2.1 Eligibility Requirements

Who Can Become a Nebraska Notary

Eligibility is governed by Nebraska Revised Statutes Chapter 64 and administered by the Nebraska Secretary of State (SOS). Five gates must all be cleared before the Secretary will issue a commission: age, citizenship/legal status, residency or qualifying employment, a clean criminal record, and English literacy. Failing any one gate stops the application — there is no waiver path, and the SOS verifies each on the application itself.

Gate 1: Age — 19, Not 18

Nebraska requires applicants to be at least 19 years old. This is a classic exam trap because roughly 45 states set the floor at 18. Nebraska sets 19 because 19 is the age of majority for several civil purposes in the state. If a question asks the minimum age and offers both 18 and 19, the correct answer for Nebraska is 19.

Gate 2: Citizenship or Legal Residency

You must be a U.S. citizen or a qualified legal resident — a lawful permanent resident (green-card holder) or a person holding a valid work visa. Undocumented status disqualifies. A non-citizen with valid work authorization can still qualify provided the residency/employment gate is also met.

Gate 3: Residency — Including Bordering-State Workers

You qualify if you are a Nebraska resident, OR if you live in a bordering state and are regularly employed (or maintain a place of business) in Nebraska. Nebraska has exactly six bordering states. Memorize them — a favorite exam item lists a non-bordering state as a distractor.

Non-residents must attach proof of Nebraska employment (employer name, address, and the Nebraska work location) to the application. Merely owning property in Nebraska, or occasionally driving through, does not satisfy the "regularly employed" standard.

Gate 4: Criminal Record — The 5-Year Lookback

You are disqualified if, within the past five years, you were convicted of a felony or of any crime involving fraud or dishonesty (e.g., forgery, theft by deception, credit-card fraud, embezzlement). The clock runs from the date of conviction, not the date of the offense or release.

Worked example: Maria was convicted of credit-card fraud on March 1, 2022. Today is March 1, 2026 — only four years have elapsed, so she remains disqualified until March 1, 2027. The bar is not permanent: once five full years pass, the conviction no longer blocks her. Contrast this with an applicant convicted six years ago — fully eligible today.

Gate 5: English Literacy

Applicants must be able to read and write English, because notarial certificates and the journal are completed in English, and the applicant must affirm they have read and understand Nebraska notary law.

Reading the Residency Rule Carefully

The bordering-state provision exists because the Nebraska economy draws commuters from Omaha's metro across the Iowa line and from communities along the Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota, and Wyoming borders. The statute's intent is to let people who genuinely conduct business in Nebraska serve Nebraska signers, not to let anyone in a neighboring region claim a Nebraska commission. That is why the standard is "regularly employed" or maintaining a place of business, not mere presence.

Examiners frequently test the difference: a Wyoming rancher who occasionally sells cattle at a Nebraska auction is not "regularly employed" in Nebraska, whereas a Kansas accountant who commutes daily to a Lincoln firm is. When you see a residency scenario, ask two questions in order — (1) is the home state one of the six borders, and (2) is the work in Nebraska regular and ongoing? Both must be true for a non-resident to qualify.

How the Five-Year Lookback Is Measured

Candidates routinely miss the measurement point. The five years run from the conviction date, which is the date judgment was entered, not the date of the underlying act and not the date a sentence was completed. A person who committed fraud in 2018 but was not convicted until 2023 is measured from 2023. Likewise, the disqualification is time-limited, not permanent — Nebraska does not impose a lifetime ban for a single past fraud once five clean years have elapsed.

This contrasts with a common distractor that claims fraud is a "permanent bar." Note also the breadth of the trigger: it captures any crime involving fraud or dishonesty, so offenses such as forgery, passing bad checks, identity theft, and embezzlement all count even if charged as misdemeanors. Ordinary traffic violations and most non-dishonesty misdemeanors do not.

Common Trap

Do not confuse eligibility with exam performance. Meeting all five gates does not commission you — you must still pass the exam (Section 2.2) and complete the application and bond (Section 2.3). Conversely, passing the exam does nothing if a disqualifying felony surfaces on the application. A second frequent trap pairs the age rule with citizenship: remember that a lawful permanent resident or valid-work-visa holder can qualify — citizenship is not strictly required — but the 19-year age floor applies to everyone with no exceptions.