Study the Department of State's September 2026 Notary Public License Law booklet directly: the multiple-choice exam covers license law, general terms, and the duties and functions of a notary public as outlined in that booklet. Drill the distinctions between acknowledgments, jurats, and proofs; the oath rules in the Civil Practice Law and Rules; the interest and presence prohibitions; and the fee caps. Then plan logistics: the exam is walk-in at most sites, 1 hour after instructions conclude, $15, with current photo ID and two pencils. New York City requires an emailed reservation and confirmation before you report.
What the exam is and who must take it
Most applicants must pass the New York State notary public examination before the Department of State will appoint them; attorneys admitted in New York and certain Unified Court System court clerks are exempt.
The Department of State lists three requirements for becoming a notary public: submit a completed application with the fee, pass the New York State notary public examination, and be a resident of New York State or have an office or place of business in the state. Current New York State Bar members and Unified Court System court clerks appointed after a Civil Service promotional examination in the court clerk series may be appointed without this examination.
You are commissioned in your county of residence, or, for non-attorney nonresidents, in the county where your New York office or place of business is located. The commission term is four years. After approval, the Secretary of State forwards your commission, oath, and signature to the county clerk, where the public can verify your official signature.
Eligibility also has a record component. A person convicted of a felony generally cannot be appointed, and certain misdemeanors are disqualifying. However, an executive pardon, a certificate of relief from disabilities, or a certificate of good conduct from the parole board allows the person to be considered for appointment.
Official sources: Become a Notary Public | Department of State — Requirements and fees; Notary Public License Law, September 2026 (NYS Department of State, Division of Licensing Services) — Introduction, section map, Executive Law 135-137, Definitions and General Terms; Notary Public - Frequently Asked Questions | Department of State — General FAQs and Remote Notarization FAQs
Exam format, fees, and scheduling
The exam is multiple choice, you get 1 hour starting after the instructions conclude, and results are reported as pass or fail. Most sites are walk-in; New York City requires an emailed reservation.
At the upstate and suburban sites on the July-December 2026 schedule, no pre-registration is required. Seats are assigned first-come, first-served, late arrivals are not admitted, and you should arrive at least 15 minutes before the start time. Dates and times can change, so check the Department's website before traveling.
New York City works differently for the September-November 2026 sessions. You must email the exam unit with your full name, address, exam type, and requested dates, using the subject line the Department specifies. Only candidates who receive an emailed confirmation may report, and unscheduled or late arrivals are turned away. Follow the arrival instructions in your confirmation.
Bring a current, photo-bearing government-issued ID from the Department's accepted list, such as a driver's license, US passport, or IDNYC card. Bring the $15 exam fee by check, money order, or MasterCard or Visa; cash is not accepted and exam fees are nonrefundable. Bring two number 2 pencils, because none are provided. Phones and other electronics must be off, and books, notes, large bags, food, visitors, and firearms are barred from the exam center.
Results come by mail as pass or fail; you will not receive a numerical score. If you fail, you may retake the exam on another date of your choice. Examination results are valid for two years, so build your application timeline around that window.
- The exam is offered in Spanish, Haitian-Creole, Italian, Korean, Russian, and Chinese; tell the proctor when you report if you want another language.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Written exam | $15 (nonrefundable) |
| Initial application | $60 |
| Renewal | $60 |
| Change of name or address | $10 (no fee if the name change follows a change in marital status) |
| Returned check | $20 |
Official sources: July - December 2026 Notary Public Walk-In Written Examination Information and Schedule — What to Bring, Exam Center Policies, Score Reporting, About the Exam; New York City September - November 2026 Notary Written Exam Info and Scheduling Instructions — Exam Scheduling Procedure, What to Bring, About the Exam; Notary Public - Frequently Asked Questions | Department of State — General FAQs and Remote Notarization FAQs; Become a Notary Public | Department of State — Requirements and fees
What the exam covers
The Department states that exam topics include license law, general terms, and information related to the duties and functions of a notary public, as outlined in the Notary Public License Law booklet. That booklet is your study source.
The booklet's own section map shows the terrain: appointment and qualifications under the Executive Law and related statutes; powers and duties; acknowledgments and proofs under the Real Property Law; restrictions and violations, including unauthorized practice of law and misconduct; notarial fees; and Title 19 NYCRR Part 182, which collects the modern definitions and rules for notarial acts, identity evidence, and recordkeeping.
Work through each area of the booklet instead of relying on an assumed question distribution. Use the examination instructions for the current format and scheduling rules.
Official sources: July - December 2026 Notary Public Walk-In Written Examination Information and Schedule — What to Bring, Exam Center Policies, Score Reporting, About the Exam; Notary Public License Law, September 2026 (NYS Department of State, Division of Licensing Services) — Introduction, section map, Executive Law 135-137, Definitions and General Terms
The powers and duties New York assigns
Executive Law section 135 authorizes a duly qualified notary, throughout the state, to administer oaths and affirmations, take affidavits and depositions, receive and certify acknowledgments or proofs of written instruments, and handle protests of negotiable instruments.
The named instruments include deeds, mortgages, and powers of attorney, plus other instruments in writing. On the protest side, a notary may demand acceptance or payment of foreign and inland bills of exchange, promissory notes, and written obligations, and protest them for non-acceptance or non-payment, with specific caps: no more than 75 cents for a protest and 10 cents per notice, not exceeding five.
Two structural rules attach to these powers. First, a notary is liable to injured parties for damages caused by misconduct in performing notarial powers. Second, the privileges are personal: they cannot be delegated to anyone else.
Acknowledgments, jurats, and proofs of execution
An acknowledgment records the signer's declaration that they executed the instrument. A jurat records that an affidavit was sworn or affirmed before you. A proof of execution involves a subscribing witness's testimony about the execution.
For an acknowledgment, the booklet's glossary describes a formal declaration before an authorized officer by a person who executed an instrument, stating that the execution is their act. Real Property Law section 303 requires the officer to know, or have satisfactory evidence, that the person making the acknowledgment is the person described in and who executed the instrument. The signer need not sign in your presence, but must genuinely appear: taking an acknowledgment over the telephone is illegal and a misdemeanor.
A jurat is the part of an affidavit where you certify that it was sworn to before you, in a form such as a statement that the document was sworn to before you on a given date, together with your signature and the other data required by Executive Law section 137. A jurat without a personal appearance and an actual oath or affirmation describes an act that never happened.
A proof is different again: it is the formal declaration of a subscribing witness, stating the witness's residence, that the witness knew the person who executed the instrument, and that the witness saw that person execute it. The certificate rests on the witness's testimony, not on any statement from the signer.
Executive Law section 137 also imposes a venue duty: every certificate of acknowledgment and every jurat must show on its face the county where the act occurred, typically in a State of New York, County of caption. For traditional paper notarization, a seal is not required by New York law, but if you use one it must identify you, your authority, and your jurisdiction. Beneath your signature you must print or stamp your name, the words Notary Public State of New York, your qualification county, and your commission expiration date.
| Feature | Acknowledgment | Jurat | Proof of execution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who appears | The signer | The affiant (signer) | A subscribing witness |
| What you certify | Signer appeared and acknowledged execution as their act | Affidavit was sworn or affirmed before you | Witness saw the signer execute the instrument |
Oaths and affirmations
An oath and an affirmation are equally binding; an affirmation serves people with religious or conscientious scruples against an oath. Both require personal presence and genuine assent.
Under Civil Practice Law and Rules section 2309(b), an oath or affirmation must be administered in a form calculated to awaken the conscience and impress the mind of the person taking it, in accordance with their religious or ethical beliefs. The booklet lists four validity conditions: the person must personally be in your presence; must unequivocally swear or affirm the truth of the statements; must do so as of that time; and must conscientiously take on the obligation. The person expresses assent with words such as I do.
Several limits follow. Asking whether a signature on a purported affidavit is the person's is not enough; an oath must actually be administered. A corporation or partnership cannot take an oath; only an individual can. You cannot administer an oath to yourself, and you cannot delegate your notarial authority.
Keep the affidavit-versus-acknowledgment line sharp. In an acknowledgment you certify identity and execution; in an affidavit you administer an oath to the affiant. Some forms combine both, and the booklet stresses that you must scrutinize each document to determine exactly what your duty is. A wilfully false affidavit is perjury under the Penal Law, and a notary who prepares and takes an affiant's oath to a statement known to be false faces removal from office.
Prohibited acts and disciplinary exposure
Study the limits alongside the powers: interest disqualification, false certificates, unauthorized legal work and the fees allowed for each act.
The booklet warns against taking an acknowledgment to an instrument in which the notary is a party in interest. Learn the interest-disqualification rule alongside the statutory powers and exceptions; merely seeing a familiar name in a document does not resolve whether an act is permitted.
A false certificate can carry criminal, civil and disciplinary consequences. The booklet's examples show why you must actually perform the act you certify: a signature on a completed form cannot substitute for the required appearance, acknowledgment or oath.
The booklet distinguishes a certified copy of a public record, issued by the official custodian, from a notary's ordinary authority. A notary cannot assume the custodian's role. The Department's FAQ separately describes the permitted certificate of authenticity for papering out an electronically notarized record; that specific procedure does not create general authority to certify every copy.
Fee rules are testable and exact. You may charge $2 for administering an oath or affirmation or taking an acknowledgment or proof of execution, and unless otherwise authorized by law a notarial fee may not exceed that amount. Protests carry the separate 75-cent and 10-cent caps described earlier.
Official sources: Notary Public License Law, September 2026 (NYS Department of State, Division of Licensing Services) — Introduction, section map, Executive Law 135-137, Definitions and General Terms; Notary Public - Frequently Asked Questions | Department of State — General FAQs and Remote Notarization FAQs
Recordkeeping and electronic notarization
Since January 25, 2023, every New York notary must keep a journal of all notarial acts for 10 years. Electronic notarization is a separate registered authority with its own identification, recording, and location rules.
The journal requirement applies to all notaries, including those performing only traditional in-person services. Entries must include the date, approximate time, and type of each notarial act; the name and address of each person served; the number and type of services; the type of credential used to identify the principal, including witness names where two identifying witnesses are used; and the verification procedures used. Electronic notaries must additionally log the communication technology, certification authority, and verification providers, and keep an audio-video record of each electronic act.
Electronic notaries are notaries public who register with the Department of State to perform electronic notarial acts, which may be done remotely. During a remote session the notary must be physically located in New York State; the signer may be anywhere, though signers located outside the United States trigger extra confirmations that the record connects to a US jurisdiction, court, or property. The remote signer is identified through the notary's personal knowledge, through credential analysis and identity proofing of a presented ID, or through a witness's oath or affirmation. The notary must see and interact with the signer in real time, record the session, keep the recording for at least 10 years, and confirm the transmitted document matches the one signed before applying the electronic signature and stamp.
Fees for electronic acts differ from traditional ones: an electronic notary may charge up to $25 per electronic notarial act, and may charge for each act performed during one session. Preparing the paper certificate of authenticity used to paper out an electronic document is itself a notarial act carrying the $2 fee. Remote ink notarization, a separate pandemic-era authorization, is no longer permitted after January 31, 2023.
Official sources: Notary Public - Frequently Asked Questions | Department of State — General FAQs and Remote Notarization FAQs
Practice: calculating lawful notarial fees
This original exercise practices the distinction between the electronic-act fee and the separate papering-out certificate fee.
The following exercise uses only the fee rules stated in the Department's FAQ and the license law booklet. Every premise you need is in the prompt.
Practice exercise
Assume a registered electronic notary meets a client for one remote session. During that session, the notary performs two separate electronic notarial acts on the client's documents. A week later, the client asks the notary to prepare a paper certificate of authenticity so the electronically notarized document can be recorded, and the notary completes the papering-out process. Assume the notary charges the maximum lawful fee for each item and nothing else. What is the largest total the notary may charge for all three items?
Show answer
$52, made up of $25 + $25 + $2.
An electronic notary may charge up to $25 per electronic notarial act, and the fee may be charged for each act performed during one electronic session, so two acts support two $25 fees. Preparing a certificate of authenticity for a document created through an electronic notarial act is itself a notarial act for which $2 may be charged. The maximum lawful total is therefore 2 x $25 + $2 = $52. Charging $27 would count only one of the two electronic acts. The exercise specifies two separate acts in the same session, so the per-act fee applies twice.
Official sources: Notary Public - Frequently Asked Questions | Department of State — General FAQs and Remote Notarization FAQs; Notary Public License Law, September 2026 (NYS Department of State, Division of Licensing Services) — Introduction, section map, Executive Law 135-137, Definitions and General Terms
Exam day and application checklist
Prepare from the booklet, plan your site's specific procedure, and remember that a passing result starts a two-year clock for applying.
After passing, apply through NY Business Express with the $60 application fee, your completed and notarized Oath of Office form, and the required examination information. The Department's FAQ explains how to supply results obtained before online exam scheduling. Do not also mail an online application unless the Department asks you to do so. Once approved, you receive your commission identification card.
For study, work through the September 2026 license law booklet section by section, then drill the distinctions: which act fits which fact pattern, what each certificate requires, and where each prohibition applies. Practice sets on the free practice page can reinforce the classifications once you know the rules.
- Before exam day: confirm your site's current dates and times, since schedules change and exams can be canceled for weather.
- Bring a current photo-bearing government ID from the accepted list, the $15 fee without cash, and two number 2 pencils.
- Arrive at least 15 minutes early; New York City candidates must hold an emailed confirmation and should follow its arrival instructions.
- Leave books, notes, large bags, food, and powered-on electronics behind or off.
- If you fail, you can retake the exam on another date of your choice; results are valid for two years.
- After passing, apply online with your oath of office and fee while your results remain valid.
Official sources: Become a Notary Public | Department of State — Requirements and fees; Notary Public License Law, September 2026 (NYS Department of State, Division of Licensing Services) — Introduction, section map, Executive Law 135-137, Definitions and General Terms; Notary Public - Frequently Asked Questions | Department of State — General FAQs and Remote Notarization FAQs; July - December 2026 Notary Public Walk-In Written Examination Information and Schedule — What to Bring, Exam Center Policies, Score Reporting, About the Exam; New York City September - November 2026 Notary Written Exam Info and Scheduling Instructions — Exam Scheduling Procedure, What to Bring, About the Exam
Official sources
Facts checked against Department of State sources:
- Become a Notary Public | Department of State
- Notary Public License Law, September 2026 (NYS Department of State, Division of Licensing Services)
- Notary Public - Frequently Asked Questions | Department of State
- July - December 2026 Notary Public Walk-In Written Examination Information and Schedule
- New York City September - November 2026 Notary Written Exam Info and Scheduling Instructions