3.3 Retention, Surrender, and Protecting Your Records

How Long Records Must Be Kept

Finishing a notarization does not end your responsibility for the record of it. Under A.R.S. 41-319, you must retain your journal for at least five years after the most recent journal entry. In practice this means you keep every filled journal — not just the active one — until five years have passed since its last entry. Because a single bound journal can hold years of acts, most notaries simply hold each completed book for five years from its final entry before considering disposal, and many keep them longer as a precaution. Knowing the 5-year number cold is essential; the exam pairs it against decoys like "1 year" or "10 years."

The retention duty exists because a notarial act can be questioned long after it occurs — a contested deed, a disputed power of attorney, or an estate fight may surface years later. A complete, retained journal lets you (and investigators) reconstruct exactly what happened.

What Happens to the Journal When the Commission Ends

Your authority — and your custody of official tools — does not simply lapse quietly. When your commission ends, Arizona requires you to surrender your seal, journal, and records to the Secretary of State. This applies to every way a commission can end:

Key rules to memorize:

1. Method: deliver by certified mail or another method that provides a receipt, so you can prove the records arrived.
2. Exception: records of notarial acts that are not public records are excepted from delivery (they follow the employer-ownership rule from Section 2.2).
3. Deadline and penalty: under A.R.S. 41-317, a former notary (or the personal representative of a deceased notary) who neglects for three months to deposit the records, device, and papers forfeits not less than $50 nor more than $500 to the state.
4. No reuse: once surrendered, the stamp is out of your hands; you must not keep a working copy of your old stamp.

Worked Example: Maria's 4-year commission expires June 30, and she decides not to renew. By the end of September (within three months) she mails her official stamp and her completed journals to the Arizona Secretary of State by certified mail, keeping the receipt. Because one journal contains only public-record entries, it goes with the rest; an employer-owned journal of not-public-record acts stays with her former employer. Maria avoids the $50-$500 forfeiture and has proof of timely delivery. Had she waited until October, she could have been assessed the forfeiture.

Protecting the Journal and Seal From Misuse

Throughout your commission you must keep both the stamp and the journal under your exclusive control. Practical safeguards the exam expects you to apply:

• Never lend the stamp or journal. Allowing another person to perform or record acts with your tools is serious misconduct that can trigger commission revocation and personal civil liability.
• Secure storage. Keep them locked away when not in use; do not leave the stamp on a desk or the journal open and unattended.
• Transport carefully. Mobile notaries bring the journal and stamp to appointments but must not let them out of sight.
• Report loss immediately. As covered in Section 2.1, a lost, stolen, or compromised stamp or journal must be reported to the Secretary of State within 10 days (and theft to law enforcement), or a $1,000 penalty applies.

Electronic and Remote Records

Arizona separately authorizes electronic notarization and remote online notarization (RON), which use their own electronic records. A RON notary keeps an electronic journal and an audiovisual (AV) recording of each remote act, and Arizona requires those recordings to be retained (commonly cited as five years). When you operate under a RON authorization through an approved platform, the electronic journal and AV recording supplement — and for remote acts replace — the paper journal, but the same principles apply: complete, secure, and retained records. (RON is covered in depth in its own chapter.)

Responding to Records Requests and Subpoenas

Because public-record journal entries are open records, members of the public may request copies. A valid written request must identify the month and year of the act, the name of the individual whose signature was notarized, and the type of record or transaction. When a proper request arrives, locate the matching entry and provide the public-record information.

Law enforcement, courts, the Secretary of State, or attorneys may also seek records through an investigation or subpoena. This is exactly why retention and accuracy matter: a complete journal lets you respond confidently, prove you followed proper procedure, and protect yourself. Respond to lawful requests and subpoenas, but route legal process appropriately and, when in doubt about scope or privacy, seek guidance before disclosing not-public-record entries.

Key Takeaways

• Retain each journal at least 5 years after its last entry (A.R.S. 41-319).
• On resignation, revocation, expiration without reappointment, or death, deliver the seal, journal, and records (except not-public-record entries) to the Secretary of State by a receipted method.
• Neglecting for three months to deposit them forfeits $50-$500 to the state (A.R.S. 41-317).
• Keep the stamp and journal under exclusive control, retain RON electronic journals and AV recordings, and answer proper public-record requests and subpoenas.