How to Become a Notary in Virginia — Requirements & Fees

How to become a notary public in Virginia: remote online notarization — verified from Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Source-verified

Requirements below are drawn from Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Notary Division (notaries are appointed by the Governor) (official site) and last verified August 12, 2026. Boards change fees and rules often — confirm before acting.

Requirements at a glance

TRADITIONAL COMMISSION, in the order the Secretary of the Commonwealth publishes the steps: (1) Create a Notary Management Account and complete the online application interview. (2) Print the PDF application generated at the end - the office warns 'Be sure you are able to print the pdf application before paying online. The barcode number on your printed application must match the invoice number found on your receipt.' (3) Pay the $45 non-refundable fee by credit card, or by check or money order payable to Treasurer of Virginia. (4) 'Have your signature properly notarized by a Virginia Notary on Part 3 of your printed application.' The Secretary's eNotary guidance adds that the notary application 'must be notarized by a traditional Virginia Notary Public. It cannot be notarized by an electronic notary.' (5) Mail the completed, notarized application with payment to the Notary Office, P.O. Box 1795, Richmond, Virginia 23218. (6) 'Contact the Circuit Court to take your oath and be sworn in.' The commission is sent to the circuit court the applicant selected; the applicant pays 'a fee of $10 to the Clerk' at that time. TWO HARD DEADLINES: processing takes about three weeks ('It usually takes 2-3 weeks'), and 'By law, you must claim your commission from the Court within 60 days after it is issued. If you fail to do so, you must submit a new application and a new fee.' The handbook is emphatic: 'Failure to claim the commission within sixty days is not excused for ANY REASON, including non-receipt of the notice.' (7) NEW SINCE JULY 1, 2026 - obtain the seal by presenting proof of commission: 'To obtain a notary seal, a notary public shall present proof of his commission to a vendor or manufacturer for purposes of obtaining a seal to affix on paper documents... The notary public and vendor or manufacturer shall retain such proof of commission for no less than five years.' ELECTRONIC NOTARY: hold a valid traditional commission; purchase an electronic seal from an electronic notary seal provider first; then submit the electronic notary application with a $45 fee paid online by Visa, Mastercard or American Express. Under Va. Code 47.1-7 the registration form must include the applicant's full legal and official notary names, 'A general description of the technology or technologies the applicant will use to create an electronic signature', certification of compliance with the electronic notary standards developed under 47.1-6.1, and a valid email address. The application must be signed with the electronic signature described in the form 'including any decrypting instructions, codes, keys, or software that allow the signature to be read and verified' and transmitted electronically to the Secretary.

Legal basis

Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Notary Division (notaries are appointed by the Governor) commissions notaries public in Virginia. 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 Virginia issues a COMMISSION by gubernatorial APPOINTMENT - the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s guidelines open by describing ‘A notary is a public official appointed by the Governor’, and Va. Code 47.1-3 provides that ’the Governor may appoint an unlimited number of notaries public.’ The Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth administers the commissioning under Va. Code 47.1-8; the governing law is Title 47.1, Notaries and Out-of-State Commissioners. Virginia’s own second credential is the ‘Electronic Notary Public’ or ’eNotary’, which is the vehicle for remote online notarization (RON) - so in Virginia ’eNotary’ and ‘RON notary’ name the SAME commission, unlike states that register the two separately. ‘Notary at-large’ is Virginia’s statutory description of jurisdiction (47.1-13), not a separate credential. Folk terms, named as folk terms: ’notary license’ and ’notary certification’ are common search phrasings but Virginia issues neither a licence nor a certification - it is an appointment and commission. A ’notary signing agent’ or ’loan signing agent’ is a PRIVATE vendor credential; Virginia issues no such appointment and none appears in Title 47.1 or the handbook. *** ‘NOTARIO PUBLICO’ IS PROHIBITED BY VIRGINIA LAW WITH A CIVIL PENALTY. *** The Secretary’s handbook states: ‘A notary public shall not assume, use, or advertise under any of the titles: “notario”, “notario publico”, “licenciado” or any other term in any language other than English that indicates the notary is authorized to provide legal advice or practice law. The notary public will be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $500 for the first violation and a penalty not to exceed $1000 for the second or subsequent violation.’ Recorded here in one factual sentence with its official source, per this site’s audience-slicing rule; the immigrant-facing treatment of this issue belongs to our sibling site.

Types of notary commission

Traditional Notary Public commission — Anyone notarizing paper documents for signers who appear in person anywhere in Virginia. The base commission and a prerequisite for the electronic one. $45 to the Secretary of the Commonwealth plus $10 to the circuit court clerk at the oath. Virginia notaries are ’notaries at-large’ with authority throughout the Commonwealth (Va. Code 47.1-13).
Electronic Notary Public (eNotary) commission - covers both electronic and remote online notarization — Commissioned Virginia traditional notaries who want to notarize electronic documents and/or perform remote online notarizations. VIRGINIA DOES NOT ISSUE A SEPARATE RON CREDENTIAL - remote online notarization is performed under the electronic notary commission. Separate $45 application. The applicant ‘must first hold a valid commission as a traditional notary public’ and must purchase an electronic seal BEFORE applying, because ‘The electronic seal is a required item on the electronic notary application.’ The electronic commission expires on the same date as the traditional one and must be renewed at the same time.

Who can be commissioned

Per Va. Code 47.1-3 and 47.1-4 as set out in the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Handbook for Virginia Notaries Public (revised August 10, 2026), ’the Governor may appoint an unlimited number of notaries public. A notary must be: 1. At least 18 years old. 2. A legal resident (Citizen or Permanent Resident) of the United States. 3. Able to read and write the English language. 4. A resident of Virginia or regularly employed in the state and perform notary services in connection with their employment (A non-resident notary who ceases to be regularly employed in Virginia must surrender their commission). 5. No person who has ever been convicted of a felony under the laws of the United States, the Commonwealth of Virginia, or the laws of any other state, qualifies to be appointed and commissioned as a notary public unless such person has had been pardoned for such felony, has had the conviction vacated by the granting of a writ of actual innocence, or has had their civil rights restored.’ SO VIRGINIA HAS A CATEGORICAL FELONY BAR, subject to three named cures (pardon, writ of actual innocence, restoration of civil rights) - unlike states that review convictions case by case. There is an English-language requirement, and there IS a legal-presence requirement (citizen or permanent resident). The residency test is disjunctive: Virginia residency OR regular employment in Virginia with notarial services connected to that employment. Losing the employment nexus obliges a non-resident notary to surrender the commission (Va. Code 47.1-22, per the handbook: ‘A Virginia notary who moves outside of the state must surrender his or her commission unless the notary continues to be regularly employed in Virginia. If the notary continues to be regularly employed in Virginia, he or she may continue to serve by notifying the Secretary of the Commonwealth of such employment.’). The handbook also notes the applicant must not be the subject of ‘any ongoing investigation or proceeding, and has never been removed from office.’ NAME MATCHING: ‘The name on the application and commission must exactly match the notary’s state issued identification.’ CONFLICT OF INTEREST, an ongoing rather than entry condition (Va. Code 47.1-30): a notary ‘may not perform any notarial act which presents a conflict between their personal interest and their official duty’, ‘may never take his or her own acknowledgment, oath, affidavit, or deposition’, and per the Secretary’s August 2026 guidelines ‘cannot notarize his or her own signature, the signature of his or her spouse or a document in which the notary or the notary’s spouse may benefit.’

Requirements

TRADITIONAL COMMISSION, in the order the Secretary of the Commonwealth publishes the steps: (1) Create a Notary Management Account and complete the online application interview. (2) Print the PDF application generated at the end - the office warns ‘Be sure you are able to print the pdf application before paying online. The barcode number on your printed application must match the invoice number found on your receipt.’ (3) Pay the $45 non-refundable fee by credit card, or by check or money order payable to Treasurer of Virginia. (4) ‘Have your signature properly notarized by a Virginia Notary on Part 3 of your printed application.’ The Secretary’s eNotary guidance adds that the notary application ‘must be notarized by a traditional Virginia Notary Public. It cannot be notarized by an electronic notary.’ (5) Mail the completed, notarized application with payment to the Notary Office, P.O. Box 1795, Richmond, Virginia 23218. (6) ‘Contact the Circuit Court to take your oath and be sworn in.’ The commission is sent to the circuit court the applicant selected; the applicant pays ‘a fee of $10 to the Clerk’ at that time. TWO HARD DEADLINES: processing takes about three weeks (‘It usually takes 2-3 weeks’), and ‘By law, you must claim your commission from the Court within 60 days after it is issued. If you fail to do so, you must submit a new application and a new fee.’ The handbook is emphatic: ‘Failure to claim the commission within sixty days is not excused for ANY REASON, including non-receipt of the notice.’ (7) NEW SINCE JULY 1, 2026 - obtain the seal by presenting proof of commission: ‘To obtain a notary seal, a notary public shall present proof of his commission to a vendor or manufacturer for purposes of obtaining a seal to affix on paper documents… The notary public and vendor or manufacturer shall retain such proof of commission for no less than five years.’ ELECTRONIC NOTARY: hold a valid traditional commission; purchase an electronic seal from an electronic notary seal provider first; then submit the electronic notary application with a $45 fee paid online by Visa, Mastercard or American Express. Under Va. Code 47.1-7 the registration form must include the applicant’s full legal and official notary names, ‘A general description of the technology or technologies the applicant will use to create an electronic signature’, certification of compliance with the electronic notary standards developed under 47.1-6.1, and a valid email address. The application must be signed with the electronic signature described in the form ‘including any decrypting instructions, codes, keys, or software that allow the signature to be read and verified’ and transmitted electronically to the Secretary.

Training

Virginia does not require a training course.

*** NOT REQUIRED TODAY (2026-08-12) - BUT VIRGINIA HAS ALREADY ENACTED A MANDATORY COURSE THAT TAKES EFFECT JULY 1, 2027. DO NOT WRITE THE 2027 RULE IN THE PRESENT TENSE. *** TODAY: Virginia imposes no pre-commission course, no hour requirement and no approved-provider scheme. The qualification list at Va. Code 47.1-3/47.1-4, reproduced in the Handbook revised August 10, 2026, runs to five items - age 18, legal US residency, English literacy, Virginia residency or employment nexus, and the felony bar - and contains no education element. The strings ‘course of instruction’, ‘written examination’ and ‘2027’ do not appear anywhere in the 25-page August 2026 handbook. Tiers searched on 2026-08-12: Va. Code Title 47.1 chapters 1 and 3, the August 10 2026 Handbook in full, the Important Guidelines for Virginia Notaries revised July 2026 (published 8.11.26), the Notary Application Process page, and the Secretary’s FAQ. FUTURE-EFFECTIVE, JULY 1, 2027: the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s own newsletter ‘Virginia’s Notary Spotlight, Vol 02 - New Notary Laws July 1, 2026’ carries a section headed ‘Effective July 1, 2027 - The following laws have been passed but will take effect next year’, which includes ‘Course of Instruction & Examination Requirements: New requirements for both initial commissions and recommissions. Mandatory education and training course. Includes instruction on: Notary laws and procedures; Identity verification; Fraud detection and prevention; Written examination required. Training must be completed within 6 months prior to application.’ Note the scope: it reaches RECOMMISSIONS as well as initial commissions, so existing Virginia notaries renewing on or after that date are expected to be caught by it, and the training carries a six-month freshness window before application. The Secretary’s own advice is ‘Stay informed on training requirements coming in 2027.’ This record does not state the 2027 rule as current law and does not quote a code section for it, because the enacting act’s text was not readable.

Exam

Virginia does not require an exam.

*** NO EXAMINATION IS REQUIRED IN VIRGINIA TODAY (2026-08-12). A WRITTEN EXAMINATION HAS BEEN ENACTED AND TAKES EFFECT JULY 1, 2027. *** TODAY: there is no notary examination of any kind. Virginia’s qualification list contains no exam, the application process is an online interview plus a notarized paper application plus a circuit-court oath, and no exam fee exists - the only charges are the $45 application fee and the $10 court fee. Tiers searched on 2026-08-12: Va. Code Title 47.1 chapters 1 and 3 (including 47.1-3, 47.1-4, 47.1-5, 47.1-5.1, 47.1-8 and 47.1-9 as cited by the handbook), the Handbook for Virginia Notaries Public revised August 10 2026 in full, the Important Guidelines revised July 2026, the Notary Application Process page and the Secretary’s FAQ. None mentions an examination as a condition of commissioning. FUTURE-EFFECTIVE, JULY 1, 2027: per the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s newsletter, under the heading ‘Effective July 1, 2027… The following laws have been passed but will take effect next year’, the new ‘Course of Instruction & Examination Requirements’ apply to ‘both initial commissions and recommissions’ and include a ‘Written examination required’, with training ‘completed within 6 months prior to application’. A verifier should treat the July 1 2027 date as the thing to re-check, and should NOT reclassify exam_required until that date arrives - Virginia is a not-required state for the whole of the 2026-27 commissioning year.

Bond & insurance

VIRGINIA REQUIRES NO SURETY BOND, AND NO ERRORS-AND-OMISSIONS INSURANCE. The Secretary of the Commonwealth states it directly under the heading BONDS AND INSURANCE in the Handbook for Virginia Notaries Public revised August 10, 2026: ‘Virginia notaries are not required to post a bond in order to obtain their commission. All notaries may wish to consider liability insurance for their own protection. Notaries who perform notarial duties in connection with their employment should consult their employer to determine whether they are covered, or could be covered, by the employer’s policy.’ That single passage disposes of BOTH halves of the bond-plus-insurance pattern and is worth reading closely: the bond is not required, and insurance is framed as something a notary ‘may wish to consider… for their own protection’ - i.e. an optional private product protecting the NOTARY, not the public. Any source presenting Virginia E&O as mandatory is describing a vendor’s sales pitch, not Virginia law. Tiers searched on 2026-08-12: the August 2026 Handbook (the BONDS AND INSURANCE section is the operative text), the Important Guidelines for Virginia Notaries revised July 2026, the qualification provisions at Va. Code 47.1-3 and 47.1-4, the commissioning provisions at 47.1-5 through 47.1-9 as summarised by the handbook, the Notary Application Process page (whose only payments are the $45 fee and the $10 court fee), and the eNotary page (whose only payment is the $45 electronic application fee). No bond appears in any of them, and no bond filing step exists anywhere in the application sequence - the oath before the circuit court clerk is the only qualifying act after approval. NOTE FOR CONTRAST, because it is easy to conflate: the electronic notary must PURCHASE AN ELECTRONIC SEAL before applying. That is a technology purchase from a seal provider, not a bond and not insurance.

Fees

TO THE SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH: $45.00, non-refundable, for a new commission OR a renewal. The Secretary’s FAQ: ‘The application fee to become or renew a notary commission is $45 (non-refundable). The fee may be paid online by credit card at the time the application is created or it can paid by check or money order and mailed to our office with the notarized application. If paying by check or money order, please make payment payable to Treasurer of Virginia.’ The handbook states the same $45 figure. TO THE CIRCUIT COURT CLERK: $10.00, paid when the applicant appears to claim the commission and take the oath of office - ‘At that time, the applicant will be required to pay a fee of $10 to the Clerk.’ This is a genuinely separate payment to a different body and is easy to omit; the all-in cost of a Virginia commission is therefore $55.00 in government fees. ELECTRONIC NOTARY: a further $45.00 non-refundable fee, ‘submitted via online payment using a Visa, Mastercard or American Express at the end of the online application.’ There is no separate RON fee - remote online notarization runs under the electronic commission. SEAL/STAMP: not a state fee. ‘Stamps/seals must be ordered through an outside vendor… The Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth does not sell or make notary stamps/seals.’ Since July 1, 2026 a vendor may only supply one on proof of commission. The electronic seal likewise must be bought from an electronic notary seal provider before applying, at a price the state does not set or publish. NO CODE-VERSUS-FORM DIVERGENCE FOUND. The $45 appears identically on the Secretary’s live FAQ, the Notary Application Process page and the August 2026 handbook, and the $10 court fee appears in both the application-process page and the handbook. Virginia’s application is generated as a PDF by the online interview rather than published as a standing fee-bearing form, so there is no separate printed fee schedule that could disagree. RESTART COST: if the commission is not claimed at the circuit court within 60 days it becomes invalid and ‘you must submit a new application and a new fee’ - the $45 is forfeited.

How long the commission lasts, and renewing it

Four years, and Virginia’s expiry date is unusual: it runs to the notary’s BIRTH MONTH, not to the anniversary of the commission. Handbook (revised August 10, 2026), TERMS OF OFFICE, citing Va. Code 47.1-21, 47.1-5.1 and 47.1-29: ‘A notary’s commission term is four years, expiring on the last day of the notary’s birth month. The commission may be renewed every fourth year by filing a new application with the Secretary of the Commonwealth. After their term has expired, notaries must not act as such unless a new commission has been obtained. Acting under an expired commission may constitute a criminal offense.’ So the first term is nearly always shorter than a full four years, and the length depends on when in the applicant’s birth-month cycle the commission issues. THE TERM DOES NOT START AT ISSUANCE - it starts at qualification before the circuit court. The commission is issued by the Secretary and sent to the circuit court the applicant selected, and the applicant must appear there to take the oath; an unclaimed commission ‘becomes invalid’ after sixty days. THE ELECTRONIC COMMISSION IS YOKED TO THE TRADITIONAL ONE: ‘The electronic notary commission will expire on the same date the notary’s traditional commission expires. The electronic notary commission will need to be renewed at the same time the notary commission is renewed.’ Renewal is a fresh application every fourth year, not a light-touch renewal. Per the Secretary’s August 2026 guidelines: ‘A notary’s commission may be renewed every fourth year by filing a new application with the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Office.’ The handbook uses the same formula. The fee is the same $45 as an initial commission, and the Secretary’s FAQ treats ‘become or renew’ as one fee. The Secretary recommends the Notary Management account, which ‘will allow you to check the status of notary applications, update your contact information, and, if eligible, renew online.’ Note the qualifier ‘if eligible’ - online renewal is not universal. NO GRACE PERIOD: ‘After their term has expired, notaries must not act as such unless a new commission has been obtained. Acting under an expired commission may constitute a criminal offense.’ The guidelines put it more sharply: ‘It is a felony to act as a notary without having a valid commission and doing so may result in imprisonment for each offense.’ The electronic commission must be renewed at the same time as the traditional commission and expires with it. MID-TERM CHANGES: contact information (address, phone, business address, business phone) must be updated promptly through the online notary account, and ‘only contact information may be updated online’ - name changes are handled separately. FUTURE-EFFECTIVE AND SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT RENEWALS: from July 1, 2027 the enacted course-of-instruction and written-examination requirements apply to ‘both initial commissions and recommissions’, with training completed within six months before application. Renewing Virginia notaries should expect their first post-July-2027 renewal to look materially different from this one. NO CONTINUING EDUCATION IS REQUIRED IN VIRGINIA TODAY (2026-08-12), and renewal is instead a fresh application every fourth year. Tiers searched on 2026-08-12: the Handbook for Virginia Notaries Public revised August 10 2026 in full, the Important Guidelines for Virginia Notaries revised July 2026, the Notary Application Process page, the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Notary Commissions page and FAQ, the eNotary page, and Va. Code Title 47.1 chapters 1 and 3. No continuing-education requirement, hour count, approved-provider scheme or CE fee appears in any of them; the renewal instruction is simply ‘filing a new application with the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Office’ plus the $45 fee. *** WATCH JULY 1, 2027. *** The enacted ‘Course of Instruction & Examination Requirements’ apply to ‘both initial commissions and recommissions’ with ‘Training must be completed within 6 months prior to application’ (Secretary of the Commonwealth, Virginia’s Notary Spotlight Vol 02, under ‘Effective July 1, 2027’). Because it attaches to recommissions and carries a six-month window before application, it will function much like a pre-renewal education requirement for existing notaries even though Virginia does not call it continuing education. It is NOT in force today and this record does not treat it as such.

Your seal or stamp

A SEAL IS REQUIRED on every paper notarization, and since July 1, 2026 Virginia also controls how you are allowed to BUY one. STATUTORY DUTY: Va. Code 47.1-16(C) - ‘Near the notary’s official signature on the notarial certificate of a paper document, the notary shall affix a sharp, legible, permanent, and photographically reproducible image of the official seal, or, to an electronic document, the notary shall attach an official electronic seal.’ REQUIRED CONTENT, per the Secretary’s Important Guidelines for Virginia Notaries (revised July 2026): ‘A Virginia notary’s seal must be photographically reproducible and contain the name of the notary exactly as it appears on the notary’s commission, the words “Notary Public” and “Commonwealth of Virginia.”’ The August 2026 handbook adds, as best practice, the commission expiration date and the notary’s registration number. Note the difference in force between the two documents - the guidelines state the three mandatory elements; the handbook’s fuller four-item list is framed as what a seal ‘should contain’. *** NEW SINCE JULY 1, 2026 - PROOF OF COMMISSION TO BUY A SEAL: *** ‘To obtain a notary seal, a notary public shall present proof of his commission to a vendor or manufacturer for purposes of obtaining a seal to affix on paper documents as required by the provisions of this title. The notary public and vendor or manufacturer shall retain such proof of commission for no less than five years.’ The Secretary’s plain-language gloss: ‘You will no longer be able to simply order a seal/stamp without documentation.’ ACCURACY AND NO PATCHING: ‘Any information included on the notary’s seal/stamp must be accurate. The notary cannot strike through or white-out an area to make a change.’ Care must be taken ’not to obscure the signatures or other parts of the document.’ WHERE TO GET ONE: ‘Stamps/seals must be obtained from an outside vendor. The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office does not sell or make notary stamps/seals.’ ON EXPIRY: ‘It is the responsibility of the notary to dispose of or destroy the notary seal once the notary ceases to be a notary.’ SEVEN ITEMS MUST APPEAR ON EVERY NOTARIZED DOCUMENT (Secretary’s guidelines): ‘1. The name of the county or independent city in which the document is signed; 2. The date the document is signed; 3. The notarial statement - what is being notarized (i.e. a signature, a true copy of an original, or an oath); 4. The notary’s signature; 5. The date that the notary’s commission expires (month, day, year); 6. Notary registration number; 7. Photographically reproducible notary seal/stamp.’ The expiration statement has a statutory form under 47.1-16(C): ‘My commission expires the____ day of_____________, _____’. PLACEMENT: ‘Every effort should be made to have complete notarization on the same page as the signature(s) being notarized. If notarization is on a separate page from signature(s), the notarial statement must include the name of each person whose signature is being notarized.’ ELECTRONIC SEAL: must contain the notary’s name as on the commission, the words ‘Electronic Notary Public’ and ‘Commonwealth of Virginia’, the commission expiration date and the registration number. Its physical appearance ‘replicates the appearance of an inked seal on paper’. It must be attached so that the act ‘is capable of independent verification and renders any subsequent changes or modifications to the electronic document evident’ (47.1-16(D)), must conform to the standards developed under 47.1-6.1, and ‘must be retained under the electronic notary’s sole control.’

Keeping a journal

Virginia requires a notary journal.

*** REQUIRED FOR ALL VIRGINIA NOTARIES, INCLUDING PAPER-ONLY NOTARIES, SINCE JULY 1, 2026. THIS IS BRAND NEW AND REVERSES VIRGINIA’S LONG-STANDING RULE - ANY SOURCE SAYING TRADITIONAL VIRGINIA NOTARIES NEED NO JOURNAL IS NOW WRONG. *** Until July 1, 2026 Virginia required a journal only of electronic notaries; the Secretary’s own 2024 handbook said in terms that ‘A traditional notary is not required to keep a notary journal’ and merely recommended one. That text is GONE from the current handbook. THE CURRENT RULE, from the Handbook for Virginia Notaries Public revised August 10, 2026, under JOURNAL, citing Va. Code 47.1-14: ‘A notary shall keep, maintain, protect, and provide for lawful inspection a record of notarial acts that contains at least the following for each notarial act performed: 1. The date and time of day of the notarial act; 2. The type of notarial act; 3. The type, title, or a description of the document or proceeding; 4. The printed name and address of each principal; 5. Type of identification used to establish the identity of each person seeking notarization. 6. The fee, if any, charged for the notarial act. This journal must be maintained for a period of at least five (5) years from the date of the transaction.’ The Secretary’s Important Guidelines for Virginia Notaries (revised July 2026, published August 11, 2026) states the duty and its start date together: ‘All notaries are required by law to keep and maintain a notary journal for a period of at least five (5) years from the date of the transaction starting July 1, 2026.’ The Secretary’s newsletter is explicit about the change and its reach, under the heading ‘Journal Requirement of ALL Notaries’: ‘The record of any nonelectronic notarial act performed on or after July 1, 2026, shall be maintained for a period of at least five years from the date of the transaction. The electronic record of an electronic notarial act shall be maintained for a period of at least five years from the date of the transaction.’ Its plain-language gloss: ‘All notaries - including traditional (paper) notaries - are now required to maintain a journal of all notarial acts. You must keep these records for at least five years, so if you are not currently keeping a journal, you will need to begin doing so.’ NOTE THE COMMENCEMENT IS ACT-BASED, NOT COMMISSION-BASED: the duty attaches to ‘any nonelectronic notarial act performed on or after July 1, 2026’, so it binds every currently commissioned Virginia notary immediately - there is no transition for existing commissions of the kind Utah adopted. ELECTRONIC NOTARIES have a parallel and slightly heavier duty under 47.1-14: an electronic notary ‘is required to keep, maintain, and protect a journal of all electronic notarization acts’, ‘shall take reasonable steps to ensure the integrity, security, and authenticity of electronic notarizations’, and ‘must maintain a backup for their electronic notarization journal.’ The electronic journal carries the same six fields and the same five-year retention. REMOTE ACTS ADD A THIRD RECORD: ‘The notary is required by law to keep a record of each video conference notarial act. This record must be kept for five years.’ INSPECTION: the statutory formula requires the notary to ‘provide for lawful inspection’ of the record. NO SURRENDER-TO-AUTHORITY RULE on expiry or resignation was found in the tiers searched (the August 2026 handbook, the July 2026 guidelines, the newsletter and Va. Code Title 47.1 chapters 1 and 3) - the only disposal duty published is for the SEAL, which the notary must dispose of or destroy on ceasing to be a notary.

Online (remote) notarization

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

Remote online notarization is authorized in Virginia and is performed under the ELECTRONIC NOTARY commission - there is no separate RON registration and no separate RON fee. Virginia was an early adopter and its remote framework is built into Title 47.1 rather than a standalone act. WHO MAY: an electronic notary public. To become one you must first hold a valid traditional Virginia commission, buy an electronic seal from an electronic notary seal provider, and file the electronic notary application with a $45 fee. Registration content is set by Va. Code 47.1-7 and includes a general description of the technology to be used and certification of compliance with the standards developed under 47.1-6.1. IDENTITY - A HIGHER BAR THAN PAPER. The handbook: ‘Remote notarization requires a very high threshold for identity assurance. Not only MUST there be a video and audio feed, but the notary public will also be REQUIRED to assure the identity of the signer by one of the following three options: 1. Personal knowledge - if the notary knows the signer, that will suffice. 2. Reliance on prior in-person identity proofing by a third party such as an employer, a law firm, or a bank. Otherwise known as antecedent proofing… 3. The signer has a digital certificate that is authenticated either by (i) biometrics or (ii) a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) or PIV-I card issued in conformance with strict government standards from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.’ The handbook adds that ‘A knowledge-based authentication (KBA) is an explicitly allowed method of identity proofing for remote online notarization (RON)… The use of these questions is commonly used for RON for signer identification by Virginia’s notaries. This change has no further effects on what identity proofing methods are allowed. Other compliant methods stated above are still permitted.’ PERFORMANCE STANDARDS for the two-way live teleconference (Va. Code 47.1-2, 47.1-14 C and 19.2-3.1 B 1-3): ‘1. The persons communicating must simultaneously see and speak to one another. 2. The signal transmission must be live, real time. 3. The signal transmission must be secure from interception through lawful means by anyone other than the persons communicating.’ RECORDING: ‘The notary is required by law to keep a record of each video conference notarial act. This record must be kept for five years.’ JURISDICTION - THE POINT MOST OFTEN GOT WRONG: a remote act is NOT extraterritorial. The handbook: ’the remote notarial act is not extraterritorial because it is deemed to have been performed within the Commonwealth of Virginia at the place where the electronic notary is located.’ More generally, ‘All electronic notarial acts performed by Virginia electronic notaries are deemed to have been performed within the Commonwealth of Virginia and are governed by Virginia law’, regardless of where the electronic document sits. CERTIFICATE CONTENT, from Va. Code 47.1-16(A): ‘Every electronic notarial certificate completed by an electronic notary public commissioned in the Commonwealth shall include the county or city within the Commonwealth where the electronic notary public was physically located at the time of the notarial act. The electronic notarial certificate shall indicate whether the notarization was done in person or by remote online notarization.’ The handbook notes this requirement ‘only applies to documents notarized by Virginia notaries, not electronically notarized documents from notaries in other’ states. TECHNOLOGY CHANGES MUST BE REPORTED: if an approved electronic notary ‘adopts different or updated technology to perform electronic acts during the term of the notary’s commission, you must notify the Secretary electronically within 90 days of installation or use of such updated technology or technologies and provide a brief description thereof.’ SECURITY: the electronic notary ‘must take reasonable steps to ensure that any registered device used to create an electronic signature is current and has not been revoked or terminated by the software or hardware vendor’, must keep the electronic register and signature/seal ‘under his exclusive control’, must not allow use ‘by any other notary or any other person’, and ‘may only use his electronic notary signature for performing electronic notarial acts’. Loss, theft or suspected misuse must be reported.

What you may charge

$10.00 PER NOTARIAL ACT, and charging is optional. Handbook (revised August 10, 2026), ALLOWABLE FEES, citing Va. Code 47.1-19 and 47.1-20: ‘A notary may charge up to $10.00 for each notarial act performed.’ The Secretary’s August 2026 guidelines state both halves: ‘A notary is not required to charge a fee for his or her services, but if a fee is charged, it cannot be more than $10.00 for each notarial act.’ TRAVEL: allowed, but only as actual expenses and only by agreement. ‘A notary may request is actual travel expenses if the notary is required to travel away from home or office to perform the notarial act. In this case, the notary and client must agree on the payment to be made.’ The 2024 edition of the handbook made the exclusivity explicit - ‘The only other payment a notary may request is actual travel expenses’ - so travel expense is the sole permitted charge beyond the $10 per act. EMPLOYER RULE (Va. Code 47.1-20): ‘an employer may require an employee to perform notarial acts in the course of employment without charging the fee allowed by law’, and where a fee IS charged the employer may require it be turned over, provided ’the notarial act for which the fee is charged is performed during the course of such employee’s employment.’ THE SAME $10 CAP APPLIES TO ELECTRONIC AND REMOTE ACTS - the handbook’s ALLOWABLE FEES section for electronic notaries carries the same employer language, and no elevated remote-act cap appears anywhere in Title 47.1 chapters 1 and 3, the August 2026 handbook, or the July 2026 guidelines. Virginia does NOT do what Utah does in raising the cap for remote work. NO POSTED-FEE-SCHEDULE DUTY was found in the tiers searched (August 2026 handbook, July 2026 guidelines, Va. Code Title 47.1 chapters 1 and 3, the Secretary’s FAQ).

Who does NOT need a commission — exemptions

VIRGINIA PUBLISHES NO EX OFFICIO NOTARY CLASS in the sources reachable on 2026-08-12 - no provision was found naming circuit court clerks, judges or other officials as able to perform notarial acts without a commission by virtue of office. Tiers searched: the Handbook for Virginia Notaries Public revised August 10 2026 in full (25 pages, including its DEFINITIONS PER CODE OF VIRGINIA section), the Important Guidelines revised July 2026, Va. Code Title 47.1 chapter 1 and chapter 3 including 47.1-16, the Notary Commissions page and the Secretary’s FAQ. Treat this as a SEARCHED-BUT-NOT-EXHAUSTIVE negative: Title 47.1 also contains a chapter on out-of-state commissioners (the title is ‘Notaries and Out-of-State Commissioners’), and provisions authorizing particular officials to take acknowledgments may sit outside Title 47.1 - for example in Title 55.1 (property conveyancing) - which this scrape did not read. A verifier should not upgrade this to ‘Virginia has no ex officio notaries’ without reading those. WHAT IS ESTABLISHED about the boundary of the office: - ACTING WITHOUT A COMMISSION IS A CRIME: ‘It is a felony to act as a notary without having a valid commission and doing so may result in imprisonment for each offense’, and acting under an expired commission ‘may constitute a criminal offense’. - ACTS A VIRGINIA NOTARY MAY NOT PERFORM AT ALL, so no notary is the right answer for them: ‘A notary cannot certify birth, marriage, death certificates (copies or originals.)’ and ‘A notary is not authorized to perform marriages or any act that constitutes the practice of law.’ The Code specifies five basic notarial acts - taking acknowledgments, administering oaths and affirmations, certifying affidavits, and the remaining acts listed at Va. Code 47.1-12. - A notary may not notarize an incomplete document. - OUT-OF-STATE ACTS ARE RECOGNISED, and Virginia notaries have limited extraterritorial power: ‘A Virginia Notary may likewise perform notarial acts outside the Commonwealth, where such notarial acts are performed in accordance with Title 47.1, Chapter 3 of the Code of Virginia’, and ‘A Virginia notary may notarize a document to be filed and used outside of Virginia if it is signed and notarized in Virginia.’ - MILITARY: 10 U.S.C. 1044a is federal and is not addressed by any Virginia source read; this record makes no claim about it. - EMPLOYER LIMITS: ’no employer or supervisor can impose requirements pertaining to a notary that are contrary to Virginia’s laws and regulations pertaining to notaries.’

How to apply

Applications are handled by Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Notary Division (notaries are appointed by the Governor). Start at the official application page .

Verify a license in Virginia

Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia publishes a public license search , searchable by Notary name or Notary ID / registration number. It covers Current Virginia notaries public. The Secretary’s Notary Commissions page offers ‘Verify or Search for a Current Notary by name or Notary ID’ and states that ‘At any given time, approximately 120,000 Virginians are commissioned as a Notary Public.’ CAUTION ON MONITORABILITY: the search application is a JavaScript single-page app hosted on solutions.virginia.gov, and on 2026-08-12 both https://notary.solutions.virginia.gov/ and /search returned a 7,548-byte page reading ‘An error has occurred. This application may no longer respond until reloaded’ to a plain fetch - so the field list above is taken from the Secretary’s own description of the tool rather than from the rendered search form, and the portal could not be exercised. Whether the returned record includes commission expiration date or electronic-notary status is NOT established.

Records come from Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia’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

Do Virginia notaries have to keep a journal?

Yes - as of July 1, 2026, all Virginia notaries must, including notaries who only handle paper documents. This reversed Virginia’s long-standing rule, under which only electronic notaries kept a journal. Under Va. Code 47.1-14 the record must contain, for each act: the date and time of day; the type of notarial act; the type, title or description of the document or proceeding; the printed name and address of each principal; the type of identification used; and the fee, if any, charged. It must be maintained at least five years from the date of the transaction, and the notary must ‘provide for lawful inspection’ of it. The duty attaches to acts performed on or after July 1, 2026, so it binds every currently commissioned notary immediately - there is no transition for existing commissions. Electronic notaries must additionally keep a backup, and remote acts require a video record kept five years.

How long does a Virginia notary commission last?

Four years, expiring on the last day of the notary’s birth month - not on the anniversary of the commission. That means a first term is almost always shorter than a full four years. The commission may be renewed every fourth year by filing a new application with the Secretary of the Commonwealth. After the term expires a notary must not act until a new commission is obtained, and acting under an expired commission may constitute a criminal offense. An electronic notary commission expires on the same date as the traditional commission and must be renewed at the same time.

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

$55 in government fees: $45 non-refundable to the Secretary of the Commonwealth with the application (payable to Treasurer of Virginia if paying by check or money order), plus $10 to the circuit court clerk when you appear to claim your commission and take the oath of office. The same $45 applies to a renewal. Becoming an electronic notary costs a further $45. On top of that you must buy a seal from an outside vendor - the Secretary’s office does not sell or make notary stamps - and an electronic notary must buy an electronic seal before applying. If you fail to claim your commission at the circuit court within 60 days it becomes invalid and you must file a new application and a new fee.

Does Virginia require a notary bond or E&O insurance?

Neither. The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s handbook states that ‘Virginia notaries are not required to post a bond in order to obtain their commission’, and treats insurance as optional and for the notary’s own benefit: ‘All notaries may wish to consider liability insurance for their own protection.’ Notaries who notarize as part of a job are advised to ask their employer whether they are covered by the employer’s policy. No bond filing step appears anywhere in the Virginia application sequence - after approval, the only qualifying act is taking the oath before the circuit court clerk.

Is there an exam or training requirement to become a Virginia notary?

Not today. As of August 2026 Virginia requires no course and no examination - the qualifications are age 18, legal US residency, ability to read and write English, Virginia residency or regular Virginia employment, and no unpardoned felony conviction. But Virginia has already enacted both, effective July 1, 2027. The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s newsletter lists ‘Course of Instruction & Examination Requirements’ under laws that ‘have been passed but will take effect next year’: a mandatory education and training course covering notary laws and procedures, identity verification, and fraud detection and prevention, plus a written examination, applying to both initial commissions and recommissions, with training to be completed within six months before applying.

How much can a Virginia notary charge?

Up to $10.00 per notarial act, and charging is optional - ‘A notary is not required to charge a fee for his or her services, but if a fee is charged, it cannot be more than $10.00 for each notarial act.’ The only other payment a notary may request is actual travel expenses, where the notary must travel away from home or office and the notary and client agree on the payment in advance. The $10 cap applies equally to electronic and remote acts - Virginia does not allow a higher fee for remote notarization. An employer may require an employee to perform notarial acts during employment without charging, and may require that any fee charged be turned over.

Can Virginia notaries perform remote online notarizations?

Yes, but only as an Electronic Notary. Virginia does not issue a separate RON credential - remote online notarization is performed under the electronic notary commission, which requires an existing traditional commission, the purchase of an electronic seal from a seal provider before applying, and a $45 application under Va. Code 47.1-7. Remote acts require a live two-way audio-video connection in which the parties simultaneously see and speak to one another, the transmission is real time and secure from interception, identity is established by personal knowledge, antecedent third-party identity proofing, or an authenticated digital certificate (knowledge-based authentication is explicitly allowed), and a video record of each act is kept for five years. Crucially, a Virginia remote act is deemed performed in Virginia at the place where the notary is located - it is not extraterritorial.

What must a Virginia notary seal contain, and can I just order one online?

The seal must be photographically reproducible and contain the notary’s name exactly as it appears on the commission, the words ‘Notary Public’ and ‘Commonwealth of Virginia’; the handbook adds the commission expiration date and registration number as best practice. Va. Code 47.1-16(C) requires the notary to affix ‘a sharp, legible, permanent, and photographically reproducible image of the official seal’ near the official signature. Since July 1, 2026 you can no longer simply order one: ‘To obtain a notary seal, a notary public shall present proof of his commission to a vendor or manufacturer’, and both the notary and the vendor must retain that proof for at least five years. Seals come only from outside vendors - the Secretary’s office does not sell or make them - all information on the seal must be accurate, corrections by strike-through or white-out are prohibited, and the notary must dispose of or destroy the seal on ceasing to be a notary.

What has to appear on every document a Virginia notary notarizes?

Seven items, per the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s guidelines: the name of the county or independent city in which the document is signed; the date the document is signed; the notarial statement saying what is being notarized (a signature, a true copy of an original, or an oath); the notary’s signature; the date the notary’s commission expires, in month/day/year form; the notary registration number; and the photographically reproducible notary seal or stamp. The expiration statement has a statutory form: ‘My commission expires the ____ day of ____________, ____’. The notarization should be on the same page as the signature where possible; if it is on a separate page, the notarial statement must name each person whose signature is being notarized. An electronic notarial certificate must additionally state the Virginia county or city where the notary was physically located and indicate whether the act was done in person or by remote online notarization.

What can a Virginia notary NOT do?

A notary cannot certify birth, marriage or death certificates - copies or originals - is not authorized to perform marriages or any act constituting the practice of law, and may not notarize an incomplete document. A notary may not take their own acknowledgment, oath, affidavit or deposition, and cannot notarize their own signature, a spouse’s signature, or a document in which the notary or the notary’s spouse may benefit. Virginia also prohibits notaries from advertising under the titles ’notario’, ’notario publico’ or ’licenciado’, or any non-English term indicating authority to give legal advice, subject to a civil penalty of up to $500 for a first violation and up to $1,000 for later ones. Acting as a notary without a valid commission is a felony.

How do I verify a Virginia notary's commission?

The Secretary of the Commonwealth offers a public search to ‘Verify or Search for a Current Notary by name or Notary ID’ from the Notary Commissions page. Roughly 120,000 Virginians hold a commission at any given time. Note that the search runs as a JavaScript application on solutions.virginia.gov and was returning an application error to direct requests when this record was compiled, so it may need to be reached through the Secretary’s Notary Commissions page rather than by a direct link.

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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.