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Notary

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The office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth is responsible for the commissioning of Notaries Public in Virginia, pursuant to Section 47.1-8 of the Code of Virginia.  At any given time, approximately 120,000 Virginians are commissioned as a Notary Public.

Review the 2008 changes to the Virginia Notary Public Law (effective July 1, 2008) – pdf (21k)
doc (27k)

I would like to become a notary:

Anyone wishing to become a notary public for the Commonwealth of Virginia must submit a completed application for appointment as notary to the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth along with a fee of $45.00 made payable to the Treasurer of Virginia. Notary applications are available below or at your local circuit court.

• New - Online Application Wizard - 2009
  Please review BrowserMessage.doc prior to accessing the on-line application.
   
  
• 2009 Notary Application (Effective July 1, 2009) – PDF (92 k) | Word (62k)
   
• 2009 Notary Handbook (effective July 1, 2009) – PDF (152k) | rtf (436k)

An eNotary is a Notary Public who notarizes documents electronically. There are important guidelines that must be followed in order to become an eNotary. Please review the Electronic Notary Instructions prior to applying to become an eNotary. You can also view frequently asked questions about the eNotary program.
Become an eNotary

The applicant should receive notice that their application has been approved within 3 weeks of receipt. The notary then has sixty days to present themselves to the court of their choosing to take their oath of office and pick up their commission certificate.  At that time, the clerk of court will require an additional fee of $10.00 which should be made payable to the court.

A commission as notary is good for four years.  The process for renewing a commission is the same as applying for an original commission.
Please note, if you are a notary whose commission expires in January, submit your application in January. Applications received prior to January will be processed in a way wherein your commission will expire one year earlier than anticipated.

I would like help in acquiring contact information for a notary who notarized documents for me in the past:

Anyone may request the address and telephone number of a notary by submitting a letter of request stating the name of the notary and the reason for request to the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

I would like to acquire formal verification of a notary:

Our office will provide a formal letter stating both the notary's commission date and expiration date. Verification can be made on all active and expired commissions dating back to 1998.

I would like to file a complaint against a notary:

Anyone who wishes to make a formal complaint against a notary public for incorrectly performing a notorial act must submit in writing a brief description detailing the complaint and a copy of the notarized document in question. Once the complaint is received the notary department will determine if a violation has been committed. If the complaint is deemed valid, the notary will receive a letter advising them that an investigation has been initiated. The Notary Specialist will schedule an informal hearing where the both parties will be given the opportunity to explain their positions. If either party is unable to attend, a written account will be accepted and read at the hearing. The Secretary of the Commonwealth then has 90 days to render a decision of which the notary will receive written notice. A copy will be sent to the complainant upon request.
 

For more information contact:

Betsy Anderson, Notary Director
Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth
P.O. Box 1795
Richmond, Virginia 23218-1795
(804) 786-2441

or use our Inquiry Form