4.2 Training and Examination
Key Takeaways
- The Colorado Secretary of State provides the official training and examination at no cost (FREE)
- The eLearning training takes roughly 4 hours and must be completed before the exam
- The examination has 40 multiple-choice questions and is open-book with no time limit
- A passing score is 80%, which equals 32 correct answers out of 40
- Both first-time and renewing notaries must complete training and pass the exam every 4-year cycle
- There is no limit on retakes; you may retake the exam after a failed attempt
Free Official Training and Exam
Colorado stands out nationally because the Secretary of State delivers both the required training and the examination free of charge through its online eLearning portal. There is no mandatory paid course and no third-party testing vendor; private courses exist but are optional convenience products, not requirements. This is why Colorado's total out-of-pocket cost is so low (covered in 4.3).
Training Logistics
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Provider | Colorado Secretary of State (sos.state.co.us) |
| Cost | FREE |
| Format | Self-paced online eLearning modules |
| Estimated time | About 4 hours |
| Sequence | Must be completed before taking the exam |
The training is built around RULONA and the official Colorado Notary Handbook. High-yield modules include: types of notarial acts (acknowledgments, jurats/verifications on oath or affirmation, signature witnessing, copy certification, oaths and affirmations); satisfactory evidence of identity; journal recordkeeping; the notary stamp/seal specifications; electronic notarization and Remote Notarization (RON); prohibited acts and conflicts of interest; and the civil and criminal penalties for misconduct.
Examination Specifications
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Total questions | 40 multiple-choice |
| Passing score | 80% = 32 correct |
| Format | Online, open-book |
| Time limit | None |
| Cost | FREE |
| Delivery | Remote — any internet-connected device |
Because the exam is open-book, you may consult your training materials, the Notary Handbook, and the text of RULONA while testing, and there is no live proctor. This does not make it trivial: the questions test whether you can locate and apply the rule, so candidates who skipped the training and cannot navigate the handbook still fail. Treat open-book as a reason to keep your handbook organized and tabbed, not a reason to skip studying.
Scoring Math You Should Know
- 80% of 40 = 32 correct; you can miss at most 8 questions.
- 31 correct = 77.5% = fail. There is no rounding up to a pass.
- A score of 28 (70%) or 30 (75%) — common distractor figures on practice exams — does not pass in Colorado.
Retakes
| Scenario | Result |
|---|---|
| Fail first attempt | May retake; no waiting period imposed by statute |
| Multiple failures | No cap on number of attempts |
| Best practice | Re-review weak modules and the handbook before retaking |
New vs. Renewing Notaries — No Exemption
A frequently missed point: since the July 1, 2018 RULONA transition, renewing notaries are not exempt from training or testing. Every applicant — first-time or renewing for a new four-year term — must complete the training and pass the exam again each cycle. Experience does not waive the requirement.
Worked Example
Devon renews online, completes the eLearning, and scores 30 of 40 on the exam. He assumes 30/40 "is basically passing." It is not: 30/40 is 75%, below the 80% threshold, so he must retake until he reaches 32 correct. Because the exam is open-book with no time limit, he can immediately review the handbook sections he missed and retake the same day.
How to Study an Open-Book, No-Time-Limit Exam
The open-book, untimed format changes the optimal study strategy. Because you can look up rules during the test, raw memorization matters less than knowing where the answer lives. Build a one-page index that maps each exam topic to the relevant handbook section: identification standards, journal entry contents, stamp dimensions and required text, the difference between an acknowledgment and a jurat, prohibited acts, and fee limits. During the exam, treat any question you are unsure of as a lookup task rather than a guess.
Candidates who fail an open-book notary exam almost always do so because they never opened the handbook and could not navigate it under pressure.
The questions themselves are application-oriented. Rather than "What is RULONA?" expect items like: "A signer cannot be located but has phoned in their consent — may you notarize?" (no), or "Which act requires the signer to swear an oath?" (a jurat / verification on oath or affirmation). Knowing the category of each notarial act is more valuable than memorizing statute numbers.
Common Pitfalls on the Training and Exam Step
| Pitfall | Why it bites | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Skipping the training to "just take the open-book exam" | You can't find answers fast enough; you fail | Do the full eLearning first |
| Assuming 70% or 75% passes | Those are distractor scores; 80% is the bar | Target 32+ correct |
| Renewing notary assumes exemption | No grandfathering since 2018 | Retrain and retest every cycle |
| Letting the 4-hour course expire mentally before testing | You forget the handbook layout | Test soon after finishing training |
The 2018 RULONA Turning Point
Before July 1, 2018, Colorado had no mandatory exam at all. The RULONA adoption introduced the free training-plus-exam regime and applied it to everyone, including long-time notaries renewing for the first time under the new law. That is the historical reason there is no experience exemption — the requirement was deliberately made universal.
Exam Pointers
- Memorize the trio: 40 questions, 80% pass, 32 correct.
- The exam is open-book with no time limit — and free.
- Renewing notaries must train and test again — there is no grandfather exemption.
- Study by indexing the handbook, not by rote memorization.
- The official course and exam come from the Secretary of State, not a private vendor.
A Colorado notary candidate answers 30 of the 40 exam questions correctly. What is the outcome?
Which statement about Colorado's notary training and exam is TRUE?