Skip to main content
Arizona Secretary of State Logo
     
  • Home
  • Elections
  • Business
  • Services
  • Rules
  • About the Office
Arizona Secretary of State

Main menu

  • Home
  • Elections
    • Voters
      • Register to Vote / Update Your Voter Information
        • Registration Requirements
          • Proof of Citizenship Requirements
            • Requerimientos de la Prueba de Ciudadanía
        • Register/Update to Vote
        • Address Confidentiality Program
        • Uniformed and Overseas Citizens
        • Information for Recently Naturalized Citizens
        • Information for Members of Federally Recognized Tribes
        • Political Party Affiliation
        • Canceling Voter Registration
      • Elections Calendar & Upcoming Events
        • 2022 Elections
      • Voting in Elections
        • Early Voting - Voting/Ballot by Mail
        • Election Day Voting
        • Provisional Balloting
        • Accessible Voting
        • Ballot Processing
          • 2022 General Elections Recount Progress
      • Sign a Candidate Petition or Give $5 Qualifying Contribution
      • Contact Information for County Election Officials
    • Candidates
      • Running for Office
        • Creating a Political Party
        • Redistricting Implementation Progress
        • Request Filed Candidate Petitions
      • Unique URL Program
      • Candidate Legal Challenges
      • Election Schedule
    • Lobbying
      • Search Lobbyist Records
      • Historical Expenditure Summaries
      • Information about Lobbying
      • Lobbying Reporting Dates
      • Lobbyists Events
    • Campaign Finance
      • Search the Campaign Finance Database
      • Make An Electronic Campaign Finance Filing
      • Campaign Finance Complaint Process
      • Campaign Finance Reporting Dates
      • Contribution Limits
      • Filing Information
      • Financial Disclosure Statements
        • 2016 Financial Disclosure Statements
        • 2017 Financial Disclosure Statements
        • 2022 Financial Disclosure Statements
        • 2023 Financial Disclosure Statements
    • Ballot Measures
      • Initiative, Referendum & Recall
        • Ballot Measure Committee campaign finance reports
        • Circulators
        • Initiative Petition Requests
        • Initiatives
        • Recall
        • Referendum
        • 2024 Serial Numbers Filed
      • Requirements for Paid & Non-Resident Circulators
      • 2022 Ballot Measure Information
    • About Elections
      • Voting Equipment
      • Information about Recognized Political Parties
      • Arizona Election Laws & Publications
      • Guidance on Voting Location Conduct
      • Help America Vote Act (HAVA)
      • 2022 County Poll Worker Information
      • Early Voting Procedures
      • Election Day Operations
      • Elections Procedures Manual
      • Pre-Election Procedures
      • Voter Registration Procedures
    • Results & Data
      • Voter Registration Statistics
        • 2022 General Election Canvass
        • Historical Election Results & Information
        • Voter Registration Counts
      • 2020 Electoral College
      • 2020 General Election State Canvass
      • Unofficial Election Night Results
    • Combating Misinformation
  • Business
    • Trade Names & Trademarks
    • Notary Public
      • Notary Search
      • Become a NEW Arizona Notary
      • Notary Complaints
      • Notary Workshop
      • Popular Questions
      • Remote & eNotary
      • Services for Existing Notaries
    • Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
    • Partnerships
      • Form Directory
    • Other Services
      • Veterans Charities Organizations
      • Telephonic Seller Registration
      • Corporations
      • Professional Employment Organizations (PEO)
  • Services
    • Address Confidentiality Program
      • Eligibility & Enrollment
      • Application Assistants
        • ACP Training
      • State & Local Government Agencies
      • Public Schools
      • Courts & Law Enforcement
      • Protected Voter Registration
      • COVID-19 Updates
      • Sex Trafficking and Rights Restoration
      • Resources
    • Advance Directives
    • Apostille and Document Authentication
    • Legislative Filings
    • Public Information
      • Notice of Public Meetings
      • Loyalty Oath of Office
      • Open Meeting Law
      • Database Purchasing
  • Rules
    • Arizona Administrative Code
    • Arizona Administrative Register
      • Notices
    • Rules Library
  • About the Office
    • About the Secretary
      • Secretaries since Statehood
    • Reports
      • Annual Report
      • Budget Request
    • Public Information
    • Events
    • Media Center
      • Newsroom
      • Official Photos & Logos
      • Photo Gallery
      • Photos
      • Press Releases
      • Public Appearance Request
      • Public Information
    • Contact Us
      • Request Forms

sub level menu

  • Trade Names & Trademarks
  • Notary Public
  • Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
  • Partnerships
  • Other Services
  • Home
  • Business
  • Notary Public
  • Become a NEW Arizona Notary
Please excuse our site and file changes as we transition to Secretary Fontes.

Become a NEW Arizona Notary

 

Effective immediately and until further notice, expedited processing will not be offered for new or renewal notary application. We will however, process your applications as quickly as possible. Thank you in advance for your patience.

 

Business Services Division Response to COVID-19 – In-person services are only for Apostilles by appointment only. All other filings must be mailed.

Become a NEW Arizona Notary

Apply button

To be commissioned by the Secretary of State, the following requirements must be met, per Arizona Revised Statute § 41-312(E):

  • Be an Arizona resident.
  • Be at least 18 years of age.
  • Be able to read and write English.
  • Be a citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States.
  • Not have a conviction for a felony unless civil rights have been restored, or a conviction of a lesser offense involving moral turpitude or of a nature that is incompatible with the duties of a notary public.

Filing Tips

  • Upon receipt of your commission certificate, we recommend that you review your name, county of residence and commission dates to ensure your stamp is made accurately.
  • Any application requiring further review, i.e. felony conviction, professional license action or past notary complaint, cannot be expedited. If the expedited fee is included, it will either be returned or refunded.

A Note Regarding Bonds

Our office does not provide notary bonds, nor do we recommend or favor any company or organization that does. Our office only can establish the parameters for how a bond must be completed. A bond must include:

Principal name and signatures

Your bond will have your name printed in multiple spaces. Verify that your name is printed exactly the way you want to be commissioned and that the name printed on your bond matches the name you'll supply on your application (e.g.: if you put "Notary Q. Public" on your application; you cannot sign or have "N. Q. Public" or "Notary Public" on your bond).

A notary bond sometimes referred to as a surety bond, will have two spaces for your signature. You must sign both spaces labeled principal and ensure that your signatures on your bond match your signature on your application.

Mismatching printed names and/or principal signatures is cause for your bond to be returned for revision.

Commission effective and end dates

These dates refer to the duration of your commission. These dates must be four years apart and one day less. For example, if your commission is effective on November 7, 2010, it will end on November 6, 2014 (11/7/2010 - 11/6/2014).

If your bond does not have effective dates in the same sequence, it will be returned for revision.

Issue date

This refers to the date your bond was produced by your bonding company. Your bond must be issued up to 60 days before or 30 days after your effective date (the date your commission starts).

Similarly, this 90-day window is the same timeframe that our office can accept your renewal for processing. Should processing not be completed on time, our office will return your application for revision of your bond dates to current dates. If your notary expires before you receive your new commission certificate, you must stop notarizing until such time as you receive it.

Your county of residence

You'll notice that your county of residence is listed on your commission certificate and notary seal. This is significant because if your employer purchased your commission, your bonding company may mistakenly use your business address, meaning the county where you are employed, which is a cause for your application to be returned for revision.

Counter signatures

The bond will call for two signatures: Arizona resident agent and a representative for the bonding company. Both spaces must be signed by representatives of your bonding company; however, they do not need to be original signatures.

Oath of office and notarization

A notary public is a public officer commissioned by the Secretary of State to perform notarial acts. When taking your notary bond for notarization, you must swear to a verbal oath, the oath of office, which is found on the notary bond. The name in the oath of office must match how it is written/printed previously on your bond and on the application.

The office you are swearing to uphold in the oath of office should say notary public.

A notary bond calls for jurat language because the applicant must sign and take an oath. This is important to note because any document with jurat language will have the applicant swear or affirm that the contents of the document are true and correct at the time of signing. Therefore, a document with jurat language must be completed prior to notarization and cannot have any blank spaces.

Should a notary come across a bond with blank spaces, he or she should request that the signer complete the spaces prior to performing the notarization.

Resources

  • Notary Public Reference Manual (PDF)
  • Become a NEW Arizona Notary Public
  • Renew My Notary Commission
  • Change My Name and /or Address on Record
  • Request a Duplicate Commission Certificate
  • Report Missing or Stolen Notary Journal, Seal, and/or Certificate
  • Resign My Notary Commission
  • Request a Certificate of Notarial Capacity
  • Commissioned Notary Database Public Records Request
  • Public Record Request Form (PDF)
Contact Us

Office of the Secretary of State
Business Services Division
1700 W Washington St Fl 7
Phoenix AZ 85007-2808

602-542-6187
1-800-458-5842

Contact Email Forms
  • Business Services
  • Trade Name and Trade Mark
  • Notary
  • Apostille
Arizona State Seal
Contact Us
Arizona Secretary of State
1700 W Washington St Fl 7
Phoenix AZ 85007
Find in Google Maps
Phone: 602-542-4285
Map Image

Footer Nav

  • Statewide Policies
  • Site Map
  • Website Policies
  • Contact Us
  • Staff Login
randomness