Idaho Notary

No. The Secretary of State states plainly that no test is required to apply as a notary public. You must purchase a bond, complete the Notary Public Application Form, and submit the bond and application to the Secretary of State with the $30.00 filing fee. Training is still strongly encouraged: the office publishes a Notary Handbook and an online Notary Training Course.

Buy the bond through an insurance agent, complete the application form, then send the bond and application to the Secretary of State with the $30.00 filing fee. The Notary Certificate you receive back authorizes you to purchase a stamping device. Your commission is complete once you have that stamping device. Recommissioning notaries may keep using their current stamping devices.

A notary public may charge a fee not to exceed $5.00 per notarial act under Idaho Code 51-133. You may also be compensated for the actual and reasonable expense of travel to the place where the notarial act is performed. Neither a notary nor a third party charging notary fees as part of its services should exceed the statutory fee.

The stamping device must be an inked stamp with a serrated or milled-edge border, in rectangular or circular form. It may only include "Notary Public," "State of Idaho," your name exactly as on your certificate, your state-issued commission number, and optionally "My commission expires:" with the MM/DD/YY date. No other information or graphics are allowed.

No, a journal is not required, but the Secretary of State strongly recommends it as a notary best practice. If you keep a journal, it is the property of the notary, not of an employer. Many experienced notaries treat a well-kept journal as their main protection if a signature or identification is later disputed.

You may refuse if you are not satisfied that the individual executing the record is competent or has the capacity to execute it, if you are not satisfied the signature is knowingly and voluntarily made, or for another valid reason unless refusal is prohibited by other Idaho statutes. You may notarize for anyone except yourself, your spouse, or anyone signing a document in which you have a beneficial interest.

Satisfactory evidence includes personal knowledge through dealings giving reasonable certainty of identity; a passport, driver's license, or government-issued non-driver ID that is current or expired not more than three years before the act; another government ID meeting the same three-year limit with signature or photograph; or an oath of a credible witness personally appearing before you.

The rules are short but the scenarios are where people lose points. Common failure modes: reciting a stamp element that is not permitted, quoting the wrong fee, forgetting that deciding which certificate to use is legal advice, and missing that the signer need not sign in front of you but must appear and acknowledge. Study the certificate contents and identification rules first.

It is optional; you may perform paper-based acts only. To add electronic authority, choose a tamper-evident technology, then file an "Addition of Electronic or Remote Online Notary" amendment on sosbiz.idaho.gov, or the paper Authorization for Electronic Notarization with a $20 manual processing fee. You must be commissioned first, though both forms may be filed at once.

Use the Notary Change Form to report a new name or address. Use the Notary Resignation Form to resign. Moving out of state ends your commission unless you are still working in Idaho. If an employer paid for your commission and later cancels your bond, your commission is cancelled and you must apply again.