North Carolina Notary Statement: Rules, Fees, and Penalties

To work as a notary in North Carolina, you must be at least 18, live or regularly work in the state, complete a Secretary of State-approved course, pass a written exam, and follow Chapter 10B’s rules on every act you perform. The North Carolina notary requirements cover who can be commissioned, what has to appear on each notarial certificate, how you verify identity, what you can charge, and how long you have to keep your records. Getting any of it wrong can cost you your commission, and some violations are felonies.

Who Can Become a Notary

North Carolina sets a short list of eligibility rules, and you have to meet all of them before you apply. You must be at least 18 years old or legally emancipated, reside or regularly work in North Carolina, legally reside in the United States, speak, read, and write English, and hold a high school diploma or its equivalent.¹ You also have to buy and keep the current notary manual approved by the Secretary of State.

The North Carolina Constitution disqualifies anyone convicted of a felony against the state or the United States, convicted of corruption or malpractice in office, or removed from office by impeachment, unless citizenship rights have been restored.

Getting Commissioned

First-time applicants must complete at least six hours of classroom instruction approved by the Secretary of State within the three months before applying, then pass a written exam with a score of at least 80 percent. Licensed members of the North Carolina State Bar are exempt from the course and the exam. If you’re renewing an existing commission, you still have to pass the written exam, but you don’t have to repeat the classroom course.¹

A commission runs for five years. North Carolina does not require a surety bond, which is unusual — most states do.

What Every Notarization Must Include

Each notarial act has to be attested by specific elements or it isn’t valid. Your signature must appear exactly as it does on your commission. Your name must be legible on the certificate, whether through a typed or printed name near your signature, elsewhere on the certificate, or through the seal itself. Your official stamp or seal must appear clearly, and the certificate must state your commission’s expiration date.²

Before signing, you must cross out any blank lines or spaces on the certificate. Forgetting this step doesn’t invalidate the certificate or the document, and a register of deeds can’t refuse the record for that reason alone. Leaving blanks open still invites tampering, so treat it as mandatory.²

North Carolina authorizes acknowledgments, jurats, verifications or proofs, oaths or affirmations, and signature witnessings. Each has its own procedure — for instance, a signer must sign in your presence for a jurat but not for an acknowledgment — so match the act to what the document actually requires.

Verifying the Signer’s Identity

You can’t perform any act until you’ve confirmed who the signer is. The primary method is a current government-issued photo ID (federal, state, or tribal) that includes either the individual’s signature or a physical description.¹

If the signer has no acceptable ID, you can rely on a credible witness. The witness must be personally known to you, and you must believe the witness is honest, reliable, and not a party to or beneficiary of the transaction. The witness then takes an oath vouching for the signer’s identity.¹ A relative who benefits from the transaction won’t qualify. If a father is receiving a vehicle through the document, he can’t serve as the credible witness for the person transferring it.

You also have to assess whether the signer is willing and mentally capable. If they seem to be under duress, don’t understand what the document does, or appear incapacitated, refuse to proceed.

Fees You Can Charge

North Carolina caps notary fees, and the limits depend on the type of act and how it’s performed:

Paper acknowledgments, jurats, verifications, or proofs: $10 per notarized signature
Paper oaths or affirmations with no signature: $10 per person
Electronic acknowledgments or jurats: $15 per notarized signature
Electronic oaths or affirmations with no signature: $15 per person
Remote notarization: $25 per notarized signature
Travel: actual mileage at the federal business rate, but only if the signer agrees in writing before you travel

You cannot charge for administering an oath to a credible witness who is vouching for a signer’s identity.¹ Charging more than the statutory maximum is itself a violation.

What You Can’t Do

You cannot notarize if the signer or subscribing witness isn’t physically present, except through a remote electronic notarization performed under the specific rules described below. You cannot proceed without verifying identity through an acceptable ID or credible witness.¹

The conflict-of-interest rule is where notaries most often stumble. You cannot notarize any document in which you are a signer, a named party, or a beneficiary.¹ There are narrow exceptions: a notary named only as trustee in a deed of trust, the drafter of the document, the person designated to receive the recorded document by mail, or an attorney for a party is not automatically disqualified, as long as the notary isn’t also a party in some other capacity. Being an employee of a party, or owning stock in a corporate party, doesn’t by itself create a disqualifying conflict.

You cannot receive any compensation, property, or benefit from the underlying transaction beyond the statutory fee. If you stand to gain financially from the deal beyond the $10 or $25 notarization fee, the act is prohibited.

If you’re not an attorney, stay clear of the unauthorized practice of law. Choosing which document a client needs, advising on how to fill out a form, recommending the type of notarization, or offering opinions about legal effect all cross the line. Your role is to verify identity and witness signatures.

Journal and Recordkeeping

North Carolina’s administrative rules require notaries who maintain a journal to record specific details for every act: the date and time, the signer’s name and address, the type and mode of notarial act, the title of the document, and information about the evidence of identity presented.³

The journal or its backup copy must be kept for at least 10 years after the last entry — not five, as some older references still claim. You or a designated custodian are responsible for retention.⁴ Access must be restricted; no one may view the journal except as permitted under Chapter 10B and its rules.³

Thorough journal entries are the single best thing you can do to protect yourself. When a notarization is challenged years later, the journal is often the only proof that you followed proper procedures.

Remote Electronic Notarization

North Carolina permits remote electronic notarization, but the requirements go well past a video call. You must be physically located in North Carolina at the time of the act.⁵

The technology must host a real-time session with simultaneous audio and video interaction. No prerecorded content is allowed. Video quality must be clear enough for you to observe the signer’s face and any ID presented. The platform must be able to geolocate the signer and must include tamper-evident technology and automated backup of the recording.¹

Identity verification is a three-step process. The signer’s ID must undergo credential analysis by a third-party vendor approved by the Secretary of State, who confirms the document’s validity using public and proprietary data sources. The signer must pass identity proofing, typically through knowledge-based authentication questions drawn from personal history, through another approved vendor. Then you compare the ID to the person on screen.¹

Every remote session must be recorded and kept for at least 10 years. You cannot voluntarily surrender or destroy these recordings except under a court order or as permitted by the Secretary’s rules.¹

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

Violations split into administrative sanctions and criminal charges, and the criminal penalties escalate based on whether you acted negligently or with intent to deceive.

Administrative Sanctions

The Secretary of State can issue a warning, restrict your authority, suspend your commission, or permanently revoke it for any violation of Chapter 10B or the rules under it. The Secretary’s law enforcement agents have statewide jurisdiction to investigate complaints.⁶

Class 1 Misdemeanor

These violations carry Class 1 misdemeanor charges, punishable by up to 120 days in jail depending on prior record:

Holding yourself out as a notary without a valid commission
Performing a notarial act with an expired, suspended, or restricted commission
Performing a notarial act before taking the oath of office
Notarizing without the signer or subscribing witness physically present
Notarizing without verifying identity through proper evidence

⁶

Class I Felony

More serious violations are Class I felonies, carrying 3 to 24 months in prison depending on prior criminal history:

Performing a notarial act you know to be false or fraudulent
Notarizing without the signer present when done with intent to commit fraud
Performing notarial acts while knowingly uncommissioned
Obtaining, using, concealing, defacing, or destroying another notary’s seal or records without authorization

⁶

Class G Felony

Knowingly manufacturing or distributing a notary seal to help someone pose as a commissioned notary is a Class G felony, carrying significantly longer potential prison time than a Class I felony.⁶

1
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 10B
2
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes 10B-20
3
North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings. 18 NCAC 07I – Journals
4
Cornell Law Institute. 18 NC Admin Code 07I 0212 – Journal Retention Period
5
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes 10B-134.7 – Authority to Perform Remote Electronic Notarial Acts
6
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes 10B-60 – Enforcement and Penalties