3.2 The Notarial Journal: Required Entries and Recordkeeping

The Journal Is Your Legal Memory

Arizona law requires every notary to keep a journal — also called a record book — that chronicles all notarial acts. The journal is far more than busywork: it is often the single most important piece of evidence if a notarization is later challenged in court, investigated by the Secretary of State, or questioned in a fraud claim. Because a complete journal can clear a notary of wrongdoing (and a missing or sloppy one can sink one), the Prometric exam tests journal format, required entries, timing, and ownership in detail.

Required Format: Paper, Bound, Chronological

Under A.R.S. 41-319, a notary "shall keep a paper journal" to chronicle all notarial acts performed regarding tangible (paper) records, and must record those acts in chronological order. The Secretary of State recommends the journal be permanently bound so pages cannot be removed or inserted.

• Paper, not electronic: for traditional (in-person, paper) notarizations, an electronic-only spreadsheet or app is not an acceptable substitute for the paper journal. (Remote online notarizations follow their own electronic-journal rules, covered later in this guide.)
• Bound: loose-leaf or spiral journals invite tampering; a permanently bound book preserves integrity.
• One journal at a time: keep a single active journal; when it fills, start a new one and retain the old.
• Chronological / sequential: acts are entered in time order, creating a continuous numbered record with no gaps.

The Seven Required Entries

For each notarial act you must record the following. Exam questions love to drop one item and ask which is missing, or to add an item Arizona does not require (such as the signer's Social Security number — never recorded).

A few exam-critical nuances:

• Time of day is good practice and is often recorded, but A.R.S. 41-319 does not list the time as a separately required field — the statute requires the date. Do not over-claim on the exam.
• Thumbprints are not required by Arizona statute. Some notaries take them voluntarily for higher-risk documents, but a question stating Arizona mandates thumbprints is false.
• Address of each individual is required — a frequent distractor omits it.

Make Entries Contemporaneously

Entries must be made at the time of the notarization (contemporaneously), while the signer is present — never reconstructed later from memory or back-dated. Complete the entry and obtain the signer's journal signature before the signer leaves. If you notice missing information after the fact, you generally cannot fix it from memory; record what you can verify and never alter a past entry to mislead.

Worked Example: A signer appears at 2:30 p.m. with a Power of Attorney for an acknowledgment, shows an unexpired Arizona driver license, signs your journal, and pays the $10 fee. A correct entry reads: "06/14/2026 — Power of Attorney, Acknowledgment — John R. Smith, 100 Main St, Mesa AZ — [signature] — AZ DL #D01234567 exp. 03/2029 — Fee $10.00." Every required field is present, the signer signed in person, and the entry was completed before he left. That single line can later prove you verified identity, appeared the signer, and charged a lawful fee.

Correcting Mistakes the Right Way

Never erase, use pencil, or apply white-out — those scream tampering. To fix an error, draw a single line through the incorrect text so it remains readable, write the correction nearby, and initial and date it. The original entry must stay visible; the integrity of a bound, chronological journal depends on it.

Who Owns the Journal?

Arizona splits journal ownership based on whether the entries are public records:

• A journal containing entries that are not public records is the property of the notary's employer, and the employer must retain it if the notary leaves that job.
• A journal containing only public-record entries is the property of the notary, regardless of whether the employer bought the journal or paid the commissioning fees.

Members of the public may request copies of public-record journal entries in writing, specifying the month and year of the act, the name of the individual whose signature was notarized, and the type of record or transaction.

Key Takeaways

• Keep one paper, permanently bound, chronological journal for tangible-record notarizations (A.R.S. 41-319).
• Record seven items per act: date, document/act description, each individual's full name and address, their signature, the evidence of identity, the ID description with issuance/expiration date, and the fee.
• Make entries contemporaneously; never back-date, erase, or use pencil. Correct errors with a single strike-through, initialed and dated.
• Ownership turns on public-record status: public-record journals belong to the notary; mixed/non-public journals belong to the employer.