never notarize their own signature, even if their commission is currently active.' 4) Sign the Oath of Office and have it notarized by a current New Mexico notarial officer. 5) File the Notary Public Application at enterprise.sos.nm.gov with PDF uploads of the Certificate of Completion, the notarized Oath of Office and the notarized $10,000 surety bond, and pay the $30 filing fee ('a non-refundable application fee of $30', 12.9.3.9 NMAC). Paper applications 'may be requested from the Secretary of State's Office and will be mailed to the applicant.' 6) The Secretary of State issues a Certificate of Commission with the commission number and expiration date. 7) Buy the official stamp and file a Notary Public Stamp Registration within 45 days: 'Within 45 days of the notary application being approved the notary must purchase and provide proof of their official stamp by filing a Notary Public Stamp Registration. ... If the stamp registration is not completed within 45 days, the Secretary of State is required to refer the notary to the State Ethics Commission.' The application form adds the timing rule in terms: 'The applicant may not perform notarial acts until they have received a certificate of commission from this office and have provided proof of their official stamp.'

Legal basis

New Mexico Secretary of State, Business Services Division (Notary & Apostille). Discipline is NOT handled by the Secretary of State: under the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts it is the New Mexico State Ethics Commission that ‘may deny, refuse to renew, revoke, suspend or impose a condition on a commissioned notary public.’ commissions notaries public in New Mexico. 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 - ‘Notary Public: an individual commissioned by the secretary of state to perform a notarial act’, evidenced by a ‘Certificate of Commission’ with a commission number and term expiration date. New Mexico’s distinctive umbrella term is ‘NOTARIAL OFFICER’, defined as ‘a term that includes both commissioned Notary Publics and Automatic Notarial Officers’ - the State’s own handbook is titled the ‘New Mexico Notarial Officer Handbook’, not a notary handbook, and county-clerk, court and attorney stamps read ‘Notarial Officer’ rather than ‘Notary Public’. ‘Notary license’ and ’notary certification’ are folk terms; New Mexico issues no notary license, and the certificate it issues is a certificate of commission. ‘Automatic notarial officer’ names an official who notarizes by virtue of office, not a lesser notary. ‘RON’ names an authorization amended onto an existing commission, not a separate credential. ‘Notary signing agent’ and ’loan signing agent’ are not New Mexico credentials and appear nowhere in the Handbook, the SOS notary pages or 12.9.3 / 12.9.4 NMAC. New Mexico’s rules also PROHIBIT one folk term outright: a notary public shall not ‘Use the term “notario” or “notario publico”’ (NM Notarial Officer Handbook, Prohibited Acts, https://www.sos.nm.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Notary-Handbook-100223.pdf) .

Types of notary commission

Notary Public commission — Any qualifying New Mexico resident or person with a New Mexico place of employment ‘A Notary Public is commissioned for a term of four (4) years’ (NM Notarial Officer Handbook, rev. July 2023). Requires the education course and exam, a $10,000 surety bond, a notarized oath of office, a $30 filing fee, and registration of the official stamp within 45 days of approval.
Automatic Notarial Officer registration — ‘a judicial officer, Secretary of State or full-time staff member of the Secretary of State’s office, court clerk, deputy court clerk, county clerk, deputy county clerk, or an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of New Mexico’ Not a commission - these officials hold notarial authority by virtue of office, but since the 2023 amendments they ‘must complete the Notarial Officer Training and register their stamp with the Secretary of State’s Office before performing notarial acts.’ ‘There is no fee to file an Automatic Notarial Officer Stamp Registration.’ Their stamps say ‘Notarial Officer’ rather than ‘Notary Public’. Such an official who is not a licensed attorney ‘may also be commissioned as a notary public to perform notarial acts outside the individual’s scope of duties as an automatic notarial officer.’
Remote Online Notary (RON) authorization — A commissioned New Mexico Notary Public or an Automatic Notarial Officer A separate application with its own course, exam, electronic stamp and $75 fee, filed as an amendment to the existing commission: ‘Be a commissioned New Mexico Notary Public or Automatic Notarial Officer; the application is an amendment to a current notary public or automatic notarial officer.’ 12.9.4.8 NMAC requires ‘a non-refundable application fee of $75.’

Who can be commissioned

From the Secretary of State’s ‘Become a Notary’ page and the Notarial Officer Handbook, which state the same list: ‘Be at least eighteen years of age. Be a resident of or have a place of employment in the State of New Mexico. Be able to read and write the English language. Successfully complete the Notary Education course and exam. Not have had a notary public commission denied, suspended, or revoked in another state. Not have been convicted of a felony or crime involving fraud, dishonesty, or deceit in the last five years. Not be disqualified to receive commission under Section 22 of the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts [14-14A-22 NMSA 1978].’ New Mexico is one of the few states with an express English-literacy qualification. The Oath of Office printed on the official application states the criminal-history bar in the applicant’s own voice: ‘I hereby certify that I am a resident of New Mexico; I am 18 years of age or older; I have never been convicted of any felony or a crime involving fraud, dishonesty or deceit during a term of notary public commission or during the five years immediately preceding such term or terms; and I have not had my Notary Public commission revoked during the past five years.’ Note the two formulations differ slightly - the web page says ‘in the last five years’, while the oath reaches convictions ‘during a term of notary public commission or during the five years immediately preceding such term’; both are recorded rather than reconciled. Legal presence / citizenship: no citizenship or immigration-status qualification appears on the Become a Notary page, in the Handbook’s requirements list, in the printed application’s oath, or in 12.9.3 NMAC - all four searched 2026-08-12.

Requirements

Meet the eligibility criteria (18+, New Mexico residence or place of employment, able to read and write English, clean five-year record on fraud/dishonesty/deceit convictions, no notary commission denied/suspended/revoked in another state, not disqualified under Section 14-14A-22 NMSA 1978). 2) ‘Each applicant is required to take the New Mexico State Notary Qualification course and pass the corresponding exam. The course and exam must be from an approved vendor of the Secretary of State. Associated fees will be paid directly to the approved vendor supplying the course’ (Handbook); the Secretary of State’s training page states the pass mark is ‘80% score or higher.’ 3) ‘Each applicant is required to obtain a surety bond or its functional equivalent in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000). The assurance must be issued by a surety or other entity licensed or authorized to do business in this state’, and the applicant’s signature on the bond ‘must be notarized by a current New Mexico Notary Public under the section “Acknowledgment of Principal (Applicant)”. The applicant should never notarize their own signature, even if their commission is currently active.’ 4) Sign the Oath of Office and have it notarized by a current New Mexico notarial officer. 5) File the Notary Public Application at enterprise.sos.nm.gov with PDF uploads of the Certificate of Completion, the notarized Oath of Office and the notarized $10,000 surety bond, and pay the $30 filing fee (‘a non-refundable application fee of $30’, 12.9.3.9 NMAC). Paper applications ‘may be requested from the Secretary of State’s Office and will be mailed to the applicant.’ 6) The Secretary of State issues a Certificate of Commission with the commission number and expiration date. 7) Buy the official stamp and file a Notary Public Stamp Registration within 45 days: ‘Within 45 days of the notary application being approved the notary must purchase and provide proof of their official stamp by filing a Notary Public Stamp Registration. … If the stamp registration is not completed within 45 days, the Secretary of State is required to refer the notary to the State Ethics Commission.’ The application form adds the timing rule in terms: ‘The applicant may not perform notarial acts until they have received a certificate of commission from this office and have provided proof of their official stamp.’

Training

New Mexico requires a training course.

A state-required education course and examination are mandatory for every notarial officer, including Automatic Notarial Officers: ‘All Notarial Officers (including Automatic Notarial Officers) are required to complete the Notary Education Course and exam, and are required to pass the exam with an 80% score or higher’ (SOS Training Resources page). The Handbook words the rule as ‘Each applicant is required to take the New Mexico State Notary Qualification course and pass the corresponding exam. The course and exam must be from an approved vendor of the Secretary of State. Associated fees will be paid directly to the approved vendor supplying the course.’ No hour count is published - the requirement is stated as a course plus a passing exam score, not as a number of hours (checked on the Training Resources page, the Become a Notary page, the Handbook, and 12.9.3 NMAC on 2026-08-12). Approved provider: the Secretary of State names a single one - ‘National Notary Association is the approved provider for the training and exam for the New Mexico Secretary of State’ (SOS Training Resources page). That designation is a fact about New Mexico’s program, recorded because the State published it; no private notary organization is used as a source for this record. Remote online notarization has its OWN course and exam (‘Requirements to be a Remote Online Notary (RON) also require a separate training and exam’). Validity window: renewing notaries need not repeat the course and exam ‘if taken after 01/01/2022 … so long as their commission has not been expired more than one year’ (Handbook). Automatic Notarial Officers were given ‘a ONE YEAR GRACE PERIOD to complete the Notary Education Course and exam upon the effective date of the law changes (6/16/2023)’ - that grace period has expired.

Exam

New Mexico requires an exam.

Required of every applicant, and of Automatic Notarial Officers as well. Passing score: ‘required to pass the exam with an 80% score or higher’ (SOS Training Resources page); 12.9.4.9 NMAC repeats the standard for the RON exam - ‘An applicant must provide proof of passing the required examination with a score of eighty percent or higher.’ Administration: the exam is delivered by a Secretary-of-State-approved vendor rather than by the agency itself - 12.9.4.9(A) NMAC provides that ‘The secretary of state shall provide a remote notarization course and examination. Training may be administered in house or through any third-party training vendor approved by the secretary of state’, and the SOS Training Resources page names the National Notary Association as the approved provider. Fee: paid to the vendor, not the State - ‘There is also a separate $30 fee for the training and exam that will be paid directly to the vendor’ (SOS RULONA FAQs); 12.9.4.9(B) NMAC confirms ‘The fee for administering the training and examination is not included in the application fee.’ Records: ‘Examination records maintained by any third-party vendor, including the applicant’s score, shall be retained for five years.’ A Certificate of Completion must be uploaded with the application. Renewal: ‘Applicants who are renewing their commission do not need to retake the qualification course and exam (if taken after 01/01/2022) so long as their commission has not been expired more than one year.’ Format, question count and retake policy are not published on the Training Resources page, the Become a Notary page, the Handbook, the RULONA FAQs, or 12.9.3 / 12.9.4 NMAC - all six searched 2026-08-12.

Your surety bond

A $10,000 surety bond is mandatory, and errors-and-omissions insurance is NOT required. Handbook and application instructions, in identical words: ‘Each applicant is required to obtain a surety bond or its functional equivalent in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000). The assurance must be issued by a surety or other entity licensed or authorized to do business in this state.’ The bond must be executed and notarized: the applicant signs ‘as the principal applicant and their signature must be notarized by a current New Mexico Notary Public under the section “Acknowledgment of Principal (Applicant)”’, and the applicant may never notarize their own signature. The notarized bond is uploaded as a PDF with the online application, and the printed form requires the paper original: ‘This form must be completed in its entirety and submitted with a surety bond, the Certificate of Completion, and a check or money order for $30.00.’ The bond must be KEPT in force - ‘Failure to maintain an assurance or surety bond’ is listed as a ground on which the State Ethics Commission may revoke or suspend a commission, and any bond change must be reported to the Secretary of State within 30 days with the new original bond (a name change requires a rider from the issuing company plus a $3.00 fee). The Handbook also warns that a notary who leaves the employer that paid for the bond ‘will likely require a new bond from an insurance company.’ The bond’s own term is not stated in the Handbook, the application instructions, the Become a Notary page, or 12.9.3 NMAC - all four searched 2026-08-12, so this record does not state one. NO E&O REQUIREMENT: the words ’errors and omissions’ and ‘E&O’ appear in none of those four tiers, nor in the RULONA FAQs; New Mexico requires the bond (‘or its functional equivalent’), which protects the public, and says nothing about insurance protecting the notary.

Fees

$30 application fee to the Secretary of State - ‘There is a $30.00 filing fee for the notary application which can be paid via e-check or credit card’ (Handbook), and 12.9.3.9 NMAC requires ‘a non-refundable application fee of $30.’ The printed application form (Rev 01/2022) instead directs ‘Your Check or Money Order should be made payable to the New Mexico Secretary of State … DO NOT SEND CASH’ - the paper route and the online route are both published and both are recorded here. $30 to the training vendor for the course and exam - ‘There is also a separate $30 fee for the training and exam that will be paid directly to the vendor’ (SOS RULONA FAQs); 12.9.4.9(B) NMAC confirms the training fee ‘is not included in the application fee.’ $75 Remote Online Notary application fee - the Handbook and the RON page both say $75.00, and 12.9.4.8 NMAC requires ‘a non-refundable application fee of $75’; note the RON page states the $75 both as payable ‘via check, money order, or operating transfer’ and, two paragraphs later, ‘via e-check or credit card’ - the amount is consistent, the payment channel is described two ways. $3.00 for a name change amendment (with a bond rider uploaded) and $3.00 for a duplicate certificate of commission. $0 to file an Automatic Notarial Officer Stamp Registration, and no fee to report a lost or stolen stamp or journal (‘The report can be filed free of charge’). Surety bond premium: paid to a private surety, amount not set by the State. Official stamp: purchased privately by the notary; New Mexico sets the stamp’s contents, not its price. No commission-issuance fee beyond the $30 is published in the Handbook, the Become a Notary page, the RULONA FAQs or 12.9.3 NMAC (all four searched 2026-08-12), and New Mexico charges no county recording fee for a notary commission - the oath is uploaded with the application rather than filed with a county.

How long the commission lasts, and renewing it

‘A Notary Public is commissioned for a term of four (4) years. Once approved, the Notary will be issued a Certificate of Commission that provides the commission number and term expiration date’ (NM Notarial Officer Handbook). The commission is dated from issuance by the Secretary of State - there is no county qualification step - but the notary cannot act until two things are true: ‘The applicant may not perform notarial acts until they have received a certificate of commission from this office and have provided proof of their official stamp’ (application form). Renewal timing preserves the anniversary: ‘If a renewal is submitted before the expiration date, the notary will retain the same month and day expiration. If there is a lapse in renewal, a new expiration date will be established’, and a late renewal ‘will still be processed as a renewal with an expiration date of 4 years from the date of filing.’ Four-year recommission, filed online: ‘A Notary Public may be recommissioned every four years by submitting an online renewal at www.enterprise.sos.nm.gov .’ Window: ‘Renewals can be submitted as soon as 1 month prior to the notary commission expiration date’, and the Secretary of State sends ‘a notice of their term’s expiration one month before the commission expiration date.’ Late filing is still a renewal - ‘If the renewal is received after the expiration date it will still be processed as a renewal with an expiration date of 4 years from the date of filing’ - but the anniversary date moves. Education: ‘Applicants who are renewing their commission do not need to retake the qualification course and exam (if taken after 01/01/2022) so long as their commission has not been expired more than one year’; past a year the course and exam must be repeated. Notaries commissioned before 2022 ‘are not required to take the required training and examination until renewal of their commission.’ A fresh bond and a fresh Stamp Registration are part of the cycle: ‘A stamp registration is required within 45 days of renewal.’ New Mexico publishes no continuing-education hour requirement for notaries. The education obligation is front-loaded and repeat-on-lapse rather than recurring: renewing notaries ‘do not need to retake the qualification course and exam (if taken after 01/01/2022) so long as their commission has not been expired more than one year’, which means the course and exam are repeated only when that condition fails. No CE hours, CE cycle or approved-CE-provider rule appears in the NM Notarial Officer Handbook (all sections), the Become a Notary page, the Renew a Notary Commission material summarised in the Handbook, the SOS Training Resources page, the RULONA FAQs, or 12.9.3 NMAC - all six tiers searched 2026-08-12.

Your seal or stamp

An official stamp is required, its contents are prescribed by type of notarial officer, and it must be REGISTERED with the Secretary of State within 45 days of commission or renewal. For a Notary Public the stamp ‘Shall be in 10-point font; Shall contain the words “State of New Mexico” and “Notary Public”; Shall contain the notary’s legal name identically as shown on the issued Certificate of Commission; Shall contain the issued commission number and expiration date as shown on the issued Certificate of Commission; The official stamp shall contain the New Mexico State seal.’ A county clerk or deputy county clerk uses ‘State of New Mexico’ and ‘Notarial Officer’ plus the county and the county or state seal; a judge, court clerk or deputy court clerk uses ‘Notarial Officer’ plus the judicial district; an attorney notarial officer uses ‘Notarial Officer’ plus the state bar number. Registration is enforced: ‘Within 45 days of the notary application being approved the notary must purchase and provide proof of their official stamp by filing a Notary Public Stamp Registration. … If the stamp registration is not completed within 45 days, the Secretary of State is required to refer the notary to the State Ethics Commission’, and the same 45-day rule applies after each renewal. The Handbook defines the stamp as ‘a physical image affixed to a tangible record with the capability of being photocopied or an electronic image attached to an electronic record’ - so a photocopiable inked stamp, not an embosser alone. Changes: ‘You must notify the Secretary of State, within 30 days, any time there is a change to your name, address, your official stamp, or surety bond’; a name change is filed with a bond rider and a $3.00 fee. Loss or theft: report within 30 days, free of charge, optionally with a police report, then ‘You must replace your stamp and file a Stamp Registration with the replacement stamp.’ A damaged or illegible stamp is replaced through a General Amendment. On resignation or death the stamp must be defaced or destroyed - on death ‘The personal representative is responsible for destroying or defacing the official seal or stamp.’ No shape, size or ink-colour rule is published in the Handbook’s stamp section, the SOS Stamp Requirements page’s summary reproduced there, or 12.9.3 NMAC (searched 2026-08-12); the only typographic specification is the 10-point font.

Keeping a journal

New Mexico requires a notary journal.

Required for every notarial act, by every notarial officer: ‘A notarial officer is required to maintain a journal of every notarial act performed. The notary public shall retain the journal for ten years after the performance of the last notarial act chronicled, regardless of status of the notary public’s commission. A current or former notary public may transmit their journal to the secretary of state, the state records officer, or a repository approved by the secretary of state’ (Handbook, Journal Requirements). Each entry must contain ’the date and time of the notarial act; a description of the record, if any, and type of notarial act; the full name and address of each individual for whom the notarial act is performed; if identity of the individual is based on personal knowledge, a statement to that effect; if identity of the individual 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; and the fee, if any, charged by the notary public.’ Electronic journals must be ‘Securely stored; Recoverable in the event of a software malfunction or computer crash; Tamper evident; Available to the public or state ethics commission in a PDF format if requested.’ RON adds one field: the notary ‘must record the name of the remote online notarization system provider used for each remote online notarization.’ Attorneys are only partly excused: ‘A notarial officer licensed to practice law in New Mexico shall maintain a journal when performing notarial acts unrelated to an established attorney-client relationship.’ Loss or theft must be reported to the Secretary of State promptly (the Handbook elsewhere sets 30 days for a lost or stolen stamp or journal), and on the notary’s death the personal representative is responsible for ’either storing the official notary journals or submitting the journals to the Secretary of State.’ The SOS RULONA FAQ answers the question flatly: ‘Do I have to keep a Journal as a commissioned notary public? Yes.’

Online (remote) notarization

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

Authorized under the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, Sections 14-14A-1 to 14-14A-32 NMSA 1978, which New Mexico enacted in 2021: ‘In 2021, the State of New Mexico enacted the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, aka RULONA … This law requires the Office of the Secretary of State to provide training and examination with the law as well as for performing Remote Online Notarizations’ (SOS RULONA FAQs). The implementing rule, 12.9.4 NMAC ‘REMOTE ONLINE NOTARIZATION STANDARDS’, carries an EFFECTIVE DATE of ‘January 1, 2022’ and is authorized ‘In accordance with Subsection H of Section 14-14A-5 and Section 14-14A-26 NMSA 1978.’ RULONA obligations attached to existing notaries on the same date: ‘All notaries public are required to comply with RULONA for any Notarial Acts performed after January 1, 2022.’ A further set of amendments took effect 6/16/2023 (12.9.3.10 NMAC carries the history note ‘N, 1/1/2022; A, 6/16/2023’, and the SOS training page refers to ’the effective date of the law changes (6/16/2023)’). Separate authorization is required: the applicant must already be a commissioned Notary Public or an Automatic Notarial Officer, must ‘Successfully complete the Remote Online Notary Education course and exam’, and must ‘File the Remote Online Notary Application online, upload a PDF file of the electronic stamp to be used, and pay the $75.00 filing fee’ - 12.9.4.8 NMAC requires ‘a non-refundable application fee of $75’, and allows an individual to ‘simultaneously apply to be commissioned as a notary public with authorization to perform RONs.’ Location rule: ‘A notarial officer authorized to perform RONs must be physically located in New Mexico at the time the notarial act takes place’ (12.9.4.10(A) NMAC). Duties: verify identity at the start of the session via communication technology; act only where the individual ‘appears before the notarial officer at the time of notarization by means of communication technology’; and ‘Observe the individual’s behavior and surroundings to ensure they are acting of their own free will and are not acting under coercion or undue influence.’ The notary may refuse if identity cannot be verified, the technology is not secure, the signature or the notary’s electronic stamp cannot be attached, or there are reasonable grounds to believe coercion. Identity-proofing standards are specified in rule (knowledge-based questions drawn from public or private data sources, ’each question must have a minimum of five possible answer choices’, ‘at least eighty percent of the questions must be answered correctly’, all answered within two minutes). APPROVED VENDOR RULE: New Mexico publishes an actual list - the Secretary of State’s Become a Remote Online Notary page names the ‘Approved Remote Online Providers’ as EpicRiver, Expedite (formerly DocVerify), Notarylive.com, and Notary Hub - Remote Online Notary (RON); the SOS also publishes a System Provider Application for platforms seeking approval. Extra charge allowed: a technology fee ’not to exceed $25.00 for each remote notarial act’ (12.9.3.11(A) NMAC).

What you may charge

Capped by statute (Section 14-14A-28 NMSA 1978) and reproduced in the Handbook’s ‘Allowable Notary Fees’: ‘Although not required, a notary public may charge up to the maximum fee specified in this section … For acknowledgments, $5.00 per acknowledgment; For oaths or affirmations without a signature, $5.00 per person; For jurats, $5.00 per jurat; and For copy certifications, $.50 per page with a minimum total charge of $5.00.’ Two anti-abuse rules travel with the cap: ‘A notary public shall not discriminate by conditioning the fee for a notarial act on the attributes of the principal’, and ‘An employer shall not establish fees for notarial services that exceed those specified in this section.’ TRAVEL FEE - expressly allowed, with conditions: ‘A notary may charge a travel fee when traveling to perform a notarial act if: The notary public and the person requesting the notarial act agree upon the travel fee in advance of the travel; and The notary public explains to the person requesting the notarial act that the travel fee is separate from the notarial act fees listed in this section and not mandated by law.’ TECHNOLOGY FEE - ‘A notary public may charge a technology fee not to exceed $25 per notarial act for those acts performed electronically’ (Handbook); the rule states it as ‘a fee not to exceed $25.00 for each remote notarial act’, and for an in-person notarization of an electronic record the ordinary statutory fee structure applies (12.9.3.11 NMAC).

Who does NOT need a commission — exemptions

AUTOMATIC NOTARIAL OFFICERS hold notarial authority without a notary commission: ‘a judicial officer, Secretary of State or full-time staff member of the Secretary of State’s office, court clerk, deputy court clerk, county clerk, deputy county clerk, or an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of New Mexico’, where ‘Judicial Officer’ means ‘a judge of a state court in New Mexico; a special commissioner or hearing officer appointed pursuant to supreme court rule and employed by a state court; a special ma[st]er appointed pursuant to supreme court rule or state statute; and a court clerk or deputy court clerk of a state court in New Mexico.’ They are NOT exempt from the program’s duties: since the 2023 amendments each ‘must complete the Notarial Officer Training and register their stamp with the Secretary of State’s Office before performing notarial acts’, they must pass the same examination, and the Handbook’s journal and stamp rules apply to notarial officers generally. Their registration is free. Such an officer who is not a licensed attorney may hold a notary commission as well, ’to perform notarial acts outside the individual’s scope of duties as an automatic notarial officer.’ Attorneys get one narrow relief: an attorney notarial officer must keep a journal only ‘when performing notarial acts unrelated to an established attorney-client relationship.’ Military notarial powers under 10 U.S.C. 1044a are not addressed in the NM Notarial Officer Handbook, the Become a Notary page, the RULONA FAQs, 12.9.3 NMAC or 12.9.4 NMAC - all five searched 2026-08-12, so this record makes no claim about them. Acts that need no notary at all are likewise not enumerated in those tiers.

How to apply

Applications are handled by New Mexico Secretary of State, Business Services Division (Notary & Apostille). Discipline is NOT handled by the Secretary of State: under the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts it is the New Mexico State Ethics Commission that ‘may deny, refuse to renew, revoke, suspend or impose a condition on a commissioned notary public.’. Start at the official application page .

Verify a license in New Mexico

New Mexico Secretary of State (Enterprise online filing system) publishes a public license search , searchable by not enumerable on 2026-08-12 - the portal refused automated reads with HTTP 403 (Microsoft Azure Application Gateway), so its search fields could not be read and are not guessed here. It covers The Secretary of State’s Notary Search page carries no search box of its own; it points to the filing portal: ‘For a list of Notaries Public and approved Remote online Notaries, please visit https://enterprise.sos.nm.gov/' (https://www.sos.nm.gov/notary-and-apostille/notary-commissions/notary-search/) . The same portal hosts the Notary Public Application, Stamp Registration, Automatic Notarial Officer Stamp Registration, Remote Online Notary Application, name and address changes, resignations, and requests for a duplicate certificate of appointment.

Records come from New Mexico Secretary of State (Enterprise online filing system)’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 Mexico require a bond to become a notary?

Yes. ‘Each applicant is required to obtain a surety bond or its functional equivalent in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000). The assurance must be issued by a surety or other entity licensed or authorized to do business in this state.’ Your signature on the bond must be notarized by another New Mexico notary - never by yourself - and the bond must stay in force, because ‘Failure to maintain an assurance or surety bond’ is a ground for revocation. New Mexico does not require errors-and-omissions insurance.

Is there a course and an exam?

Yes, for everyone. The Secretary of State states that ‘All Notarial Officers (including Automatic Notarial Officers) are required to complete the Notary Education Course and exam, and are required to pass the exam with an 80% score or higher.’ The course and exam come from the Secretary of State’s approved vendor and cost about $30 paid directly to that vendor, separate from the $30 state filing fee. Remote online notarization requires a second, separate course and exam.

How long is a New Mexico notary commission, and what does it cost?

Four years. The state filing fee is $30 (‘a non-refundable application fee of $30’), plus roughly $30 to the training vendor, plus the cost of your surety bond and your stamp. Remote online notary authorization is a further $75.

What happens after my commission is approved?

You must buy your official stamp and register it: ‘Within 45 days of the notary application being approved the notary must purchase and provide proof of their official stamp by filing a Notary Public Stamp Registration. If the stamp registration is not completed within 45 days, the Secretary of State is required to refer the notary to the State Ethics Commission.’ Until both the certificate of commission and the stamp proof are in place, you may not perform notarial acts.

What has to be on a New Mexico notary stamp?

For a notary public the stamp must be ‘in 10-point font’, contain the words ‘State of New Mexico’ and ‘Notary Public’, the notary’s legal name exactly as on the Certificate of Commission, the commission number and expiration date, and the New Mexico State seal. County clerks, court officials and attorney notarial officers use stamps that read ‘Notarial Officer’ instead, with their own required elements.

Does a New Mexico notary have to keep a journal?

Yes - for every act. ‘A notarial officer is required to maintain a journal of every notarial act performed. The notary public shall retain the journal for ten years after the performance of the last notarial act chronicled, regardless of status of the notary public’s commission.’ Each entry records the date and time, the record and act type, the individual’s full name and address, how identity was established, and the fee charged. Attorneys must keep a journal for notarial acts ‘unrelated to an established attorney-client relationship.’

Can a New Mexico notary do remote online notarizations?

Yes, with a separate authorization. You must already be a commissioned notary public or automatic notarial officer, pass a separate RON course and exam, upload the electronic stamp, and pay the $75 fee. You must be ‘physically located in New Mexico at the time the notarial act takes place’, and you must use one of the Secretary of State’s approved remote online providers.

How much can a New Mexico notary charge?

The maximums are ‘$5.00 per acknowledgment’, ‘$5.00 per person’ for oaths or affirmations without a signature, ‘$5.00 per jurat’, and ‘$.50 per page with a minimum total charge of $5.00’ for copy certifications. A travel fee is allowed only if agreed in advance and explained as separate and ’not mandated by law’, and an electronic or remote act may carry a technology fee ’not to exceed $25’ per act.

Who can notarize in New Mexico without being commissioned?

Automatic Notarial Officers - New Mexico judges and other judicial officers, court clerks and deputies, county clerks and deputies, the Secretary of State and full-time SOS staff, and attorneys licensed in New Mexico. They hold the authority by virtue of office, but since the 2023 amendments they must still complete the notarial officer training and exam and register their stamp with the Secretary of State before performing notarial acts. That stamp registration is free.

Who disciplines New Mexico notaries?

The State Ethics Commission, not the Secretary of State. It ‘may deny, refuse to renew, revoke, suspend or impose a condition on a commissioned notary public for any act or omission that demonstrates that the individual lacks the honesty, integrity, competence, or reliability to act as a notary public’, including failure to comply with RULONA, a disqualifying conviction, false advertising, or ‘Failure to maintain an assurance or surety bond.’

See every license and certification LicensingAtlas covers in New Mexico.

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.