To pass the Montana Notary Public Examination you need a score of 80 percent, you must pass within six months before submitting your application, and you get three attempts before a three-month wait. Study Montana's own handbook — acts, identification, journals, certificates — and rehearse the full decision with the worked case below.
What the exam is and who must take it
New and renewing applicants must pass the Montana Notary Public Examination before submitting their commission application.
A Montana notary is a public official commissioned by the Secretary of State who witnesses notarial acts on behalf of the state. Before you can hold that office, Montana law at §1-5-620, MCA, requires you to pass an examination administered by the Secretary of State or an approved entity.
The exam certificate is not a stand-alone credential. You submit it with your application, your surety bond and the filing fee, so plan the exam early enough that it remains valid when you file.
Official sources: Applying for a Commission (New and Renewal) — Montana Secretary of State — Qualifications, exam steps and application process; Montana Notary Public Handbook (complete PDF from sosmt.gov/notary/notary-handbook/) — Chapters I–V: duties, becoming a notary, notarial process, components of each act, specialized information; MT Laws, Rules & Ethics — Montana Secretary of State — Highlights of 2019 changes to Montana's notary laws
Passing score, attempts and exam timing
A grade of 80 percent is considered passing. You must pass no more than six months before submitting your application, and if you fail three times you must wait three months before trying again.
These rules come from ARM 44.15.101(4) as summarized on the Secretary of State's application page. When you finish, save the exam certificate — it is one of the three required documents for your commission, alongside your training certificate and bond.
Check the current examination instructions before starting. For questions about the examination or your application, contact the Notary & Certifications Division at (406) 444-1877.
- Passing score: 80 percent.
- Exam must be passed within six months before you submit the application.
- Three failed attempts trigger a three-month wait.
- Save the exam certificate immediately after completing the test.
Official sources: Applying for a Commission (New and Renewal) — Montana Secretary of State — Qualifications, exam steps and application process
How the exam fits your commissioning steps
The exam is one of four requirements: approved training, the exam, a $25,000 surety bond and the online application, all filed through the Secretary of State's online portal.
New applicants must complete at least four hours of approved training within 12 months of submitting the application. Renewing notaries need four hours of continuing education in the 12 months before applying, or two hours in each of the three years before renewal. Keep electronic copies of your training and exam certificates — the portal requires you to upload them.
The commission application fee is $25 and is non-refundable. You also need a $25,000 notary surety bond, which typically costs around $50–$70 for the four-year term. Montana requires a standardized bond form that includes the Statement and Oath of Office, which you sign twice: once as the bond's principal and once in front of another notary.
The process is identical for new and renewing applicants, and everything must be filed online — paper submissions are returned unprocessed. Renewals can only be submitted starting 30 days before your current commission expires, through 30 days after expiration. The renewal filing window does not extend your authority after the commission expires.
- Complete at least 4 hours of approved training (new applicants: within 12 months of applying).
- Take and pass the exam no more than 6 months before applying.
- Obtain a $25,000 surety bond on the standardized Montana form.
- File everything online with a $25 non-refundable fee.
- Renew between 30 days before and 30 days after your commission expires.
Official sources: Applying for a Commission (New and Renewal) — Montana Secretary of State — Qualifications, exam steps and application process; Montana Notary Public Handbook (complete PDF from sosmt.gov/notary/notary-handbook/) — Chapters I–V: duties, becoming a notary, notarial process, components of each act, specialized information; MT Laws, Rules & Ethics — Montana Secretary of State — Highlights of 2019 changes to Montana's notary laws
The notarial acts Montana expects you to know
The handbook explains the authorized acts and their certificate wording. You must understand the requested act, but you may not select it for the client.
Read the certificate before the document. Wording such as 'acknowledged' signals an acknowledgment; 'signed and sworn' signals a jurat, which requires an oral oath and the signer signing in your presence. An acknowledgment is different: the signer confirms a signature already made, and you do not need to watch the signing happen.
Copy certification has hard limits. You may certify copies of private records like passports, diplomas or bank statements, but you may not certify copies of public records such as birth or death certificates, marriage licenses, court orders or motor vehicle titles. The 2019 law also added three acts: certification of fact, certification of photograph and certification of life. Certifying a deposition transcript is restricted to notaries with the appropriate training.
For a signer acting in a representative capacity — for example as attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney — you must verify the person holds the capacity claimed and is signing knowingly for the intended purpose. The handbook warns that a power of attorney automatically ends when the principal dies, so confirm the principal is alive before relying on one.
| Act | What the signer does | Montana anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Acknowledgment (individual) | Confirms voluntarily signing; signature need not be witnessed | §1-5-610(1), MCA |
| Signature witnessing | Signs the document in the notary's presence | §1-5-610(4), MCA |
| Signature witnessing / acknowledgment in a representative capacity | Signs for a business, trust or principal; notary verifies capacity and authority | §1-5-610(2), (5), MCA |
| Verification on oath or affirmation (jurat) | Speaks an oath or affirmation; signs in the notary's presence | §1-5-610(3), MCA |
| Certifying a copy (tangible or electronic) | Notary photocopies or prints a qualifying record; public records excluded | §1-5-610(6), (7), MCA |
| Certification of fact, photograph or life | Verifies a specific fact, an image, or that a person is alive | §1-5-610(11)–(13), MCA |
Official sources: Montana Notary Public Handbook (complete PDF from sosmt.gov/notary/notary-handbook/) — Chapters I–V: duties, becoming a notary, notarial process, components of each act, specialized information; MT Laws, Rules & Ethics — Montana Secretary of State — Highlights of 2019 changes to Montana's notary laws
Identification, journal and certificate rules worth drilling
Montana gives you two identification bases, requires a journal entry for every notarial act with specific fields, and prohibits signing or stamping any record lacking a completed notarial certificate.
You can identify a signer by personal knowledge or by satisfactory evidence. Satisfactory evidence covers documentary proof — a passport, driver's license, state ID, tribal ID, military ID, student ID or other government-issued ID with a picture or signature that hasn't surpassed three years of expiration — or a credible witness who personally knows the signer, has no interest in the transaction, and is sworn in and identified, producing two journal entries.
Most acts also require personal appearance: the signer must be physically with you or interact by communication technology. You must also assess competency and willingness; under §1-5-622, MCA, you must refuse the notarization if either is questionable.
Montana law requires a journal of every notarial act, in a tamper-proof paper or tamper-evident electronic format. Each entry records the date and time, the type of act, the document description, the ID used with its issue and expiration dates, the signer's name, signature and address, and the fee. One restriction catches many candidates: you may never journal a Social Security number, passport or driver's license number, or birth date.
Finally, a compliant certificate has four elements — venue, statement of particulars, your signature matching the one on file, and your stamp. Affixing your signature or stamp to a record without a completed notarial certificate is specifically prohibited, and corrections to a certificate must be dated, initialed and noted in your journal.
- Two identification bases: personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence (documentary proof or credible witness).
- Documentary proof must not be more than three years past expiration.
- Journal every act: date, time, act type, document, ID details, signer name, signature, address, fee.
- Never journal Social Security, passport or license numbers, or birth dates.
- Certificate = venue + statement of particulars + signature + stamp; never stamp a record without one.
Official sources: Montana Notary Public Handbook (complete PDF from sosmt.gov/notary/notary-handbook/) — Chapters I–V: duties, becoming a notary, notarial process, components of each act, specialized information; MT Laws, Rules & Ethics — Montana Secretary of State — Highlights of 2019 changes to Montana's notary laws
A worked practice case: act, identification and journal together
The certificate wording requests an acknowledgment, the two-years-expired license still qualifies as documentary proof, the signer need not sign again in front of you, and the journal entry must record the act, document, ID dates and signer details — but not the license number.
This original practice case combines the handbook's rules for the requested act, identity evidence and journal entry.
Work through it in order: name the act from the certificate wording, then confirm the identification basis, then decide what behavior the act requires of the signer, and only then build the journal entry.
Practice case
You have never met the signer before. She brings in a deed she signed at home yesterday. The certificate attached to the deed reads: 'This record was acknowledged before me on this ___ day of ____, ____, by ____.' She hands you a Montana driver's license that expired two years ago and is otherwise intact. Answer the following: (1) Which notarial act does the certificate request? (2) May you rely on this license as documentary proof of her identity? (3) Must she sign the deed again in front of you? (4) What must her journal entry include? Assume the license photograph and identity details match her, she understands the document and is acting willingly, she acknowledges her signature, and all other requirements for a lawful acknowledgment are satisfied.
Show the answer
(1) An acknowledgment in an individual capacity. (2) Yes — a driver's license counts as documentary proof as long as it hasn't surpassed three years of expiration, and this one is two years past expiry. (3) No — an acknowledgment does not require the notary to witness the signature; she confirms she voluntarily signed. (4) The journal entry must include the date and time, the type of act (acknowledgment), a description of the deed, the ID type with its issue and expiration dates, her printed name, address and signature, and the fee charged. Do not record the license number.
The phrase 'acknowledged before me' matches Montana's §1-5-610(1) certificate, so the act is an acknowledgment — not a jurat, which would require the words 'signed and sworn,' an oral oath and an observed signature. The three-year rule is what makes the license acceptable: had it expired four years ago, satisfactory evidence would fail and you would need another qualifying identity document, personal knowledge or a properly sworn credible witness. Because an acknowledgment confirms an existing signature, re-signing in your presence is unnecessary — that step belongs to signature witnessing. The journal entry simply records the decisions you already made, minus the ID number, which Montana law forbids you to journal.
Official sources: Montana Notary Public Handbook (complete PDF from sosmt.gov/notary/notary-handbook/) — Chapters I–V: duties, becoming a notary, notarial process, components of each act, specialized information; MT Laws, Rules & Ethics — Montana Secretary of State — Highlights of 2019 changes to Montana's notary laws
Preparing and booking your next steps
Study the Montana Notary Public Handbook as your primary resource, take the exam early enough to stay within the six-month window, and confirm logistics directly with the Secretary of State.
The handbook is designed as your primary study resource and covers every act, certificate and special situation summarized above. Build your notes around each act's signer behavior, certificate wording and journal consequence rather than memorizing definitions in isolation, then test yourself with cases like the one in this guide. Extra practice questions are available in this site's free practice set for the Montana exam.
Use the Secretary of State's application page to check the training and exam certificate windows before filing. Keep the certificates and bond ready to upload with your online application.
Official sources: Applying for a Commission (New and Renewal) — Montana Secretary of State — Qualifications, exam steps and application process; Montana Notary Public Handbook (complete PDF from sosmt.gov/notary/notary-handbook/) — Chapters I–V: duties, becoming a notary, notarial process, components of each act, specialized information
Official sources
Key facts checked against Montana Secretary of State pages: