The Hawaii notary exam is a written, closed-book test of the statutes and administrative rules governing Hawaii notaries, the practical aspects of a notary's practice, and a notary's duties. You must score at least 80 percent, pay $10 per examination, and results arrive within 30 calendar days. Confirm your scheduled examination arrangements with the Notary Public Office.
What the exam covers
After the Attorney General approves your application, you must pass a written, closed-book examination covering Hawaii's notary statutes and administrative rules, practical aspects of notarial practice, and your duties and responsibilities.
The administrative rules say the exam tests whether you have a reasonable knowledge of the general principles and practices of notarial acts, plus the laws and rules for notaries public: chapter 456 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, HRS sections 502-41 to 502-74, and HAR chapter 5-11. That rule is your official scope map.
The Attorney General's page goes further and recommends thorough understanding of HRS sections 456-1 to 456-21, 502-41 to 502-46, 502-48 to 502-84, 603-1, 621-12, and 621-13. In practice, the current Notary Public Manual — revised April 2023 — organizes the same material into qualifications, seal and signature, bond, journal duties, notarial acts and certificates, fees, and remote online notarization.
Use those laws and the manual as your study map. Follow the examination instructions in your approval notice and confirm current arrangements with the Notary Public Office.
Official sources: Notaries Public – Department of the Attorney General, State of Hawaii — General commission requirements, application requirements, examination requirement, exam schedule; Hawaii Notary Public Manual, revised April 2023 — Qualifications, seal, official signature, bond, record book, duties, powers and functions, fees, remote online notaries; Hawaii Administrative Rules, Title 5, Chapter 5-11: Notaries Public — Sections 5-11-4.5, 5-11-5, 5-11-8, 5-11-9, 5-11-32, 5-11-33, 5-11-46, subchapter 7
Eligibility and the application sequence
You apply online first, pay a $20 nonrefundable fee with a justification letter and a character letter, and only after approval do you sit the exam.
To qualify for a commission you must be a United States citizen, a US national, or a permanent resident alien who diligently seeks citizenship once eligible to apply; a Hawaii resident; and at least 18 years old.
The application is filed online with the $20 fee, a letter of justification detailing why you need the commission and the notarial acts you expect to perform, and a character letter from a reputable Hawaii resident who is not your employer or relative. Government notary applicants need a justification letter from the head of every department where they work.
The Attorney General acts on a complete application within six months, and an application left unfinished for ninety days can be treated as abandoned and destroyed. If approved, you take the exam on the date specified in your approval notice. A commission runs four years from its date, and keeping it current is your responsibility — a knowingly missed renewal forfeits it.
Official sources: Notaries Public – Department of the Attorney General, State of Hawaii — General commission requirements, application requirements, examination requirement, exam schedule; Hawaii Notary Public Manual, revised April 2023 — Qualifications, seal, official signature, bond, record book, duties, powers and functions, fees, remote online notaries; Hawaii Administrative Rules, Title 5, Chapter 5-11: Notaries Public — Sections 5-11-4.5, 5-11-5, 5-11-8, 5-11-9, 5-11-32, 5-11-33, 5-11-46, subchapter 7
Format, scheduling, and results
The exam is written and closed-book, costs $10 per sitting, is given on Oahu at least monthly and on neighbor islands periodically, and results are mailed within 30 calendar days.
Examination dates and locations are subject to change, so check the Notaries Public Office page before planning travel. You take the exam on the date specified in your approval notification.
The retake rules are strict, and they reward knowing them before test day. If you miss the scheduled exam without advance notice, you must submit a new application with updated letters and pay a $25 no-show fee. Rescheduling costs $15 more than 48 hours ahead and $20 inside 48 hours.
If you fail, you may retest without a new application — but only if you request, pay for, and reschedule the reexamination within 14 calendar days of the failure notice. Miss that window and you start over with a new application and fees. Failing twice means waiting 90 days from the last exam before reapplying. Results are sent in writing within 30 calendar days of the exam.
Official sources: Notaries Public – Department of the Attorney General, State of Hawaii — General commission requirements, application requirements, examination requirement, exam schedule; Hawaii Administrative Rules, Title 5, Chapter 5-11: Notaries Public — Sections 5-11-4.5, 5-11-5, 5-11-8, 5-11-9, 5-11-32, 5-11-33, 5-11-46, subchapter 7; Hawaii Notary Public Manual, revised April 2023 — Qualifications, seal, official signature, bond, record book, duties, powers and functions, fees, remote online notaries
Commission, seal, signature, and bond
The exam expects you to know your commission mechanics: a four-year term, a single rubber stamp seal with exact required wording, an official signature matching the seal, a $1,000 bond, and filings with the circuit court clerk.
Your seal must be a circular rubber stamp with a serrated or milled edge, one to two inches in diameter, showing your name, commission number, and the words notary public and State of Hawaii. You may hold only one rubber stamp seal at a time and must keep sole control of it.
Your official signature must match the name on the seal exactly, and you always add your typed or printed name and your commission expiration date below the signature. After commissioning, you file a photocopy of your commission, a seal impression, and a signature specimen with the clerk of the circuit court where you reside — this is what lets others authenticate your acts later.
Before performing any duties you must execute a $1,000 official surety bond, approved by a circuit court judge and filed with that clerk. If your office, occupation, residence, or employment changes, report it in writing within 30 days. Renewal applications filed within 60 calendar days before expiration count as timely; missing the renewal requirements can automatically forfeit the commission.
Official sources: Hawaii Notary Public Manual, revised April 2023 — Qualifications, seal, official signature, bond, record book, duties, powers and functions, fees, remote online notaries; Hawaii Administrative Rules, Title 5, Chapter 5-11: Notaries Public — Sections 5-11-4.5, 5-11-5, 5-11-8, 5-11-9, 5-11-32, 5-11-33, 5-11-46, subchapter 7
Notarial acts, certificates, and identification
Hawaii notaries take acknowledgments, administer oaths and affirmations, take affidavits and depositions, and note protests. Every acknowledgment or jurat must be evidenced by a signed, dated certificate containing specific elements.
An acknowledgment is the signer's formal declaration before you that executing the document was their free act and deed — the signature may already exist. A jurat goes with an affidavit: the signer swears to the content and signs in your presence, and you add the subscribed-and-sworn clause. Oaths can be sworn or affirmed, the latter for people whose conscience will not permit swearing.
Under HAR section 5-11-8, every acknowledgment or jurat certificate must include the notary's printed name, the commission expiration date, the notary seal, the notary's signature and the date, and identification of the jurisdiction where the act occurred. The venue must identify where the notarial act actually occurred.
Personal appearance is non-negotiable: notarizing over the telephone is absolutely forbidden, and notarizations for remotely located individuals are reserved for commissioned remote online notaries. For identification you rely on personal knowledge, personal familiarity with the signer's signature, or a current identification card or document issued by the United States, Hawaii, another state, or a national government that carries the bearer's photograph and signature.
Official sources: Hawaii Notary Public Manual, revised April 2023 — Qualifications, seal, official signature, bond, record book, duties, powers and functions, fees, remote online notaries; Hawaii Administrative Rules, Title 5, Chapter 5-11: Notaries Public — Sections 5-11-4.5, 5-11-5, 5-11-8, 5-11-9, 5-11-32, 5-11-33, 5-11-46, subchapter 7
Journal, fees, and prohibited conduct
You must record six specific details for every act in a compliant journal, charge only the statutory fees, and avoid the prohibited acts listed in HAR section 5-11-4.5.
For each official act, the journal entry records the type, date, and time of day of the act; the title or type and date of the document; the signature, printed name, and address of each person whose signature is notarized and each witness; how you identified the person — a personal-knowledge statement or a description of the credential including its number and expiration; and the fee charged.
The journal itself is a soft-cover bound book no larger than 11 by 16.5 inches open, with consecutively numbered pages and your identifying details on the information page. You retain it for ten years after the last recorded act and tell the Attorney General where it is when your commission ends; failures here bring fines from $50 to $500.
Statutory fees include $5 for taking an acknowledgment for each party signing, $2.50 to affix the acknowledgment certificate to each duplicate original beyond the first for each person, $5 for administering an oath including its certificate, $5 per deposition or protest, and $25 for any of these acts performed for a remotely located individual. An oath of loyalty carries no charge, you may charge less, and any overcharge violates the law. If you charge for official services, you need a state gross income tax license and the fees are subject to general excise tax.
The prohibited acts list is exam-ready material: never notarize your own signature, never act with an actual or apparent conflict of interest, never refuse or price an act based on personal characteristics or disagreement with a document, never hand a pre-signed certificate to someone to attach later, and never give legal advice unless you are a licensed Hawaii attorney. A beneficial interest in a document disqualifies you no matter how small; mere family relationship does not, provided you derive no benefit.
Official sources: Hawaii Notary Public Manual, revised April 2023 — Qualifications, seal, official signature, bond, record book, duties, powers and functions, fees, remote online notaries; Hawaii Administrative Rules, Title 5, Chapter 5-11: Notaries Public — Sections 5-11-4.5, 5-11-5, 5-11-8, 5-11-9, 5-11-32, 5-11-33, 5-11-46, subchapter 7
Remote online notarization is a separate step
Remote online notary status requires its own application and its own examination, available only to notaries with an active commission, and it expires on the same date as your underlying commission.
The remote online notary application adds your email, commission number, descriptions of the technology and vendors you will use, your data storage plan, and certification that you hold a digital certificate from a qualified provider, plus a $20 application fee. You must also pass a remote-specific examination under the same section 5-11-32 requirements.
The signer's identity-proofing quiz is different from the examination you take to obtain a commission. Remote authority also brings technology, electronic-journal and audiovisual-record duties. Study those rules in depth before applying for the separate remote commission.
Official sources: Notaries Public – Department of the Attorney General, State of Hawaii — General commission requirements, application requirements, examination requirement, exam schedule; Hawaii Notary Public Manual, revised April 2023 — Qualifications, seal, official signature, bond, record book, duties, powers and functions, fees, remote online notaries; Hawaii Administrative Rules, Title 5, Chapter 5-11: Notaries Public — Sections 5-11-4.5, 5-11-5, 5-11-8, 5-11-9, 5-11-32, 5-11-33, 5-11-46, subchapter 7
Practice: compute a statutory fee
Work the fee schedule both directions: per-party base fees first, then per-person duplicate charges.
The fee schedule rewards careful reading, because base fees cover specific numbers of documents and duplicates are priced separately. Work this example, then check your answer.
Assumptions for a unique answer: two co-owners appear before you and each acknowledges the same deed; you take one acknowledgment for the two of them on the original instrument plus one duplicate original; they ask you to affix your acknowledgment certificate to one additional duplicate original beyond that first copy; and you charge the statutory maximum fees.
Practice exercise
Two co-owners appear before you and both sign a deed, which you acknowledge. The base acknowledgment covers the original plus one duplicate original. They also want your acknowledgment certificate affixed to one more duplicate original beyond that first copy. Assuming you charge the statutory maximum fees, what is your total charge?
Show answer
$15. The acknowledgment costs $5 for each party signing, so two parties owe $10 — and that base fee already covers the original plus one duplicate original. Affixing the certificate to the additional duplicate original costs $2.50 for each person making the acknowledgment, so 2 × $2.50 = $5. Total: $10 + $5 = $15.
The manual's fee schedule prices taking an acknowledgment at $5.00 per party signing, covering the original plus one duplicate original, and prices each certificate affixed to a duplicate beyond the first copy at $2.50 per acknowledging person. Two common errors: charging $5 once instead of per party, and forgetting the per-person duplicate charge. Remember that charging these fees requires a gross income tax license and subjects the fees to general excise tax, and an overcharge is a violation of law.
How to prepare
Study the four official documents directly, prioritize the rules you must recall exactly, and practice applying the fee and journal requirements to concrete situations.
Read the Attorney General's page, Act 54 of 2020, the Notary Public Manual, and HAR chapter 5-11 — all linked from the Notaries Public Office page. The exam is closed-book, so practice recalling requirements accurately and applying them: the certificate elements, the six journal fields, the seal wording, and the fee amounts.
A practical order of attack: master chapter 456 HRS first since it defines the acts and duties, then HAR chapter 5-11 for the certificate, journal, and discipline rules, then the fee schedule and prohibited acts, and finally the remote online rules at overview depth unless you plan to add that commission. If you want extra repetition, try the practice questions and other study guides before your scheduled date.
- Practice identifying the required HAR 5-11-8 certificate elements and the correct venue.
- Recreate the six journal entry fields from memory and check them against section 456-15 and HAR 5-11-9.
- Drill the fee schedule until per-party and per-duplicate charges are automatic.
- Know the retake deadlines: 14 days to request a reexamination, 90 days to reapply after two failures.
- Confirm your exam date, location, and any changes with the Notary Public Office before test day.
Official sources: Notaries Public – Department of the Attorney General, State of Hawaii — General commission requirements, application requirements, examination requirement, exam schedule; Hawaii Notary Public Manual, revised April 2023 — Qualifications, seal, official signature, bond, record book, duties, powers and functions, fees, remote online notaries; Hawaii Administrative Rules, Title 5, Chapter 5-11: Notaries Public — Sections 5-11-4.5, 5-11-5, 5-11-8, 5-11-9, 5-11-32, 5-11-33, 5-11-46, subchapter 7
Official sources
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