First Time Notary Applicants

1. You must first meet the qualifications to be eligible to become a notary public.
2. You’ll need to complete the North Carolina Secretary of State’s procedures.
3. You will be notified to visit our office and be sworn in. No appointment is necessary to visit our Statesville or Mooresville locations for your oath of office.

Notary Reappointment

You will need to visit the North Carolina Secretary of State’s website to renew your notary commission. A commissioned notary may apply for recommissioning no earlier than 10 weeks prior to the expiration date of the notary’s commission. After completing their renewal process you will be notified to visit our office and be sworn back in. No appointment is necessary to visit our Statesville or Mooresville location for your oath of office.

Application Document

The Application for North Carolina Notary Public Reappointment (PDF) is available to access and complete.

Notary Name Change

Within 45 days after the legal change of a notary’s name, the notary shall send to the secretary by fax, email, or certified mail with return receipt requested and a signed notice of the change. The notice shall include both the notary’s former name and the notary’s new name.

Using the Former Name

A notary with a new name may continue to use the former name in performing notarial acts until all of the following steps have been completed:

1. The notary receives a confirmation of Notary’s Name Change from the secretary.
2. The notary obtains a new seal bearing the new name exactly as that name appears in the confirmation from the secretary.
3. The notary appears before the register of deeds to which the commission was delivered within 45 days of the effective date of the change to be duly qualified by taking the general oath of office prescribed in G.S. 11-11 and the oath prescribed for officers in G.S. 11-7 under the new name and to have the notary public record changed to reflect the new commissioned name.