How California Regulates Notary Education

A vendor has to obtain the Secretary of State's approval for each course before offering it to meet California's notary education requirement, and from then on the vendor is bound by a set of regulations. They cover what its lesson plan must contain and how it may change, who receives its Proof of Completion, which records it keeps and who may see them, when it must refund fees, and how its approval can end.

This guide sets out those rules for anyone who wants to know what the state controls before choosing a course. For a checklist to compare courses with, see How to Choose an Online Notary Course in California. If you are not sure whether you need the six-hour course or the three-hour refresher, Six-Hour vs. Three-Hour California Notary Course works that out.

Every rule below is quoted or cited from the notary education regulations (California Code of Regulations, Title 2, sections 20800 through 20801.3, as the Secretary of State publishes them), from Government Code sections 8201 and 8201.2 as the California Notary Public Handbook, January 2026 edition reproduces them, and from the Secretary of State's approved-vendor page as it read on September 14, 2026. The closing section on remote online notarization also draws on Senate Bill 696 (Chapter 291, Statutes of 2023) as the California Legislature's website published it on September 14, 2026.

This guide is not the course. Reading it does not count toward the six hours a first commission requires or the three hours of a refresher, and cannot. The statutory education requirement is satisfied only by completing a course of study the Secretary of State has approved and receiving that vendor's Proof of Completion certificate. This page is general information about California notary law, not legal advice.

The statute behind the rules

Government Code section 8201 creates both courses. Section 8201(a)(3) requires a notary public to have completed a six-hour course of study approved by the Secretary of State, and section 8201(b)(2) requires a notary who holds a commission and has completed that course at least once to complete a three-hour refresher before reappointment.

Section 8201.2(a) sets the test for approving either one. The Secretary of State reviews the course of study a vendor proposes to offer, and "[i]f the course of study includes all material that a person is expected to know to satisfactorily complete the written examination required pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 8201, the Secretary of State shall approve the course of study."

The rest of section 8201.2 directs the Secretary of State to prescribe an application form and adopt a certificate of approval by regulation, and to compile a list of everyone offering an approved course and provide it with every booklet of notary laws it distributes. It also lets the Secretary of State teach the subject itself: "The Secretary of State may also provide a notary public education course of study." Its civil penalty is covered below, with the other consequences of breaking the rules.

The regulations name that application form, NP40, and set out what a certificate of approval contains.

What a vendor must hold

Before offering a course, "a vendor shall obtain a certificate of approval from the Secretary of State for each course of study offered" (section 20800(a)). To apply, the vendor submits form NP40 and a lesson plan (section 20800(b)). Within 90 business days of receiving them, the Secretary of State issues either a certificate of approval or a deficiency notice (section 20800(c)).

The certificate names the vendor as listed on its application and gives the vendor's address, the vendor identification number the Secretary of State issued, and the date the course of study was approved (section 20800(d)). It stays with that vendor and that course: "A certificate of approval is non-transferable and shall not be transferred to another vendor or another course of study."

Among the continuing duties that come with the certificate are these three:

Keeping the application current. Within 30 business days of any change to the information in its application, the vendor files an amended NP40, and it is the vendor's responsibility to confirm that the Secretary of State received it (section 20800.3).
Answering for the people who teach for it. The vendor is responsible for the employees, agents, instructors, contractors and subcontractors who provide an approved course on its behalf, and their acts are deemed the vendor's own (section 20800(f)).
Answering the Secretary of State. A vendor must respond in writing, within 30 business days, to a written request from the Secretary of State for any information relating to a course of study it offers (section 20800.8).

An approved vendor also goes on the Secretary of State's list, and changes reach the list on a monthly cycle. A certificate issued by the fifteenth of a month is reflected in the list available by the first day of the next month, and one issued after the fifteenth in the list available by the first day of the second month after it was issued (section 20801(c)). The Secretary of State may delete any listed information it determines may be misleading to the public or of an inappropriate nature (section 20801(e)). How to search the list is covered in Check the course against the state's list.

The Secretary of State's vendor page states what approval does not mean: "Approval of a course of study is not an endorsement or recommendation."

What the lesson plan must be approved for

The lesson plan is the document the Secretary of State reviews, and section 20800.1 sets what it must contain. Subdivision (a) comes first: "The lesson plan shall be based on the laws of California concerning the functions and duties of a notary public." The plan must also:

have a table of contents and consecutively numbered pages, in enough detail for the Secretary of State to evaluate the information to be presented and determine whether it is accurate (subdivisions (b) and (c));
contain procedures to establish the identity of each person who may receive a Proof of Completion, and to keep the information on that certificate from being viewed by anyone other than the vendor, its employees, agents, instructors, contractors and subcontractors, and the person named in it (subdivision (d));
contain procedures to ensure that a person attending is present for the required time (subdivision (e));
schedule the time allotted to lunch and breaks, each major subject area, and any audiovisual aids, student participation activities and tests (subdivision (f));
show where visual aids and student participation supplement the lecture material, explain their purpose, describe how the instructor will generate the participation, and summarize any movie or video closely enough for the Secretary of State to tell what it presents (subdivision (g));
include copies of any handouts, workbooks or tests, which are submitted for approval as part of the plan (subdivision (h)); and
if students evaluate the course, include a sample of the evaluation form, which may not take more than ten minutes of class time to complete (subdivision (i)).

When an application falls short

If an application is incomplete, or a lesson plan does not satisfy section 8201, section 8201.2 or the regulations, the Secretary of State issues a deficiency notice itemizing the deficiencies (section 20800.2(a)). The vendor has 30 business days from the date the notice was mailed to cure them (subdivision (b)), and the Secretary of State may issue more than one notice during the review (subdivision (c)). If the deficiencies are not cured in time, the Secretary of State disapproves the application or amendment (subdivision (d)). The vendor has a right to a hearing before a disapproval (subdivision (e)), and once a disapproval takes effect it may cure the deficiencies and apply again (subdivision (f)).

Revisions need approval first

Section 20800(e) holds a vendor to the plan the Secretary of State approved: "An approved vendor shall not alter or substitute the lesson plan reviewed and approved by the Secretary of State, unless such revisions are approved by the Secretary of State in accordance with Section 20800.4."

Section 20800.4 also makes revising the plan a duty. A vendor must revise it as necessary so that the information in the course "reflects current California law concerning the duties and functions of a notary public" (section 20800.4(a)). Any proposed revision must be approved before it is used in a course (subdivision (b)), through the same application and review as a new lesson plan (subdivisions (c) and (d)). Approval brings a certificate of approval for the revised plan, carrying the date it was approved (subdivision (e)), and from that date the vendor may use only the revised plan (subdivision (f)).

So a vendor has to keep its course current with California law, and it cannot teach a revision until the Secretary of State approves it. Deviating from the approved plan is a ground for terminating the approval (section 20801.1(a)(3)).

Proof of Completion

A vendor issues a Proof of Completion to a person who completes an approved course, and must ensure that no one else receives one (section 20800.5(a) and (b)). A person who misses any portion of the course receives no Proof of Completion and no credit for the time they were present (section 20800.5(b)).

Section 20800.5(c) defines the certificate. It is signed by the vendor or by one of its employees, agents, instructors, contractors or subcontractors, and it contains:

the vendor's name as it appears on the certificate of approval for the course;
the name of the person who completed the course;
the type, number, expiration date and state or country of issuance of the photo identification that established that person's identity;
the date they completed it;
whether it is for a three-hour or six-hour course of study; and
two statements: that it is valid for two years from the date of issuance, and that it must be attached to the notary public application when submitted to the Secretary of State.

Section 20800.5(d) sets the time limit as a rule of its own: "Proof of completion of an approved course of study shall be valid for a period of two (2) years from the date of issuance." If one is submitted to the Secretary of State more than two years after it was issued, the Secretary of State notifies the applicant that it is not valid and instructs them to complete an approved course and submit a valid, current one. A certificate submitted with an application is not returned (section 20800.5(e)). One submitted without an application, or an application submitted without one, is sent back with notice of the deficiency (section 20800.5(f)).

The attendee list, and who may see it

For each session of an approved course, the vendor keeps a list of the people who attended, for two years from the date Proof of Completion was issued for that session (section 20800.6(a)). The list records:

the vendor's name as listed in the certificate of approval, and its vendor identification number;
the name of each instructor who taught the course;
the date, time and location of the course;
the names of all attendees, in alphabetical order by last name, and whether each one received a Proof of Completion; and
the type, number, expiration date and state or country of issuance of the photo identification of each person who attended and completed the course.

A vendor may not collect any attendee's Social Security number (section 20800.6(b)).

Section 20800.6(a) requires the vendor to maintain and secure the list, and subdivision (c) defines the word: "'Secure' as used in this section means that an approved vendor, former approved vendor, or employee, agent, instructor, contractor, or subcontractor of an approved vendor or former approved vendor shall not copy or release any list of attendees or any information contained therein to any person, except the Secretary of State, district attorney, city attorney, or Attorney General." Because the definition names former approved vendors, the duty continues after a vendor's approval ends.

Cancellations and refunds

Before charging any fee, a vendor must disclose its refund policy (section 20800.9(a)). Section 20800.9(b) requires a refund of all fees in two situations: an instructor fails to appear at the scheduled time, date and place, or the course starts more than 15 minutes late and a registered student immediately asks for a refund and leaves before it starts. Both are set out in full under What does the refund policy say? in the guide to choosing a course.

A vendor can also give up its approval. It cancels a certificate of approval by written notice to the Secretary of State, and unless the notice states otherwise, the cancellation takes effect 30 business days after the notice is received (section 20801.3(a)). Subdivision (b) deals with people who have already paid: "Within thirty (30) business days of the effective date of a cancellation of a certificate of approval, a vendor shall refund all fees to all individuals who paid to take an approved course from a vendor if the course is scheduled after the effective date of the cancellation."

Oversight, and how an approval ends

Section 20800.7 opens every approved course to the Secretary of State: "An approved vendor shall permit the Secretary of State or representatives of the Secretary of State to attend any approved course of study without prior notice at no charge for the purpose of observation, monitoring, auditing, or investigating." On arrival, they give the vendor a letter identifying who is attending, signed by the Secretary of State or a representative.

The Secretary of State may terminate a certificate of approval on any of three grounds (section 20801.1(a)):

violation of any provision of the regulations, or of Government Code section 8201 or 8201.2;
"Misrepresentation of the laws of California concerning the duties and functions of a notary public."
"Deviation from the lesson plan for a course of study approved by the Secretary of State."

Before a termination, the vendor has a right to a hearing, conducted under the hearing procedures that begin at Government Code section 11500 (section 20801.2(a)). Section 20801.2(b) addresses a vendor that cancels: where the Secretary of State determines, after those proceedings, that a vendor committed or omitted acts that are grounds for termination, cancelling the certificate "shall not bar the Secretary of State from instituting or continuing an investigation or disciplinary proceedings." When those proceedings end, the Secretary of State enters an order stating whether the facts would have been grounds for termination had the certificate still been in effect.

Government Code section 8201.2(d)(1) adds a civil penalty: "A person who provides notary public education and violates any of the regulations adopted by the Secretary of State for approved vendors is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each violation and shall be required to pay restitution where appropriate." A district attorney, a city attorney or the Attorney General may bring a civil action to recover it, and a public prosecutor must inform the Secretary of State of any penalty imposed (section 8201.2(d)(2)).

What the text leaves open

Each point below describes what the text of sections 20800 through 20801.3 contains, checked against all of it. None of them is a statement about what the Secretary of State permits.

How a course is delivered. The words classroom and in person do not appear in the text. Online appears three times, all in section 20801(d), which lets the Secretary of State make its list of approved vendors available online. Several provisions refer to a course's time or place: the attendee list records its date, time and location (section 20800.6(a)(4)), the Secretary of State's representatives present a letter on arrival at it (section 20800.7), and one refund situation turns on an instructor failing to appear at its scheduled time, date and place (section 20800.9(b)). The lesson-plan rules also use the words lecture material (section 20800.1(g)) and class time (section 20800.1(i)).
How identity and attendance are checked. Section 20800.1(d) and (e) require a lesson plan to contain procedures for both, and section 20800.5(b) says what follows from missing part of a course. For identity, the text also requires the Proof of Completion and the attendee list to record the type, number, expiration date and state or country of issuance of the photo identification that established it (sections 20800.5(c)(3) and 20800.6(a)(6)). Beyond that, no section says what the procedures must be. Each lesson plan contains its own, and the Secretary of State reviews them with the rest of the plan.
Price. No section states an amount a vendor may charge. The text deals with fees when it requires a refund policy to be disclosed before charging (section 20800.9(a)), when it sets out when fees must be refunded (sections 20800.9(b) and 20801.3(b)), and when it has a vendor admit the Secretary of State's representatives at no charge (section 20800.7).
Who may teach. Instructors appear throughout: the vendor answers for them (section 20800(f)), the attendee list names them (section 20800.6(a)(3)), and a refund is owed if one fails to appear (section 20800.9(b)). The text sets no qualification an instructor must hold.
How long an approval lasts. A Proof of Completion is valid for two years. The text gives a certificate of approval no expiration date and no renewal cycle, and the sections on an approval ending are about termination by the Secretary of State (sections 20801.1 and 20801.2) and cancellation by the vendor (section 20801.3).
Courses without a scheduled date. Both refund rules are written around a schedule: section 20800.9(b) counts from "a scheduled course date", and section 20801.3(b) covers a course "scheduled after the effective date of the cancellation". Neither describes a course taken without one. For any course, the refund policy the vendor must disclose before charging you is the document to read (section 20800.9(a)).

What is coming: remote online notarization

The handbook's introduction says the Online Notarization Act (Chapter 291, Statutes of 2023) "is operative in stages", and that the rest of the Act "relates to the requirements for appointment, grounds for disciplinary action, and duties of the notary regarding remote online notarization."

Those appointment requirements include education. Once they are operative, Government Code section 8231.3 will require an applicant registering with the Secretary of State to perform online notarizations to have completed, among other requirements, an additional course of study approved by the Secretary of State under section 8201.2.

The regulations in this guide, as the Secretary of State publishes them today, refer to the two existing courses. Section 20800(a) requires a certificate of approval for a course offered under section 8201(a)(3) or (b)(2), and a Proof of Completion states whether it is for a three-hour or six-hour course (section 20800.5(c)(5)). Nothing in their text mentions online notarization.

What California Will Require of Online Notaries sets out what the Act will require of a notary who wants to perform remote online notarizations. Its section When online notarization can begin quotes the clauses that bar online notarization before registration, before the Secretary of State adopts its rules and before its technology project is complete. The stages in which the Act takes effect are covered in the first-appointment guide's section Can you notarize online in California?, along with the condition attached to its deadline.

Official sources

Do not take an article's word for what a regulation requires.

Notary public education regulations, California Code of Regulations, Title 2, sections 20800–20801.3 — on the Secretary of State's current regulations page
California Notary Public Handbook, which reproduces Government Code sections 8201 and 8201.2 — www.sos.ca.gov/notary
Senate Bill 696 (Chapter 291, Statutes of 2023), the Online Notarization Act — bill text
Approved education vendors — notaryeducation.sos.ca.gov
Secretary of State, Notary Public Section — Business Programs Division, P.O. Box 942877, Sacramento, California 94277-0001; (916) 653-3595

Where notrai fits

notrai is a California Secretary of State–approved notary public education vendor. The Secretary of State approved two notrai courses of study on August 26, 2026 — the six-hour course for first-time applicants and the three-hour refresher for renewing notaries who meet all three of its conditions — each under its own certificate of approval. That approval covers those two courses of study and nothing else. It is not an endorsement or recommendation of the courses, of notrai or of this website, and nothing on this page is legal advice.

Both courses are online and self-paced, and each issues a Proof of Completion certificate to a student who completes it.

See the courses →