2.2 Application Process

A Fully Online Process

As of April 6, 2022, the Lieutenant Governor's Office no longer accepts mailed notary documents — everything runs through notary.utah.gov. The portal walks you through the steps in order and will not unlock the next step until the prior one is complete (for example, you cannot start the application until you have passed the exam).

Step-by-Step

Step 1 — Create Your Account

Register with the exact legal name you want printed on your commission, bond, and seal. A mismatch between the name on the application, the bond, and the stamp is the single most common cause of rejected uploads. If your name reads "Maria T. Gonzalez" on the bond, it must read identically on the application and the stamp. Decide on your form of name before you start, because the bond and oath are notarized physical documents that are expensive and slow to redo if they disagree with what you typed into the portal.

A middle initial, a hyphenated surname, or a suffix like "Jr." must appear the same way everywhere or the Lieutenant Governor's reviewer will return the file.

Step 2 — Study, Then Take the Open-Book Exam

The official Utah Notary Public Study Guide and Handbook (free on notary.utah.gov) is the source for every exam question. The test is open-book, meaning you may reference the handbook while testing — but do not let "open-book" lull you. The questions are written to require locating the precise rule, and with a passing margin of only 4 lost points, fishing through the handbook for every answer will leave you short. Treat the open-book allowance as a safety net for a few hard items, not as a substitute for studying.

Knowing where each rule lives in the handbook — eligibility, identification, journal, fees, prohibited acts — lets you confirm answers fast instead of searching cold.

Scoring strategy: Missing a single 4-point question costs as much as missing four 1-point questions. To reach 61 you can afford to lose only 4 points total — so the 4-point items are effectively must-answer-correctly questions.

Step 3 — Pay the Fee

Fees are non-refundable. The $40 retake window runs 30 days from the first test date; miss it and you start over at the full $95.

Step 4 — Authorize the Background Check

After passing, the portal prompts you to authorize the background check. Results go directly to the Lieutenant Governor (mandatory since November 1, 2019).

Step 5 — Obtain the $5,000 Surety Bond

Buy a $5,000, four-year notarial bond from a surety company authorized in Utah (premium is typically around $50). The bond's effective start date becomes your commission start date — a fact the exam tests directly.

Step 6 — Notarize the Oath of Office

Sign the Oath of Office in front of another commissioned notary, who notarizes your signature. You cannot notarize your own oath. This is a sworn promise to perform your duties faithfully.

Step 7 — Upload the Documents

Upload the original signed bond and the notarized Oath of Office to the portal. Then purchase your stamp and journal from a third-party vendor (the state does not sell them).

Processing and the Commission Certificate

Review takes roughly two weeks after all documents are received. On approval you receive the Certificate of Authority of Notary Public, which lists your commission number, the start and expiration dates, and the exact name for your seal. Do not order your stamp until you know the exact commission number, name, and expiration date from the certificate, because the seal must reproduce them precisely; ordering early risks a stamp that does not match and cannot be used.

A common sequencing mistake worth memorizing: you must pass the exam first, then authorize the background check, then obtain the bond and oath, then upload. You cannot post the bond before passing, and you cannot be commissioned with an unsigned oath or an unsigned bond. The portal enforces this order, and the exam may ask you to put the steps in the correct sequence.

The mnemonic is: Account, Exam, Background, Bond, Oath, Upload, Stamp — study and test, then prove your trustworthiness, then post your financial guarantee, then swear your oath, then submit, then equip yourself with the seal and journal you buy from a private vendor (the state sells neither).

Exam Quick-Hits

• Open-book exam: 35 questions, 65 points, 61 to pass.
• $95 = $55 administration + $40 testing; $40 retake within 30 days.
• Bond start date = commission start date.
• Oath of Office must be notarized by another notary.
• Everything uploads to notary.utah.gov; no mail since April 6, 2022.