Prepare for the Louisiana state notary exam by studying the official 2026 study guide, qualifying and completing the pre-assessment at least 37 days before your target date, registering by the 30-day deadline, and practicing targeted lookups so you can match scenario facts to the right page inside the four-hour sitting.
What the exam covers and how it is scored
The Louisiana Notary Public Examination is a computer-based test taken in a single four-hour sitting at LSU in Baton Rouge. You must reach a scaled score of 70 out of 100 to pass.
All notary exams are offered at LSU Baton Rouge only, so plan travel and timing around that single location. The exam measures your practical comprehension of Louisiana notarial law, including specific notarial acts and related instruments.
You will answer two types of items. The first addresses general knowledge of notarial law and procedures. The second presents scenario-based items that ask you to apply notarial law and processes to realistic situations. Both types come from the official study guide, so nothing on the exam falls outside that book.
The passing standard is a scaled score of 70 on a 100-point scale. Do not read that as a requirement to answer exactly 70 percent of the questions correctly. The Secretary of State publishes the scaled threshold; use that stated standard.
Official sources: Get Exam Information — Louisiana Secretary of State — sos.la.gov/notary/get-exam-information
Qualification steps before you can register
Non-attorney applicants must be qualified by the Secretary of State, complete an online pre-assessment, and then register for the exam. Qualification and the pre-assessment must be finished at least 37 days before the exam, and registration closes 30 days before.
Start with the Application to Qualify. To qualify, you must be registered to vote in the parish where you seek commission, be a resident citizen or alien of Louisiana, have no unpardoned felony conviction, be able to read, write and speak English, be at least 18, and hold a high school diploma, an approved home-study diploma or a GED equivalency.
If you are not licensed to practice law in Louisiana, the online Notary Exam Pre-Assessment is mandatory. It is a reading-level evaluation, not a gate: no passing score is required to register for the state exam, you only take it once, and pre-assessment scores never expire. Its purpose is to help you judge your readiness, since the study guide is written at a reading level corresponding to Level B on that assessment.
Watch the calendar carefully. The Application to Qualify must be approved, and your pre-assessment completed, at least 37 days before the exam. Allow roughly seven days for LSU to grade and transmit your pre-assessment score before you can register, and remember the exam registration deadline is 30 days before the exam. Submitting everything well in advance protects you if approval or scoring runs long.
- Submit the Application to Qualify early; approval must arrive before you can register for anything.
- Complete the pre-assessment at least 37 days before the exam, allowing about a week for scoring.
- Register for the state exam once your pre-assessment score is on file, no later than 30 days before the exam.
Official sources: Get Exam Information — Louisiana Secretary of State — sos.la.gov/notary/get-exam-information; Application Process — Louisiana Secretary of State — sos.la.gov/notary/application-process
Fees, scheduling and exam-day rules
Registration costs $100 and only one exam registration is allowed at a time. The exam is given at least twice a year, and the strictest exam-day rules concern your study guide and electronic devices.
You register by submitting the Examination Registration with the $100 fee before the deadline. If you do not pass, that result has no effect on the commission status of a notary who is already commissioned, and you may take the exam again — but you can hold only one registration at a time. Specific upcoming dates are posted on the Secretary of State's exam information page, and deadlines close quickly, so check it early.
You may bring the official 2026 study guide into the testing room. Pages may be marked up, highlighted and annotated, and they may be tabbed, but attachments and inserts are not allowed. That rules out loose paper inside the book and anything stapled or glued to pages. Tabs must be permanent, self-adhesive, clear plastic, no longer than two inches, and limited to one per page; repositionable tabs, Post-its, sticky tabs and sheet protectors are all prohibited.
Using any reference other than the 2026 edition is treated as cheating and grounds for dismissal. Electronic devices of any kind — phones, smart watches, timers, pagers — must be off and untouched for the whole test, including breaks. If a device activates or you access it at any point, you will be dismissed, your answers will not be scored, and no fees are refunded.
Official sources: Get Exam Information — Louisiana Secretary of State — sos.la.gov/notary/get-exam-information; Application Process — Louisiana Secretary of State — sos.la.gov/notary/application-process
Testing accommodations
Candidates who qualify under the Americans with Disabilities Act can request accommodations, but the request must be documented, submitted at least three weeks before each test date, and re-approved for every date.
Requests go to the LSU Office of Testing and Evaluation Services with supporting documentation from your physician or medical specialist. The documentation must be on letterhead, describe the specific accommodation, and have been updated by the doctor within the previous six months.
Approval is decided per test date, so prior approval for a past exam does not carry over. Accommodation testing is held only on Saturdays, and you must bring the approval email to the test site. Note that no refund is provided if a requested accommodation is not approved.
Official sources: Get Exam Information — Louisiana Secretary of State — sos.la.gov/notary/get-exam-information
How to study the official 2026 guide
Every exam item is drawn from the 2026 edition of Fundamentals of Louisiana Notarial Law and Practice, so that book is your syllabus, your textbook and your only permitted exam reference.
The Secretary of State is explicit that substantive information in earlier editions may no longer reflect accurate practice. Study from the 2026 edition, and if you bought a used copy, verify the edition year before you rely on it.
The guide covers the duties and responsibilities of notaries, legal document preparation, and the workings of Louisiana's civil law system — the body of law, built on the Louisiana Civil Code and related statutes, that shapes what Louisiana notaries actually do. Treat its contents as the boundary of testable material: the exam tests practical application of what the guide teaches, not outside material.
No preparatory course is required by law. The Secretary of State suggests a good course or study group and maintains a list of registered and bonded prep-course providers, but does not recommend any particular one. A course is a support option, not a qualification requirement.
Official sources: Get Exam Information — Louisiana Secretary of State — sos.la.gov/notary/get-exam-information; Application Process — Louisiana Secretary of State — sos.la.gov/notary/application-process; Exam Preparation — Louisiana Secretary of State — sos.la.gov/notary/exam-preparation
Practice using the book, not just reading it
Because scenario items ask you to apply the guide's rules to facts, the exam rewards fast, targeted lookups. Build that retrieval routine during practice rather than hoping to read your way through four hours.
Reading the guide cover to cover builds familiarity, but the scenario items test something different: matching the facts in a question to the right rule and instrument in the book. Since the guide is the only permitted reference and you control how it is tabbed and annotated, your preparation should include deliberately setting up and rehearsing that navigation.
A practical routine: as you finish each study pass, tab the sections you expect to reach most often, annotate page edges with your own short labels, and practice short timed drills where you look up a rule, confirm its exact 2026 wording, and restate how it would apply.
Official sources: Get Exam Information — Louisiana Secretary of State — sos.la.gov/notary/get-exam-information; Exam Preparation — Louisiana Secretary of State — sos.la.gov/notary/exam-preparation
Your next steps
Confirm current dates on the Secretary of State's exam information page, then work backward from your target exam to schedule qualification, the pre-assessment and registration.
The complete, current rules live in two places: the Secretary of State's notary pages for logistics, and the 2026 official study guide for content. Buy the guide first, since every exam item comes from it, then set your deadline reminders.
- Verify the exam schedule and pick a target date on the Secretary of State's exam information page.
- Submit the Application to Qualify and allow time for approval.
- Complete the mandatory pre-assessment at least 37 days before the exam (non-attorneys).
- Register with the $100 fee by the 30-day deadline.
- Prepare your 2026 study guide: annotations and permanent clear tabs only.
- Request any accommodation at least three weeks ahead, for that specific test date.
Official sources: Get Exam Information — Louisiana Secretary of State — sos.la.gov/notary/get-exam-information; Application Process — Louisiana Secretary of State — sos.la.gov/notary/application-process
Official sources
Facts checked against Louisiana Secretary of State pages, September 15, 2026: