The Louisiana Notary Exam Pre-Assessment is an online reading comprehension test, created by the Secretary of State with LSU, that non-attorney applicants must complete once after their Application to Qualify is approved. It has no passing score and it does not test notarial law; it estimates how comfortably you read material like the official study guide. Complete it at least 37 days before your chosen state exam date, allow about seven days for LSU to grade and transmit the score, and then register for the state exam by its 30-day deadline.
What the pre-assessment actually measures
It is a reading comprehension diagnostic, not a knowledge test of Louisiana notarial law.
The Secretary of State, working with LSU's testing office, designed this online test to help you decide whether to pursue the Louisiana Notary Public Examination. It estimates your reading comprehension ability using levels. The official study guide is written at a reading level corresponding to Level B on the assessment, so the test measures how well you handle prose of that density and style.
The state notary exam is a separate four-hour computer-based test of practical comprehension of Louisiana notarial law, with a scaled passing score of 70. The pre-assessment comes first and evaluates reading comprehension; it does not substitute for learning the official study guide for the state examination.
Official sources: Get Exam Information (Louisiana Secretary of State) — Notary exam locations, pre-assessment and registration deadlines; Application Process (Louisiana Secretary of State) — Qualification, pre-assessment registration and exam preparation
Who takes it and when
Non-attorney applicants must take it once, after the Application to Qualify is approved and before registering for the state exam.
If you are not licensed to practice law in Louisiana, the pre-assessment is mandatory. It became mandatory for non-attorney applicants under Act 610 of the 2014 Regular Session. You take it only once; even if you attempt the state exam multiple times later, the pre-assessment does not need to be repeated.
The sequence starts with the Application to Qualify. Once the Secretary of State's Office approves it, you receive a notification to register online for the pre-assessment. LSU's center then emails you login instructions to complete it. Attorneys licensed to practice law in Louisiana are exempt from both the pre-assessment and the state notary exam; they still follow the applicable qualification and commission process.
Qualification itself has its own requirements, including being 18 or older, a Louisiana resident, registered to vote in the parish where you seek commission, and holding a high school diploma or equivalency. Confirm these on the Secretary of State's application process page before you file.
Official sources: Application Process (Louisiana Secretary of State) — Qualification, pre-assessment registration and exam preparation; Get Exam Information (Louisiana Secretary of State) — Notary exam locations, pre-assessment and registration deadlines
What your score means, and what it does not
The score is a decision aid based on averages: no minimum is required, and the score never expires.
The score places you on a reading level scale. The Secretary of State notes that research links scores closer to Level A with a greater likelihood of success on the state exam, and that Level B matches the reading level of the official study guide. Each level is based on averages, so the result is a general estimate, not a personal prediction.
Practically, the score cannot block you. There is no passing score to register for the state exam, and regardless of your result you may sit the state exam whenever it is administered and as many times as you wish. Scores also never expire, so one completed pre-assessment covers your entire candidate journey.
Use the result to decide whether you need more practice understanding dense text before working through the state exam study guide. It is one piece of information, not an individual forecast of whether you will pass.
Official sources: Get Exam Information (Louisiana Secretary of State) — Notary exam locations, pre-assessment and registration deadlines; Application Process (Louisiana Secretary of State) — Qualification, pre-assessment registration and exam preparation
How it fits into the commission timeline
Approval, pre-assessment and registration must all land before fixed deadlines tied to your chosen state exam date.
The Secretary of State lists the state exam at least twice a year, all at LSU Baton Rouge. Your deadlines count backward from the date you choose. The Application to Qualify must be approved, and the pre-assessment completed, at least 37 days before the exam. The state exam registration deadline is 30 days before the exam, and only one exam registration is allowed at a time.
Build in the grading lag. LSU needs about seven days to grade and transmit your pre-assessment score before you can register for the state exam. Submitting everything well in advance protects you if approval or scoring takes longer than expected.
Official sources: Get Exam Information (Louisiana Secretary of State) — Notary exam locations, pre-assessment and registration deadlines; Application Process (Louisiana Secretary of State) — Qualification, pre-assessment registration and exam preparation
How to prepare for a reading diagnostic
Practice reading dense informational text and extracting its structure; no course is legally required.
Because the test measures reading comprehension rather than legal knowledge, you do not need to memorize Civil Code rules beforehand. What helps is practicing with material written at a similar level. The official study guide, Fundamentals of Louisiana Notarial Law and Practice, is written at Level B density, so working through its pages provides a useful reading-practice option.
No course or class is required by law. The Secretary of State suggests considering a good course or study group and maintains a list of registered and bonded exam preparation course providers, while recommending no particular one. Treat a course as optional support, not a requirement.
A practical reading routine: pick a dense page, then write down the main point in one sentence, every explicit condition it states, any exception to those conditions, and one thing you can legitimately infer versus one you cannot. These are suggested practice tasks, not a published breakdown of the pre-assessment questions.
Official sources: Application Process (Louisiana Secretary of State) — Qualification, pre-assessment registration and exam preparation; Exam Preparation (Louisiana Secretary of State) — Official study guide description; Get Exam Information (Louisiana Secretary of State) — Notary exam locations, pre-assessment and registration deadlines
Try a practice reading pass
Use this original fictional passage to practice reading carefully and separating stated facts from assumptions.
This passage is fictional and nonlegal, written purely to practice reading skills. Give yourself a few minutes, answer all four tasks from the text alone, and resist adding anything the passage does not say.
Practice exercise
Read this passage, then complete the four tasks. "The Mapleton Tool Library lends hand tools and garden tools to residents at no charge. To borrow, you must hold a Mapleton library card and complete a one-time orientation session before your first loan. Most tools may be kept for seven days. Power saws must be returned within three days because demand for them is high. A borrower who returns items late twice in one year loses borrowing privileges for the rest of that year. The library does not lend ladders or fuel-powered equipment." 1) State the main point of the passage in one sentence. 2) List what a first-time borrower must have done before borrowing. 3) Which tool has the shortest standard loan period, and what reason does the passage give? 4) Does the passage explain why ladders are excluded? What may a reader legitimately conclude about that?
Show answer
1) The Mapleton Tool Library is a free lending service whose borrowers must meet eligibility steps and follow rules on loan lengths and late returns. 2) A first-time borrower must be a resident, hold a Mapleton library card and have completed the one-time orientation session. 3) Power saws, which must be returned within three days; the stated reason is high demand. 4) No. The passage states the exclusion but gives no reason for it, so a reader may conclude only that ladders are excluded, not why.
Task 1 trains main-point identification: the passage is organized around one service and its rules, not around any single rule. Task 2 tests explicit conditions: residency, the card and the orientation are all stated requirements. Task 3 tests specifics and stated reasons: three days for power saws is the shortest period, and the passage itself supplies the reason, so no outside knowledge is needed. Task 4 trains inference discipline: the exclusion is stated but unexplained, so inventing a safety rationale would go beyond the text. On a reading comprehension assessment, separating what the text says from what you assume is the core skill.
Your next steps
File, register, and calendar the deadlines; then start reading practice with the official study guide.
Your sequence is straightforward: file the Application to Qualify, watch for the approval notification, register for the pre-assessment, and complete it promptly so the seven-day grading window does not pressure your exam registration. Check current exam dates and details on the Secretary of State's exam information page before you plan.
- Confirm the qualification requirements and file the Application to Qualify.
- Calendar the 37-day and 30-day deadlines for your target state exam date.
- Complete the pre-assessment once, and remember the score never expires.
- Buy the official study guide and use it for reading practice now; it is also your permitted reference for the state exam.
Official sources: Get Exam Information (Louisiana Secretary of State) — Notary exam locations, pre-assessment and registration deadlines; Application Process (Louisiana Secretary of State) — Qualification, pre-assessment registration and exam preparation
Official sources
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