How to get a notary bond

Getting a notary bond takes minutes. Filing it correctly takes attention, because every bonding state has its own form, its own filing office and its own deadline, and a missed deadline voids the commission. Here is the whole process.

1. Confirm that your state requires a bond, and how much. Twenty-eight states and D.C. require one; three repealed it; nineteen never had one. Amounts run from $500 to $50,000. The state schedule lists every jurisdiction with the statute.
2. Apply. Online in about four minutes, or on the one-page paper application. You will need your name exactly as it appears (or will appear) on the commission, your Social Security number, your physical address and county, and your commission dates and number if you are renewing. No credit check is run for a standard bond.
3. Pay for the full term. One payment covers the entire commission term. Enter your card on the secure final step of the online application; it is not charged until an underwriter issues the bond.
4. Receive the executed bond. The same business day, by email, on your state's prescribed form, signed by the surety with its power of attorney attached where required.
5. Sign as principal. Some states require your signature on the bond to be acknowledged before another notary (North Dakota, for example). The instructions that accompany your bond tell you whether that applies.
6. File the bond with the right office by the deadline. With the state application in most states; with the county clerk in California (within 30 days of the commission start), Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri (within 30 days), Nevada and Tennessee; with the Recorder of Deeds in Pennsylvania (within 45 days); with the parish clerk of court in Louisiana; with the Secretary of State within 60 days in Oklahoma. Your state page states the rule.
7. Keep proof. Keep a copy of the filed bond with your notary records for the term. You will need the bond number and expiration date to renew.

New commission or renewal

The process is the same. On renewal the new bond must begin on the first day of the new commission term and run for the full term; a bond cannot be extended or transferred from one commission to the next. Order the renewal bond a few weeks before the old commission expires so the filing can be completed before the new term begins.

Remote online notaries

If you hold or are applying for a remote online, electronic or eNotary commission in Arizona, Illinois, Florida or California, you need a separate or enlarged bond that we underwrite individually; see online notary bonds. Utah remote notaries can order the $10,000 total bond on the standard application.

Add E&O while you are at it

The bond protects the public and must be repaid if a claim is paid. Notary E&O protects you, and bond purchasers receive a discounted rate. The E&O application is the fourth tab of the same dialog.