3.3 Education and Examination Requirements

The 6-Hour Course

Under G.S. 10B-8 and the rules in Title 18 of the North Carolina Administrative Code (NCAC), Chapter 7, first-time applicants must complete a minimum six (6) hours of classroom instruction from an NC community college or other Secretary-of-State-approved provider. Some colleges schedule the class across longer blocks, but the statutory floor is six instructional hours. Attorneys licensed by the NC State Bar are the only group exempt.

Required Reading: The Guidebook

Every applicant must purchase and possess the current edition of the official NC Notary Public Guidebook, published by the UNC School of Government and sold through the Secretary of State. You keep it as a desk reference for the entire commission. Using an outdated edition is a common error — statutes change, and the exam is written to the current edition.

What the Course Covers

• Chapter 10B of the General Statutes (the Notary Public Act)
• The recognized notarial acts: acknowledgments, jurats/verifications, oaths and affirmations
• Identification standards and acceptable ID documents
• Step-by-step notarization procedure and the notarial certificate
• Prohibited acts, conflicts of interest, and unauthorized practice of law
• Electronic and remote notarization fundamentals

The Examination

Notice the two different clocks. You must sit the exam within 30 days of completing the course, but you have a longer window — three months from course completion — to actually mail the application to the Secretary of State. Mixing up the 30-day exam clock with the 3-month application clock is a frequent exam mistake.

Timeline At A Glance

Reappointment (Renewal)

Renewing notaries are not required to retake the full 6-hour course in the same way, but they must pass a reappointment exam at the same 80% bar. The reappointment test can be taken online through the Secretary of State, with up to 3 attempts in a short window; failing all three forces a return to the full education course.

Worked Example

Aisha finishes her course on March 1. She takes the exam on March 20 (within 30 days ✓) and passes at 84% (≥80% ✓). She mails her application on May 15. March 1 to May 15 is under three months, so she is inside the application window. Had she waited until June 5 to mail it, she would be past the 3-month limit and would have to repeat the course and exam.

Why the 80% Bar Is High

Most states either require no exam at all or set a lower passing mark. North Carolina's 80% reflects the breadth of duties an NC notary handles — acknowledgments, jurats, oaths, and electronic acts — and the legal consequences of an improper notarization, which can void a deed or contract. The exam is drawn directly from the current Guidebook and Chapter 10B, so the most efficient preparation is to study the statute language and the procedural steps rather than rely on memory of how another state operates.

Study Strategy for the Exam

Because the test rewards precise recall of numbers and procedures, build your study around the hard facts that recur: the 6-hour minimum, the 80% pass mark, the 30-day exam window, the 3-attempt cap, the 3-month application window, the 45-day oath deadline, the $50 application fee, and the $10 oath fee. Pair each number with the office it belongs to (Secretary of State vs. Register of Deeds) and the consequence of missing it.

Reappointment Nuance

Reappointment is not merely paperwork. A lapsed notary who lets the commission expire and reapplies after a gap may be treated as a new applicant for some requirements, so renew before expiration. The reappointment exam covers the same Chapter 10B material; statutes are amended periodically, so a renewing notary cannot rely solely on knowledge from five years earlier. Always study the current Guidebook edition for both initial and renewal testing, since the office writes questions to the edition in force on the test date.