Qualifications, Commissioning, and Commission Maintenance
Who may be commissioned
An Oregon notary applicant must be at least 18 years old; be a legal resident of Oregon, a resident of an adjoining state (California, Idaho, Nevada, or Washington), or regularly employed in Oregon; be able to read and write English; and not be disqualified by the criminal-history or prior-revocation provisions of the notary statutes. Oregon also requires completion of an approved course of study and passage of the required examination before the commission is issued.
The commissioning sequence
Application goes to the Secretary of State with the required fee, followed by the surety bond and oath of office in the form and amount the statutes set. A commission runs for a four-year term and expires on the date printed on the commission and on the stamp. A person who has not completed every filing step is not yet authorized to notarize.
Maintaining the commission
- Watch the expiration date; a lapsed commission means every act performed after it is void as an official act, even if the notary later renews.
- Report address changes and keep contact information current so official mail reaches you.
- A legal name change affects the stamp and commission; the notary must update the commission rather than keep stamping under an obsolete name.
- Grounds for discipline include fraud or misrepresentation in the application, conviction of disqualifying crimes, performing notarial acts without authority, and failing to comply with recordkeeping or certificate requirements.
Worked example
A notary's commission expires March 31 and she renews on April 10. A signing on April 5 cannot be salvaged by the later renewal - the April 5 certificate is improper because she held no commission that day. Rule of thumb: no valid commission, no notarial act.