How to Become a Notary in New Jersey (2026): Requirements, Cost & Steps
Quick answer
- Who qualifies
- 18+ · You must be a legal resident of New Jersey, or have a place of employment or practice in the state
- Total cost
- About $45–$185 (estimate — breakdown below)
- Exam / course
- Exam and course required
- Bond
- Not required
- Commission term
- 5 years
- Online notarization
- Allowed (extra registration)
Requirements verified July 19, 2026 against New Jersey Department of the Treasury — Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services
New Jersey commissions notaries through the Department of the Treasury for a $25 fee, with no bond and no course tuition — but new non-attorney applicants must pass a state exam, and you must be sworn in at your county clerk's office within three months. The commission runs five years.
New Jersey is the only state in this region where your notary paperwork goes to the Treasury: commissions are issued by the Department of the Treasury's Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, not a Secretary of State. The process kept one old-fashioned quirk — every application still needs a legislative endorsement, handled inside the online system — while the 2021 overhaul (P.L. 2021, c.179) dragged everything else forward: mandatory e-filing, an exam for new non-attorney applicants, required journals and stamps, and legal authority for remote notarization.
The practical path: study the state manual, file online with $25, pass the portal exam if you're new and not an attorney, then get sworn in at your county clerk's office within three months — a hard deadline that cancels your commission if missed. With no bond to buy, most people are commissioned for well under $100 including the stamp and journal.
Know the fee math before you plan a business around it. New Jersey caps ordinary acts at $2.50 and bundles real estate signings into $15 and $25 flat maximums, among the lowest in the country. The upside of the 2021 law is remote notarization: any commissioned notary can add it by notifying the Treasurer and picking a compliant technology — no second commission and no separate state fee listed.
Who can become a notary in New Jersey?
- Age: at least 18 years old.
- Residency: You must be a legal resident of New Jersey, or have a place of employment or practice in the state. Non-residents certify their New Jersey office or employer in the online application and must report any change while commissioned.
- Background: The State Treasurer may deny an application based on your record — DORES guidance points to convictions involving dishonesty and first- or second-degree crimes as disqualifying. If you have a conviction, contact the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services before paying the fee.
- Applications must be endorsed by a member of the New Jersey Legislature — the online system handles routing this endorsement.
- Non-attorney notaries may not use titles implying they are lawyers, and foreign-language ads must carry a required 'I am not an attorney' notice.
How to apply: step by step
- Study the New Jersey Notary Public Manual and the Treasury's training video series — they are the official prep materials for the exam.
- File the commissioning application online through the Notary Public Application System at njportal.com/DOR/Notary and pay the $25 non-refundable fee. The application includes the legislative endorsement step required by state law.
- If you're a new non-attorney applicant, take and pass the Notary Public Exam online through the same portal. The law lets the Treasurer charge up to $15 per online test.
- Receive your commission certificate from the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services (DORES).
- Within three months, appear before the clerk of the county where you live (non-residents: the county of your New Jersey office or employer) to take the oath of office. County clerks charge their own fee — Bergen County, for example, charges $15. Miss the three-month window and the Treasurer cancels the commission.
- The clerk sends your qualification certificate to the Treasurer within 10 days. Then buy your official stamp — it must show your name, 'Notary Public, State of New Jersey', and your commission expiration date — and set up the journal state law requires.
How long it takes: DORES does not publish a fixed processing time for commissions. The oath clock is the deadline that matters: three months from your commission date to be sworn in at the county clerk, or the commission is canceled.
What it costs in New Jersey
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| State application fee | $25 | Total out-of-pocket usually stays under $100: $25 to the state, the exam fee, a county clerk charge, and supplies. New Jersey requires no bond, which keeps startup costs low. |
| Required course | Varies by provider | The 2021 law requires new non-attorney applicants to complete a six-hour course of study approved by the State Treasurer plus the exam; in practice the portal directs applicants through the official manual and training-video series. Renewals call for a three-hour continuing education course. Confirm the currently approved study format with DORES before relying on a third-party class. |
| Exam | See notes | Required for first-time applicants who are not licensed New Jersey attorneys. It's taken online through the state's notary portal, based on the Notary Public Manual, and the Treasurer may charge up to $15 per test. Renewing notaries who already passed once don't retest. |
| Online exam fee for new non-attorney applicants | up to $15 per attempt. | |
| County clerk oath/qualification fee — set by each county's fee schedule (Bergen County charges $15). | — | |
| Official stamp and journal from private vendors. | — | |
| Stamp & journal | $20–$60 (typical retail) | Estimate across major suppliers — see our supplies checklist. |
| Realistic total (estimate) | About $45–$185 |
Exam and training
Exam: Required for first-time applicants who are not licensed New Jersey attorneys. It's taken online through the state's notary portal, based on the Notary Public Manual, and the Treasurer may charge up to $15 per test. Renewing notaries who already passed once don't retest.
Required course: The 2021 law requires new non-attorney applicants to complete a six-hour course of study approved by the State Treasurer plus the exam; in practice the portal directs applicants through the official manual and training-video series. Renewals call for a three-hour continuing education course. Confirm the currently approved study format with DORES before relying on a third-party class.
Can you notarize online in New Jersey? RON allowed
Yes — New Jersey authorizes remote online notarization (RON). Authorized by P.L. 2021, c.179 (N.J.S.A. 52:7-10 et seq.), the same law that modernized the whole commissioning system. No separate state registration fee is listed — confirm current technology-notification instructions with DORES.
To add RON to your commission: Any commissioned New Jersey notary can add remote and electronic notarization without a separate commission: before your first remote act you must notify the State Treasurer electronically, identify the communication technologies you'll use, and update your commission record through the portal's 'Remote/Electronic Notarization' option. Sessions require identity proofing through approved methods, an audio-visual recording, and retention of that recording for 10 years.
Full guide: how to become a remote online notary.
After you're commissioned
Get your stamp and journal. Every notarial act must be evidenced by a certificate and stamped. The official stamp must include your name, the title 'Notary Public, State of New Jersey', and your commission expiration date, and it must photocopy cleanly with the document. No shape or size is mandated. The stamping device legally belongs to you, not your employer — even if the employer paid for it. See the new-notary supplies checklist and New Jersey stamp requirements before you order.
What you can charge: New Jersey caps notary fees at $2.50 per notarial act. The official fee schedule is unusually low: $2.50 for administering an oath, taking an affidavit, proof of deed, or acknowledgment. Real estate work uses flat bundles instead — $15 for all grantor acknowledgments in a single property-transfer transaction and $25 for all mortgagor acts in a single financing transaction. These caps make ordinary walk-in notarization close to a courtesy service in New Jersey.
E&O insurance: Not required. Since New Jersey also has no bond, an optional errors-and-omissions policy is the only financial backstop a notary here can carry against claims over a mistake.
Earning more with your commission
Most new notaries who turn the commission into real income do it through loan signings — notarizing mortgage document packages for title companies. If that interests you, start with what a loan signing agent actually does and earns. Loan signing agent guide
New Jersey notary FAQ
Do I need a state legislator to sign off on my New Jersey notary application?
State law still requires each application to be endorsed by a member of the Legislature, a rule New Jersey has kept even after its 2021 modernization. You don't chase down a signature yourself — the endorsement is built into the online application flow. It adds a routing step, not real work for you.
Is there a New Jersey notary exam?
Yes, for first-time applicants who aren't licensed New Jersey attorneys. The test is taken online through the Notary Public Application System, draws from the official Notary Public Manual and training videos, and can cost up to $15 per sitting. Once you've passed and hold a commission, renewals don't require retesting as long as your commission hasn't lapsed.
What happens if I skip the county clerk oath in New Jersey?
Your commission dies. You have three months from your commission date to take the oath before your county clerk (your work county if you live out of state), and the Treasurer must cancel any commission where the oath isn't taken in time. The clerk charges a modest fee — $15 in Bergen County — and forwards your qualification certificate to the state within 10 days.
Why are New Jersey notary fees so low?
The statutory schedule allows just $2.50 per ordinary act, with flat caps of $15 for all grantor acknowledgments in one real estate transfer and $25 for all mortgagor acts in one financing. That makes per-act income negligible — New Jersey notaries who earn from the commission do it through signing services, remote notarization platforms, or as part of a broader job.
Does New Jersey require a notary journal?
Yes, since the 2021 law took effect. You keep one journal — bound paper or tamper-evident electronic — logging every act with the date, document, signer, identification used, and fees charged, and you retain it for 10 years after the last entry. Attorneys admitted in New Jersey may rely on their law-practice records instead.
Official sources
Every requirement on this page traces to one of these official sources.
- Notary Public Program — NJ Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services
- New Jersey Notary Public Manual (PDF) — NJ Department of the Treasury
- Notary Public Law (P.L. 2021, c.179) overview — NJ Department of the Treasury
- Notary Public Application System — NJ Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services
- Notary Public commission registration (county oath step) — Bergen County Clerk