How to become a notary in Pennsylvania

Who can hold a Pennsylvania notary commission

You can apply if you are at least 18, a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and you live or work in Pennsylvania. You must also read and write English.

The residence rule is looser than many applicants expect. You do not have to live in the state. A place of employment or practice in Pennsylvania also qualifies. That matters for people who live in New Jersey or Delaware and work at a Pennsylvania title office.

A few people are barred outright. Members of Congress and of the Pennsylvania General Assembly cannot serve. Neither can anyone paid for a federal office of profit or trust.

Every one of these tests is about you as a person. None of them asks about a business. That is the first hint of a rule that shapes the whole trade, covered on the page about what a commission is: the office belongs to an individual.

A Pennsylvania notary applicant must be at least 18 and a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident who lives, works or practices in Pennsylvania. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

85,000+More than 85,000 people currently hold a Pennsylvania notary commission, according to the Department of State. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

The three-hour course comes before the application

Take an approved three-hour notary course first. The proof of completion must be dated within six months before you apply, or the application fails.

The course must come from a provider the Department of State has approved. It covers the duties of the office and electronic notarization. Classroom and interactive online formats both count.

There is no exemption. Renewing notaries take a course too, though they may choose a reappointment course with more advanced content. Time it well. A course taken seven months before you apply has expired for this purpose, and you pay for it twice.

3 hoursEvery applicant, new or renewing, must complete a three-hour preapproved notary course within six months before applying, with no exemption. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

Filing the Pennsylvania notary application

Apply online through the Department of State with your course certificate and the $42 filing fee. A paper application by mail also works, but it is slower.

The name you use matters more than it looks. Use your full first and last name. A middle name or initial is optional. Nicknames and initials alone are refused. Whatever form you choose, you must use it for every notarial act during the whole commission.

The business address you list becomes public. If you list none, your home address and phone become the public contact by default. A mobile signing agent working from home should decide this before filing, not after.

$42The Pennsylvania notary application carries a $42 filing fee, for initial and reappointment applicants alike. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

If an applicant lists no business address, the home address and phone number become the public contact details by default. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

The Pearson VUE notary exam

After the Department reviews your application, it emails you exam instructions. The test costs $65 per attempt, and you have six months to pass it.

Pearson VUE runs the exam at test centres in nearly every county. Applicants also get one attempt from home or office. If that attempt fails, every retake is at a centre.

You may retake it as often as you need inside the six months. Miss that window and you start again with a new course and a new application. Budget for at least one retake so a failed first attempt does not stall your plans.

$65 per testThe Pennsylvania notary examination costs $65 per test, and applicants have six months from authorization to pass it. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

The 45 days after appointment

Appointment does not let you notarize yet. Within 45 days you must buy the bond, take the oath, register your signature, and record the paperwork at the county.

The Department sends your commission to the recorder of deeds in the county where you keep your office. You then execute a $25,000 bond and take the oath of office. The bond, oath and commission are all recorded with the recorder of deeds.

You also register your official signature. That used to mean the prothonotary. Since January 3, 2023, the recorder of deeds can take it instead. Sign exactly as the commission reads.

Miss any piece within 45 days and the commission is void. You reapply from the start, with a new fee and a new bond. The bond page explains what that $25,000 actually protects.

45 daysWithin 45 days of appointment a Pennsylvania notary must execute a $25,000 bond, take the oath, register a signature and record the bond, oath and commission. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

January 3, 2023Since January 3, 2023, a notary may register a signature with the county recorder of deeds instead of the prothonotary. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

Three clocks to plan the application around

Getting commissioned runs on three separate clocks. The course expires for this purpose after six months, the exam window is six months, and the county steps take 45 days.

The first clock starts when you finish the course. Your application must go in within six months of that date. The second starts when the Department authorizes you to test. You then have six months to pass.

The third is the tightest. It starts on your appointment date and gives you 45 days for the bond, oath, signature and recording. Plan the course date backwards from when you want to start taking signings, and keep the 45 days clear of travel.

6 monthsPennsylvania notary applicants who cannot pass the exam within six months must retake the basic education course and reapply. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

Checking your application and commission status

Track the application in the Department's online system after you file. Once commissioned, you appear in a public notary database searchable by name or commission ID.

Signing services use that database. So do title agents who want to confirm a stranger at the table is who the certificate says. Check your own listing once you are appointed. Make sure the name and county match your stamp.

The database is also how you confirm another notary's standing. If you ever subcontract a signing to a colleague, look them up first.

Current Pennsylvania notaries can confirm an active commission through the Department's public database, searchable by name or commission ID. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

Stamp and journal before the first signing

Order your stamp and journal only after the county filings are done. The stamp must carry your commission number, and it must match the commissioned name exactly.

The rubber stamp can be at most one inch tall and three and a half inches wide, with a plain border. It lists, in order, the Commonwealth, the words Notary Seal, your name, your county, the expiry date and the commission number. No abbreviations, except a name suffix.

The journal is a bound book with numbered pages, or a tamper-evident electronic format. The fees and journal page covers what every entry needs.

Now you are ready to work. Signing services will ask for your commission, bond and insurance. Read what loan signing work involves before you say yes to the first one.

1 x 3.5 inchesA Pennsylvania paper notary stamp may be no more than 1 inch high and 3.5 inches wide, with a plain border. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

Questions