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October 18, 2024

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1. Qualifications: An applicant for appointment as a Nevada Notary Public must (NRS 240.015[1] and [3]):
   (a) Be at least 18 years old,
   (b) Be a resident of Nevada or be a resident of a bordering state and maintain or be employed at a licensed place of business in Nevada,
   (c) Possess his or her civil rights, and
   (d) Have completed a course of study pursuant to NRS 240.018.
   To qualify as a resident of Nevada pursuant to NRS 240.015, the applicant must have been “actually, physically and corporeally present in this state with the intent to establish permanent habitation for at least 30 days before the date on which he or she submitted his or her application” and, once appointed as a Notary, “must maintain residency in this state during the term of his or her appointment” (NAC 240.260).
   Persons holding public office in the U.S. federal government are not eligible to become Nevada Notaries, though federal employees are (NV Atty. Gen. Op. 56-229).

2. Course: All new and renewing applicants for a Notary appointment must pass an approved course of instruction, as must a person who has committed a violation of NRS Chapter 240 or whose appointment has been suspended and who has been required by the Secretary of State to enroll in such a course (NRS 240.018[3]).
   The Nevada Secretary of State’s office is the official provider of Notary courses. There is a $45 fee for the course. Registration instructions are on the Secretary’s website. Individual Notary applicants must take the online course; the in-person class is available only to organizational groups (website, “Training & Class Information”).
   “An applicant for appointment as a notary public who is required pursuant to NRS 240.018 to enroll in and successfully complete a course of study for the mandatory training of notaries public must include with his or her application a certificate of successful completion of such a course, which must contain a validation stamp from the Secretary of State. A certificate of successful completion of a course of study for the mandatory training of notaries public is valid for 90 days after the date of its issuance” (NAC 240.270.2).

3. Exam: Effective July 1, 2015, the course of study required for a Notary appointment must include at least three hours of instruction and an examination (NRS 240.018[1][a]). The fee for the training is $45 and is paid at the time of creating an application for appointment as a Notary (see below). At the conclusion of the training and successful passing of the exam, the applicant will receive a certificate of course completion to upload when creating an application for appointment. Certificates of completion are valid for 90 days after their date of issuance.

4. Application: All applicants must obtain a $10,000 surety bond and take and sign the required oath office, both of which must be filed with the county clerk in the applicant’s county of residence or employment prior to applying to become a Notary Public. The county clerk will then issue a filing notice to the applicant, as proof that the oath and bond have been filed and recorded.
   Applicants must create an account and log in to the Secretary of State’s SilverFlume online business registration system to apply for a Notary appointment. An applicant must declare under penalty of perjury that he or she has never had an appointment as a Notary revoked or suspended in Nevada or any other U.S. state or territory (NRS 240.030[1][e]).
   Upon completing all required fields in the online Notary application, the applicant must print out the application, sign it, and upload the signed application, county clerk filing notice and certificate of course completion (if on hand). “During the notary application submission process, the system allows one upload attempt of the required documentation” (website, “Step-By-Step Guide To Become A Notary”). The Secretary of State recommends uploading the Certificate of Course Completion at this time since it will shorten the commission approval process. At that time, the applicant will pay the $35 application and $45 training fee ($80 combined).
   “A person applying for appointment as a notary public may use his or her given name, a short or familiar form of his or her given name or the first initial of his or her given name, followed by the person’s surname” (NAC 240.210.1).
   “A notary public may use his or her given name, a short or familiar form of his or her given name or the first initial of his or her given name, followed by the notary public’s surname, as his or her official signature which must be consistent with the original signature on the application for appointment as a notary public” (NAC 240.210.3).

5. Background Screening: Required.
   “Each person applying for appointment as a notary public must submit:
   “1. A complete set of the fingerprints of the applicant and written permission authorizing the Secretary of State to forward the fingerprints to the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History for submission to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its report; and
   “2. A fee in an amount equal to the sum of the amounts charged by the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for processing the fingerprints” (NAC 240.215).

6. Nonresidents: Residents of bordering states (i.e., Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon, Utah) may become Nevada Notaries if they maintain or are employed at a licensed place of business in Nevada (NRS 240.015[3]). Such nonresident applicants must include with their applications a notarized “Nonresident Notary Public Affidavit of Applicant.” Nonresident applicants who are employed by a licensed employer must also submit a notarized “Affidavit of Employer of Applicant” and a copy of the employer’s business license(s); applicants who are self-employed must also submit a notarized “Affidavit of Self-Employed Applicant” and a copy of the applicant’s business license(s) in the Secretary of State’s SilverFlume system. The applicant’s bond and oath must be filed in his or her county of employment (NRS 240.030[1][d], [2] and [4]; NAC 240.262, 240.264 and 240.266).
   “A notary public who is a resident of an adjoining state shall submit to the Secretary of State annually, within 30 days before the anniversary date of his or her appointment as a notary public, a copy of the state business license of the place of employment of the notary public in the State of Nevada …, a copy of any license required by the local government where the business is located and the information required pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 240.030” (NRS 240.031).

7. Reappointment: Notaries seeking to be reappointed to a new term must follow the same steps as with the initial appointment.

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“When there is no room for the notarial certificate, may I use my stamp on the back or attach one on another piece of paper? How should I indicate that this is what I have done? – The notary stamp must be readable, and Statute prohibits placing a Notary Public’s stamp or signature over printed material. You may use the back of the document or an attached sheet. When a notarial certificate is attached, please note on the notarial certificate the document to which it is attached” (NPH).

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Obtaining a Stamp

1. Commission Certificate Required: “A person or governmental entity shall not make, manufacture or otherwise produce a notary’s stamp unless the notary public presents his or her original or amended certificate of appointment or a certified copy of his or her original or amended certificate of appointment to that person or governmental entity” (NRS 240.045.3).

2. Multiple Stamps Allowed: A Notary may obtain and use more than one stamp (website, “FAQs”).

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