Guides
California notary guides
Free, plainly written guides to California notary public law and the commissioning process, sourced from the Secretary of State's own handbook.
These are free to read and none of them is a notary education course. California’s education requirement — six hours for a first commission, three for a refresher — is satisfied only by completing a course of study the Secretary of State has approved. notrai’s approved courses do that.
Guide
California's Maximum Notary Fees Rise on January 1, 2027
AB 1597 raises California's maximum notary fees on January 1, 2027. Until then, the maximums set before AB 1597 still apply. Both schedules, and where the date comes from.
9 min read
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Guide
What California Will Require of Online Notaries
California notaries can't notarize online yet. The law's requirements for it include registration, a two-hour course and exam, and a $25,000 bond.
11 min read
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Guide
How California Regulates Notary Education
What California's rules require of a notary education vendor: approval, the lesson plan, Proof of Completion, the attendee list, refunds and oversight.
16 min read
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Guide
How Much Does a Notary Cost in California?
The most a California notary may charge for each service in Government Code section 8211, through December 31, 2026 and from January 1, 2027, and when no fee may be charged.
6 min read
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Guide
How to Choose an Online Notary Course in California
For a first California notary commission: what every approved six-hour course shares, how to check the state's vendor list, and what to ask before you pay.
7 min read
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Guide
Keeping Your Notary Commission in Good Standing
What a California notary must tell the Secretary of State after a move, a name change, or a lost seal or journal, and how a commission ends early.
22 min read
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Guide
Your First 30 Days as a California Notary
For a newly commissioned California notary: the oath and bond within 30 days, then the seal, the journal and your first notarial act.
15 min read
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Guide
Acknowledgment vs. Jurat: The Choice a California Notary Cannot Make
An acknowledgment and a jurat certify different things and carry different duties — and a California notary may not tell a signer which one to use.
27 min read
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Guide
Administering Oaths, Affirmations and Depositions in California
A California notary's oath duty reaches past the jurat, into standalone oaths and depositions — where the code gives a power, a price and little else.
22 min read
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Guide
California Notary Journal Requirements
What a California notary journal must contain, when a thumbprint is required, who may lawfully see it, and where it goes when a commission ends.
25 min read
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Guide
How to Identify a Signer in California
California recognizes three kinds of satisfactory evidence of identity — and the credible-witness routes are a last resort, not a free choice.
24 min read
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Guide
Notarizing Real Estate Documents and Powers of Attorney in California
California singles out deeds, deeds of trust and powers of attorney: a journal thumbprint, no subscribing witness, and felony statutes of their own.
25 min read
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Guide
Six-Hour vs. Three-Hour California Notary Course
The three-hour refresher works only if you hold a current commission, already completed an approved six-hour course, and apply before it expires.
11 min read
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Guide
What a California Notary Cannot Do
The practice-of-law line, the advertising rules, and what willful failure costs — what California notary law forbids, and the penalty attached to each.
26 min read
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Guide
What California Notaries Can Charge
Government Code section 8211 sets maximum notary fees, not prices — the full schedule, the five no-fee exceptions, and what overcharging costs you.
21 min read
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Guide
How to Renew Your California Notary Commission
If you hold a current California notary commission, apply before it expires and the refresher is three hours. Let it lapse and you owe six hours again.
17 min read
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Guide
How to Become a Notary in California
What California actually requires to become a notary public — the six-hour course, the state exam, Live Scan, and the 30-day oath and bond deadline.
25 min read
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