2.2 Application Process

Application Process

Passing the exam earns you a "PASSED" notice, not a commission. To actually become a notary you must complete the appointment process: file an application with the Department of State, pay the fee, and execute the oath of office. The exam tests these mechanics, the $60 fee, the oath of office, the county clerk's role, and the 4-year term, so commit the sequence and the numbers to memory.

The Appointment Sequence

The order matters. For most applicants the exam comes first, the application is built around the PASSED notice. The two exempt groups, New York-admitted attorneys and qualifying Unified Court System clerks, skip step 1 but perform every other step, including paying the $60 fee.

Filing Online Through NY Business Express

New York moved notary applications online. You apply through NY Business Express under Notary Public Commission (DOS-0033), signing in with (or creating) a NY.gov account. A detail the exam and the real process both emphasize: you must download, complete, and scan the Oath of Office form into a PDF before you start the online application, because the system asks you to upload it during submission. Applicants who arrive at the upload step without a scanned oath get stuck.

The application asks for accurate personal information and your signature, and it carries a non-refundable $60 fee for the 4-year commission. Submitting an incomplete application, or one missing the fee or the oath, delays or voids the appointment.

Worked example, the order of operations: Aisha passes the exam on March 3 and receives her PASSED notice. She logs into NY Business Express, but realizes she has not prepared her Oath of Office. She downloads the form, signs it, scans it to PDF, then returns to the application, uploads the oath, pays the $60 fee, and submits. The Department of State reviews her character and qualifications and appoints her; once her application is approved, she receives a printable notary identification card by email, and her commission runs four years. Her county clerk now holds a record of her commission and official signature.

The Oath of Office

A notary is a public officer, and the New York Constitution and Public Officers Law require public officers to take an oath of office. For notaries the oath is integrated into the application, you complete the Oath of Office form, and it must accompany your application. The exam likes to confirm that an oath is genuinely required and is filed/recorded as part of becoming a notary, not skipped. A practical rule worth remembering: an oath of office is completed each time you apply for a new commission or for a reappointment/renewal, it is not a one-time event for life.

The Role of the County Clerk

The county clerk plays a specific, limited role that the exam tests carefully. The clerk does not appoint you, the Secretary of State (through the Department of State) does. Instead, the county clerk maintains the official record of your commission and your official signature. This recordkeeping serves the public: when someone later needs to confirm that a notarization is genuine, they can go to the county clerk's office to verify the notary's official signature against the record on file.

Notaries are commissioned in their county of residence (or business), which is why the clerk in that county holds the record. Even so, recall from the role chapter that once commissioned, a notary may act anywhere in New York State, the county of qualification governs where the record lives, not where you may notarize.

Non-Resident and Attorney Applicants

Two special cases recur on the exam. First, a non-resident may be appointed if they maintain an office or place of business in New York; their commission and signature are recorded with the clerk of the county where that business sits. Second, an attorney admitted to practice in New York is exempt from the exam, and one whose law office is in New York may be appointed, and keep the commission, while living in or moving to an adjoining state (Executive Law §130(2)); the attorney is treated as a resident of the county where that office is. Both still file the application and pay the $60 fee, the attorney is exempt from the exam, never from the fee or oath.

Term, Card, and Renewal

Once your application is approved, the Department of State issues your notary identification card: a printable card by email if you applied online, or a card by mail if you applied by mail. The commission runs for a 4-year term. To stay active, you must renew before expiration; renewal again involves the application, the $60 fee, and a fresh oath of office. Letting a commission lapse can force you to start over, including re-sitting the exam, so calendar your expiration date.

Recap

The appointment process is: pass the exam (unless exempt), prepare and scan the Oath of Office, apply online through NY Business Express (DOS-0033) with the $60 fee, and, once approved, receive a 4-year commission and an ID card (a printable card by email for online applicants). The Department of State appoints; the county clerk records the commission and official signature so the public can verify it. Attorneys and qualifying court clerks skip the exam but still apply, pay, and swear the oath.