Services for Existing Notaries
Business Services Division Response to COVID-19 – In-person services are only for Apostilles by appointment only. All other filings must be mailed.
Renew My Commission
A notary commission may be renewed as early as two months before your current commission ends. To be renewed successfully, take care to send in:
- An original signed notary application,
- An original signed and notarized bond, and
- A $43 dollar application and bond filing fee.
Our office reserves the right to request additional documentation or fees required for processing.
Filing Tips
- If you have changed any address (mailing, home and/or business) more than 30 days from today's date and did not report that change to our office, include a civil penalty of $25 to avoid a delay in processing your application. (A.R.S. § 41-328).
- You may renew a commission up to two months before your term expires. If you are unsure of when your commission ends, look at your stamp or check our online search feature.
- 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.
- Copies of the notary bond can be requested with the Public Record Request Form (PDF) for $3.10. A notary application is not available for public inspection or duplication, and can only be released by order of a subpoena.
- If you have any questions, please call us at 602-542-6187 or 1-800-458-5842 or email us.
Change Name or Address
A commissioned Arizona notary must notify our office of any address change (mailing, home and/or public record/business) within 30 days. Failure to do so may result in a $25 civil penalty. (A.R.S. § 41-323(C)).
Our system will request you to complete all three addresses as an added security feature; however, if only one address is changing, only that address will be changed.
Similarly, should a commissioned Arizona notary have changed his or her name during the course of a commission, he or she will must provide the exact previous and new names and include legal documentation to show why the name has changed (marriage license, divorce decree, etc.)
Duplicate Commission Certificate Request
Should you realize that your commission certificate is damaged or missing; a duplicate certificate can be produced by our office. In order to request a duplicate, you would need to submit a Public Record Request form along with an $18 reproduction fee. Our office will mail the certificate to the address you supply.
As a good practice, you should submit a request as soon as you notice that it is missing because anyone requesting your notary services may ask to see your commission certificate. We strongly recommend not copying or publicly displaying your commission certificate in order to avoid the possibility of it being used improperly.
Report Missing or Stolen Journal or Seal
Should you realize that your notary seal or journal commission certificate is missing or has been stolen, you must first inform your local police. Then, you will submit a Notice of Loss or Theft form detailing what occurred.
You may then replace your seal, making sure that it is distinguishable from your old seal or journal and continue notarizing. Our office recommends making a note in your journal when you begin using your new seal, and, should you have a new journal, document why you needed to replace it.
A Notice of Loss or Theft must be received by our office within 10 days, (A.R.S. § 41-323.)
Resign My Commission
To resign your commission, you must submit a signed Resignation Letter to the Governor's office, and a copy to our office. We recommend sending in the Secretary's copy along with your materials.
A resignation is not permanent; you can apply again in the future. However, when you resign, you are required to turn in your journal, seal, and all other records to our office up to 3 months after you are resigned.
Our office will retain your journal and records, and will be responsible for responding to any public record requests on your behalf. This is a reminder to turn in your materials to avoid a $50-$500 fine. (A.R.S. § 41-317(A)).
Notarial Capacity Certificate Request
This certificate can be issued if you would like to have a summarized history of your or someone else's notarial term(s). It will show the commissioned name, term dates, and commission number.
In order to request this certificate, you would need to submit this form along with an $18 fee. Our office will mail the certificate to the address you supply.
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:
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 labelled 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Notary Public Reference Manual
All notaries must have our current Notary Public Reference Manual on hand. This manual is available in electronic format for downloading on the following website link: Notary Manual
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)
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
