Nevada Notary cheat sheet

Nevada notary commissions are issued by the Secretary of State; the commission term is four years, and a notary may hold only one commission at a time.

An applicant must be at least 18, a Nevada resident or have a principal place of business in Nevada, and must complete the required training and pass the exam before commissioning.

A notary must keep the official seal/stamp in a safe place and may not share it with or allow its use by any other person, including an employer.

The notarial journal is the notary's property; it must be retained for at least 5 years after the last notarial act recorded, and it must be surrendered to the Secretary of State on request.

A notary must notify the Secretary of State of a legal name change or address change within 30 days and obtain a replacement commission certificate.

A notary who resigns, is removed, or whose commission expires must deliver the journal and seal to the Secretary of State if required; destroying or discarding them is prohibited.

Notaries may charge a fee set by statute per notarial act (commonly up to $15 per act and up to $10 per oath/affirmation), but may not charge for mileage or travel separately beyond the statutory fee.

A notary is not required to notarize any document and may refuse if the signer's identity or willingness cannot be established; refusal is not misconduct.

A notary must be physically present at the time of the notarial act for a paper notarization; presence by proxy or by unverified remote means is prohibited outside the eNotary framework.

Satisfactory evidence of identity means a government-issued photo ID that is current or expired no more than 3 years, or the oath of a credible witness personally known to both the notary and the signer.

The notary must compare the photo and physical description on the ID to the signer and must record the ID type, issuing agency, serial number, and expiration date in the journal.

An acknowledgment certifies that the signer personally appeared, was identified, and acknowledged executing the document voluntarily; the signer need not sign in the notary's presence.

A jurat (verification on oath or affirmation) certifies the signer personally appeared, was identified, signed the document in the notary's presence, and swore or affirmed the contents are true.

A signature witnessing certifies personal appearance, identification, and that the signer signed in the notary's presence; the notary does not administer an oath.

A copy certification certifies that the copy is a true, exact, complete, and unaltered copy of the original; the notary must compare the copy to the original and note the act in the journal.

The notarial certificate must contain the venue (state and county), the date of the act, the notary's signature, the seal/stamp imprint, and the commission expiration date.

A notary may not notarize a document in which the notary is a signer, a party, or has a beneficial interest; the notary may not act on a document where the notary will receive a direct benefit.

If the notarial certificate is missing or incomplete, the notary may attach a separate certificate of notarial act (loose certificate) that identifies the document and the act performed.

Prohibited: notarizing a signature without the signer's personal appearance, or notarizing a document the notary knows is false, forged, or fraudulent.

Prohibited: using the notary commission to advertise or promote a business, or listing a notary title in a way that implies official endorsement or legal authority.

Prohibited: charging more than the statutory fee, demanding compensation for travel, or conditioning the notarial act on the purchase of another product or service.

Prohibited: notarizing for a spouse, parent, child, or sibling in some contexts is not per se barred, but a notary may not notarize a document where the notary is a signer or party; the notary may not perform an act where the notary has a direct financial or beneficial interest.

Prohibited: disclosing the contents of a notarial journal or the details of a notarial act except as required by law, court order, or the Secretary of State.

Prohibited: allowing another person to use the notary's seal or stamp, or using a seal that does not contain the required elements (name, commission number, state, expiration date).

Sanctions: the Secretary of State may deny, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a commission, and may impose a civil penalty for violations.

Criminal exposure: false certification, forgery, and fraudulent notarization may be prosecuted as crimes; the notary may be liable for civil damages to a person harmed by the notary's misconduct.

A notary who violates the statutes may be required to pay restitution and may be reported to the Secretary of State; a knowing violation can result in permanent loss of the commission.

An eNotary is a commissioned Nevada notary who has registered with the Secretary of State to perform electronic notarial acts; the notary must use a compliant electronic notarization system approved by the Secretary of State.

The electronic notarization system must provide identity proofing through a third-party credential service, a tamper-evident electronic seal, and an audit trail that records the date, time, and act performed.

Electronic notarial acts must be performed in the physical presence of the signer unless the act is conducted under the remote online notarization (RON) framework authorized by Nevada law.

The electronic journal must be maintained in a secure, tamper-evident format and must be retained for at least 5 years; the notary must be able to produce a copy on request.

The electronic seal must contain the notary's name, commission number, the words 'State of Nevada', and the commission expiration date, and must be attached only to the document being notarized.

The notary must verify the signer's identity using a government-issued photo ID and, for RON, must use knowledge-based authentication or a similar method as required by the Secretary of State.

The notary must record the type of identification, the identity-proofing method, and the electronic signature of the signer in the electronic journal for each act.

A notary who performs electronic notarization must complete additional training and register the electronic signature and seal with the Secretary of State before performing any electronic act.

The notary must not use an electronic seal on a paper document or use a paper seal on an electronic document; the seal type must match the medium of the notarial act.