3.5 Oath of Office and Commission

Activating the Commission

Approval by the Secretary of State does not make you a notary. The commission only becomes effective when you appear before the county Register of Deeds and take the oath of office. Under G.S. 10B-11, the appointee must qualify by taking the general oath of office (G.S. 11-11) and the oath for officers (G.S. 11-7).

The 45-day clock is the most heavily tested fact in this chapter. If the oath is not taken in time, the commission is cancelled, and the entire process — application, fee, possibly even course and exam — must be repeated. There is no extension and no late fee that cures it.

What the Oath Pledges

The notary swears to:

• Faithfully and impartially perform the duties of the office
• Support and maintain the Constitution of the United States
• Support and maintain the Constitution of North Carolina
• Comply with all notary laws and administrative rules

After You Are Sworn In

1. The Register of Deeds files the oath in the county record.
2. You receive (or can obtain) your commission certificate.
3. You are now an officially commissioned notary and may perform notarial acts.
4. You must obtain a compliant seal/stamp before notarizing your first document.

Commission Facts

Statewide Authority

A North Carolina notary may perform acts anywhere in the state, regardless of the county of commission or residence. A Wake County notary can lawfully notarize in Asheville. The county on your commission identifies your oath jurisdiction; it does not limit where you may notarize.

Your Notary Seal

Before performing any notarial act, you must secure an official seal containing, at minimum:

• Your name exactly as it appears on the commission
• The words "Notary Public"
• "North Carolina" (or "NC")
• The county where you were commissioned
• Your commission expiration date

The seal must be a clear, reproducible rubber/inked stamp or embosser-with-ink that photocopies legibly; an embossment alone that does not reproduce is non-compliant for documents that will be recorded.

Worked Example

Priya's commission is issued June 1 with an expiration of May 31 five years later. She is busy and goes to the Register of Deeds on July 20. June 1 to July 20 is 49 days — past the 45-day limit — so her commission is void and she must reapply. Had she gone by July 16 (day 45), paid the $10, and been sworn, she could notarize anywhere in North Carolina for the next five years.

Calculating the 45 Days Correctly

The deadline runs from the commission issuance date, not from the day you receive the Notification Letter in the mail. Because the letter takes time to arrive, you may have fewer usable days than you think. Treat the issuance date printed on your paperwork as Day 0, count 45 calendar days (weekends included), and go to the Register of Deeds before that date. Call ahead — some county offices require an appointment or have limited oath hours, and you do not want a scheduling snag to push you past Day 45.

What Happens If the Commission Is Void

A voided commission cannot be revived by paying a fee or asking for grace; the office has no statutory authority to extend it. You must reapply to the Secretary of State. Depending on how much time has passed, you may also have to retake the course and exam if your original course-completion date is now older than the application window. In short, the 45-day oath step is cheap ($10) but the cost of missing it is the entire process over again.

Seal Compliance Details

Your seal is the physical proof of your authority, and a defective seal can invalidate the documents you notarize. North Carolina requires the seal to reproduce clearly when photocopied, which is why a plain embosser (a raised, inkless impression) is insufficient for documents that will be recorded — registers of deeds need a legible photocopy.

Renewal Before Expiration

The 5-year term ends on a fixed expiration date printed on the commission. To stay continuously commissioned, begin the reappointment process well before that date: pass the reappointment exam at 80%, file the reappointment application, and complete a fresh oath if required. Let the commission lapse and you cannot notarize until you are recommissioned — and a gap may force you to be treated as a new applicant. Statewide jurisdiction, the 5-year term, the 45-day oath, and the $10 fee are the four facts most likely to appear together on the exam, so anchor them as a set.