How to Become a Notary in New York (2026): Exam, $60 Fee and Every Step

To become a notary public in New York you pass the Department of State's notary exam ($15), then apply online through NY Business Express with a signed oath of office and the $60 application fee. Once the Department approves you, you are commissioned for 4 years and can notarize anywhere in New York State. New York attorneys and court clerks of the Unified Court System are exempt from the exam but still apply and pay the fee. The exam is the only real hurdle, and it is a short one: 1 hour, multiple choice, reported as pass or fail. You can try a free New York notary practice exam to see how close you are.

Executive Law Section 130 sets the requirements. At the time of appointment you must: 1. Be a New York resident, or have an office or place of business in New York. A New Jersey resident who works in a Manhattan office qualifies. 2. Be of good moral character. 3. Have the equivalent of a common school education. 4. Be familiar with the duties and responsibilities of a notary, which the exam is meant to show. A criminal conviction is not an automatic bar, but no one with a conviction can be appointed unless the Secretary of State finds, under the law including Article 23-A of the Correction Law, that it does not disqualify them. Be complete and honest on the application. A misstatement of a material fact on the application is itself a ground for removal later.

The exam is given by the Department of State's Division of Licensing Services. The details from the Department's current exam instructions: 1. Fee: $15, paid by check or money order made out to the Department of State, or by Visa or MasterCard. No cash, and the fee is not refunded. 2. Format: multiple choice, with 1 hour to finish once the instructions end. 3. Results: pass or fail only, sent by mail. There is no numerical score. 4. A passing result is valid for 2 years, so you have two years to apply. 5. The exam is offered in Spanish, Haitian-Creole, Italian, Korean, Russian and Chinese. Tell the proctor when you arrive. How you get a seat depends on where you are. In New York City you schedule by emailing the Department's exam unit with "Schedule Notary Public Exam" in the subject line, your full name, address, the exam type and the dates you want, and you only go once you receive an emailed confirmation. Outside the city, the Department publishes walk-in exam dates at sites around the state. Bring a current government-issued photo ID with your signature, the $15 fee, and two #2 pencils, because pencils are not provided. Phones must be off, and books, notes, food and large bags are not allowed in the exam center. For what is actually on the test, see our New York notary exam guide.

After you pass, you apply online. The Department asks you not to mail paper applications. 1. Before you start, download the Notary Public Oath of Office form, sign it before someone authorized to administer oaths (another notary works), and scan it to a PDF. 2. Create or sign in to your NY.gov account on NY Business Express and search for the notary public commission application. 3. Choose a traditional notary commission (or an electronic notary commission, if you plan to notarize online). 4. Upload your oath, enter your exam information, and pay the $60 fee. The fee is non-refundable even if the application is denied. You can track the application on your NY Business Express dashboard. If the Department finds a problem, it emails you, so keep your email address current.

When the Department approves you, it issues your commission and a notary identification card showing your name, address, county and commission term. The Secretary of State then sends your commission, oath and official signature to the county clerk in the county where you live, and the clerk keeps them on file so the public can verify your signature. Your commission runs 4 years and covers the whole state. A notary commissioned in Albany County may notarize in Brooklyn. Two things to set up before your first notarization: 1. Your signature block. Beneath your signature, in black ink, you must print, type or stamp your name, the words "Notary Public State of New York", the county where you qualified, and your commission expiration date. Notaries who qualified in a New York City county also add the official number assigned by the county clerk. Most notaries buy a rubber stamp with these lines. 2. Your records. Since January 2023 every New York notary must keep a record of each notarial act for at least 10 years. Our guide to New York notary recordkeeping covers what each entry needs. You do not need an embossing seal. New York law does not require one.

Renewal works much like the first application: a new oath of office, your signature and another $60 through NY Business Express. If you renew before your commission expires or within 6 months after, you do not have to retake the exam. Miss that window and you start over as a new applicant, exam included. If you change your name, address or email during your term, send notice to the Department within 5 days. The fee for a name or address change is $10, waived when the name change is due to marriage or another change in marital status. A replacement ID card is also $10. One quirk to know: if you marry during your term, you keep signing the name you were commissioned under for the rest of the term. You may add your married name in parentheses after it.

The state's fees are low: 1. Exam: $15. 2. Application: $60 (non-refundable). 3. A stamp with your name, title, county and expiration date: optional by law but practically necessary, and inexpensive. If you want to perform online notarizations, there is a separate electronic notary registration with its own $60 fee. So for under $100 you can be commissioned. Keep in mind what you can charge in return is also low: $2 for most acts, as our guide to New York notary fees explains.