7.1 Application and Commissioning Fees

What You Pay and to Whom

Becoming a Louisiana notary is a fee-heavy, multi-step process, and the exam tests whether you know the exact dollar amounts and the order in which they are paid. Money flows to two different recipients: the Louisiana Secretary of State (SOS), which collects the qualification, examination, and commissioning fees, and Louisiana State University (LSU), which administers the mandatory pre-assessment for non-attorney candidates.

Get these straight: candidates routinely confuse the $35 Application to Qualify with the $35 commissioning fee because the amounts match but the timing differs — one is paid up front to sit for the exam, the other is paid at the very end to issue the commission.

Add the SOS-side items ($35 + $100 + $35) and you get $200 going to the state. Layer in the $30 LSU pre-assessment and the $100 study guide and the non-attorney candidate spends roughly $300 before the surety bond, which is a separate purchase priced by the bonding company.

The Pre-Assessment Trap

The pre-assessment is the single most-missed logistics item. It is a mandatory online readiness test administered through LSU's continuing education program, and it must be completed at least 37 days before the date of the written examination. A candidate who pays the $100 exam fee but skips the pre-assessment deadline will be barred from sitting that administration and must wait for the next exam date — the exam is offered only on scheduled statewide dates, not on demand. The $30 pre-assessment fee is non-refundable, and so is the $100 study guide and the $100 exam fee. Treat all three as sunk costs once paid.

Attorney Exemptions

Licensed Louisiana attorneys take a dramatically cheaper path. Under Louisiana law an attorney admitted to practice in the state may become a notary without the examination and without the surety bond. They still pay the administrative fees needed to qualify and be commissioned.

The attorney's out-of-pocket cost to the SOS is roughly $70 (application plus commissioning), with no bond premium and no LSU pre-assessment.

Optional and Situational Fees

• Remote Online Notarization (RON) registration — a separate one-time fee to register as a RON-authorized notary, on top of the standard commission.
• Decorative wall certificate — an optional ornamental certificate; it confers no authority.
• Parish change — if a non-attorney later relocates, expect to pay another Application to Qualify and another commissioning fee.

Exam Anchors

• Application: $35 | Pre-assessment: $30 | Study guide: $100 | Exam: $100 | Commissioning: $35
• SOS-side total: $200; full non-attorney pre-bond outlay: ~$300
• Attorneys are exempt from the exam and the bond, not from the application and commissioning fees.

Sequencing the Spend: A Worked Timeline

The exam likes to test the order of payments because paying out of sequence wastes money. Here is the realistic cash-flow timeline for a non-attorney candidate, with running totals so you can see when each dollar leaves your pocket.

1. File the Application to Qualify ($35). This is the gatekeeper payment to the SOS; you cannot register for the exam without it. Running total: $35.
2. Buy the official study guide ($100). Non-refundable. The Louisiana exam is open-book on the printed Civil Code and statutory materials in many administrations, so the study guide and code books matter. Running total: $135.
3. Complete the LSU pre-assessment ($30), at least 37 days before the exam. Miss this window and the later steps stall. Running total: $165.
4. Pay the examination fee ($100) and sit the exam. Running total: $265.
5. Pass, then pay the commissioning fee ($35) and complete qualification. Running total: $300.
6. Purchase and file the surety bond (separate vendor) and file your oath. The bond premium is extra and varies by provider.

Refunds and Repeats

Nearly everything is non-refundable once paid: the application, the pre-assessment, the study guide, and the exam fee. A candidate who fails the exam does not get the $100 back and must pay the exam fee again to retake — the application and study guide do not have to be repurchased, but the exam fee does. Budget for a possible retake; the Louisiana notary exam is notoriously rigorous, and many candidates sit it more than once. The commissioning fee is paid only after a pass, so it is never wasted on a failed attempt.

Common Fee Traps on the Exam

• Mixing up the two $35 fees — Application to Qualify (up front) vs. commissioning (at the end). Same amount, different stage.
• Assuming the $50,000 bond means a $50,000 cash payment — the bond premium is a small fraction; the face amount is the coverage ceiling, not the price.
• Forgetting the LSU pre-assessment is separate from the SOS exam — two payees, two deadlines.
• Thinking attorneys pay nothing — they still owe the $35 application and $35 commissioning fees.