The Indiana Notary Public examination is the 30-question examination the Indiana Secretary of State delivers online in its Learner Hub, inside the commission application itself, that every applicant for an Indiana notary public commission — including an applicant reapplying for a subsequent commission — must pass after completing the Secretary of State’s education course. In the Secretary of State’s published form, the exam consists of 30 questions and you must score at least 80% (24 correct answers) to pass; a failed attempt may be retaken after a 24-hour wait, with an unlimited number of attempts. The commission it leads to runs eight years, on a $75 nonrefundable application fee that covers the education course and the examination, a $25,000 surety bond, and continuing education of not more than two hours every two years for the life of the commission.
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What this commission is
An Indiana notary public is a public official commissioned by the Indiana Secretary of State to perform notarial acts within the State of Indiana. The office’s work is fraud deterrence at the point of signature: verifying the identity of signers, witnessing signatures, and administering oaths and affirmations, so that important transactions can be trusted. The governing law is Indiana Code Title 33, Article 42, and the commission is a long one by national standards — eight years under IC 33-42-12-1(f) — granted to an applicant who meets the statute’s qualifications, files the $25,000 assurance the statute requires, satisfies all educational requirements, and has passed the examination described in IC 33-42-12-2. A commission authorises notarial acts only: it does not authorise the notary to draft legal records, give legal advice, practise law, or act as an immigration consultant.
Indiana’s gate has a shape no template from another state fits, and this page states it at the top because third-party material routinely gets it wrong — in one case contradicting itself on the same page about whether Indiana has an examination at all. The statute settles the question: IC 33-42-12-1(b) makes passing the examination a condition of the commission, and IC 33-42-12-2(a) requires every applicant, including one reapplying for a subsequent commission, to complete both a course of education and an examination. But the course and the examination do not sit in front of the application, the way a test-center examination does. They sit inside it. The applicant applies first, through the Secretary of State’s online notary system; only once the application is submitted and approved does the education course open in the Learner Hub, and the examination follows the course. The $75 application fee covers the application, the education course, and the examination together. The companion Indiana Notary Public Exam Guide sets out the law, the route, and the sitting in detail.
The examination at a glance
| Item | Verified position |
|---|---|
| Examination | Indiana Notary Public examination — Indiana Secretary of State, delivered online in the Secretary of State’s Learner Hub as part of the commission application |
| Commission | Notary public, commissioned by the Indiana Secretary of State; term of eight years; notarial acts may be performed within the State of Indiana |
| Governing law | Indiana Code Title 33, Article 42 — principally IC 33-42-12-1 (commission and qualifications) and IC 33-42-12-2 (education and examination); Secretary of State rules at 75 IAC 7-2 |
| Who must take it | Every applicant for a commission, including an applicant reapplying for a subsequent commission (IC 33-42-12-2(a)). No exemption from the education course or the examination for any applicant category, attorneys included, appears in the official sources read |
| Format | 30 questions, taken online in the Learner Hub after the education course is completed. The Secretary of State publishes no time limit in the sources read, and this page prints none |
| Content | The examination follows the Secretary of State’s education course, which the applicant must complete before the examination is taken; the course and the examination cover Indiana notary law, the duties and responsibilities of the office, and the procedures and ethics of notarial acts under IC Title 33, Article 42. No topic weights are published, and none are printed |
| Passing standard | In the Secretary of State’s published form: the exam consists of 30 questions; you must score at least 80% (24 correct answers) to pass (New Notary System FAQ, May 2026) |
| Retakes | Unlimited attempts; after a failed attempt, a 24-hour wait before the examination opens again |
| Education | The Secretary of State’s own education course, completed inside the application flow in the Learner Hub before the examination; only education administered through the Secretary of State’s system satisfies the requirement. A separate continuing education requirement — not to exceed two hours every two years — runs for the life of the commission |
| Application fee | Indiana fee: $75, nonrefundable, covering the application, the education course, and the examination. Renewal application fee is likewise $75; each continuing education course is $50 |
| Bond | $25,000 surety bond (the statute’s “assurance”), with an eight-year term, listing the applicant’s exact name as principal |
| Administrator | Indiana Secretary of State (Business Services Division, Notary section). PassProfessor is independent and is not affiliated with the Indiana Secretary of State |
What the examination covers
The Secretary of State describes the examination by its place in the route: it is the test of the education course the applicant has just completed, and the course teaches the law of the office under IC Title 33, Article 42. The Secretary of State publishes no topic weights and no content outline with item counts, so the areas below follow the statute and the Secretary of State’s own notary guidance as they organise the office — the same material the education course is built from.
Qualifications, the commission, and its eight-year term
IC 33-42-12-1: who may be commissioned (at least 18 years of age; a citizen or permanent legal resident of the United States; a resident of Indiana or primarily employed in Indiana, continuously maintained; not disqualified to receive a commission under IC 33-42-13), the six-part application the Secretary of State’s system presents (Personal Info, Residency, Background, Bond, Signature, and Payment), the $25,000 assurance, the $75 nonrefundable fee, and the commission itself — eight years, statewide in effect, one active Indiana commission at a time, and no immunity or benefit attaching to it. The disqualification frame runs with it: IC 33-42-13 and IC 5-8-3-1, under which crimes or adverse civil rulings involving deceit, dishonesty, or fraud, and felony convictions, may disqualify an applicant. Candidates treat this as preamble; it is examinable law with exact figures throughout.
Notarial acts, appearance, and identification
The acts a commissioned notary performs — taking acknowledgments, administering oaths and affirmations, taking verifications on oath or affirmation, and witnessing or attesting signatures — with the duties each act carries: the signer personally appearing, identity established to the standard the law requires, the record complete before it is notarized, and the act refused where the notary cannot be satisfied. The interest bar runs through this material: a notary may not notarize where the notary or the notary’s spouse holds a direct financial or beneficial interest in the transaction, and may never notarize the notary’s own signature. These are judgement items in worked form — a described signer, a described record, and a choice among acts that differ by one legally decisive fact.
Certificates, the seal, and the record of the act
Every notarial act is evidenced by a notarial certificate — a written statement, signed and sealed by the notary, in or securely affixed to the document; a notarization is not complete without a proper certificate, and a seal stamped on a document is not a substitute for one. The seal itself is prescribed: it must carry the words “notary public,” the words “state of Indiana,” the notary’s name exactly as it appears on the commission, the words “commission number” followed by the commission number, and the words “my commission expires” followed by the expiration date — and since July 1, 2024, under the amendment to IC 33-42-0.5-13, the word “Seal” is no longer a required element. Indiana draws one record line candidates from other states routinely get wrong: the Secretary of State’s guidance does not require a journal for traditional paper notarizations, though keeping one is strongly recommended; the journal duty in Indiana law attaches to remote notarizations, which require an electronic journal. Material that teaches a universal Indiana journal mandate is teaching another state’s rule.
Fees, prohibited conduct, and discipline
Fees are fixed by law and are maximums: $10 per notarial act, $25 per remote notarial act, and travel at the federal mileage rate. The prohibited-conduct frame: no drafting legal records, no legal advice, no practice of law, and no immigration consulting by a notary who is not a licensed attorney, with the advertising disclaimer Indiana law prescribes for a notary who is not an attorney. The change-notification duty — the Secretary of State’s office must be informed within 30 days of a change in the information on file — and the discipline frame of IC 33-42-13, under which the commission may be denied or revoked for the causes the chapter lists, complete the unit.
Continuing education and renewal — the commission after the examination
The examination is not the last test of knowledge Indiana sets. Under IC 33-42-12-2(b) a notary public must fulfill a continuing education requirement not to exceed two hours every two years: three continuing education courses across the eight-year term, each administered through the Secretary of State’s office (only those courses fulfill the requirement), each $50, each due by the last day of the month in which the commission was issued, on its two-year cycle — and failure to complete continuing education on time results in expiration of the commission. Renewal itself is a reapplication: it opens 90 days before the current commission expires, carries the same $75 fee, and — because IC 33-42-12-2(a) reaches an applicant “reapplying for a subsequent commission” — the education course and examination are completed again. A renewed commission carries a completely new commission number, takes effect on the expiration date of the previous commission, and the new number may not be used until that date arrives.
The route, in order
Step 1 — Confirm eligibility, and gather the bond and the background record first
Before the application opens, confirm the statutory qualifications: 18 or older; a citizen or permanent legal resident of the United States; a resident of Indiana or primarily employed in Indiana (a non-resident applicant applies on the employment basis and provides the employer’s details and an Employer Consent form); and not disqualified under IC 33-42-13 or IC 5-8-3-1. Two documents must be in hand because the application requires them: the $25,000 surety bond, with an eight-year term and your exact name as principal, and a valid Indiana State Police criminal history report — under the Secretary of State’s current system guidance and its rules, dated within the last six months. A signature sample, signed in ink on a clean white background with a name that perfectly matches the application, is the third item to prepare; mismatched names delay applications.
Step 2 — Apply through the Secretary of State’s online notary system, and pay the $75 fee
Applications are taken online only, signed in with Access Indiana credentials, in the Applicant Hub of the Secretary of State’s notary system — the dedicated notary pages that have replaced the INBiz dashboard route. The application has six sections: Personal Info, Residency, Background, Bond, Signature, and Payment. Uploaded bonds, signature samples, and background checks pass through the system’s verification review, and an application flagged by that review goes to staff review rather than failing outright. The $75 application fee is nonrefundable and covers the application, the education course, and the examination — there is no separate examination fee and no testing vendor to pay.
Step 3 — Complete the education course in the Learner Hub
Once the application is submitted and approved, the Secretary of State emails that the “Education course is ready,” and the course appears in the Learner Hub, where a card for the assigned course shows its modules and lessons and tracks progress. This is the State’s own course: education from an outside provider does not satisfy IC 33-42-12-2, and the examination that follows is built on this course’s material. Treat the course as the syllabus, not as a formality in front of the syllabus — the 30 questions are drawn from the law, duties, procedures, and ethics it teaches.
Step 4 — Pass the examination: 30 questions, at least 80% (24 correct)
The examination follows the course in the same Learner Hub. In the Secretary of State’s published form, the exam consists of 30 questions and you must score at least 80% (24 correct answers) to pass — six wrong answers is the whole margin. A failed attempt is not the end of the application: wait 24 hours, and the examination opens again, with an unlimited number of attempts. Progress and completion for both the course and the examination are tracked on the Learner Hub dashboard.
Step 5 — Commission, then the eight-year discipline
When the requirements are fulfilled, the Secretary of State grants the commission; the official commission certificate is available in the system, under “My Commission,” with the commission details and continuing education due dates. The term is eight years. Across it, three continuing education courses fall due at two-year intervals, each begun through the Applicant Hub with its $50 payment and completed in the Learner Hub, and each due by the last day of the commission month on its cycle — miss one and the commission expires. Renewal opens 90 days before expiration, by email notification, at the $75 fee, with the education course and examination taken again as part of the reapplication, and the renewed commission — under a new commission number — takes effect exactly when the previous one expires.
What makes this examination demanding
The demand is compression. Thirty questions is a short paper: each question carries more than three points of the score, the published margin is six wrong answers, and a single weak area — certificate wording, seal contents, the fee schedule — can spend that margin by itself. The second demand is sequence confusion, and Indiana manufactures it: because the course and examination live inside the application, candidates who prepare as if this were a test-first state — hunting for a vendor, a test center, a separate exam fee, or a way to sit the examination before applying — are preparing for a route that does not exist here, and the third-party material that describes Indiana in those terms, including one widely read guide that states the examination exists in its body and denies it in its own frequently asked questions, cannot be trusted to correct them. The third demand is staleness: Indiana has revised this office repeatedly — an eight-year term where many states run four, a $25,000 bond where older material still shows $5,000 and freehold bonds, a seal that no longer requires the word “Seal” since July 1, 2024, and a new notary system whose Applicant Hub and Learner Hub have replaced the dashboard route older instructions describe. A candidate studying superseded material is studying a repealed office. And the fourth demand is duration: the commission runs eight years, but it is held two years at a time, against continuing education deadlines whose miss expires it — the examination is the gate, but the calendar is the tenure test.
The credential at work
The Indiana commission is held across the state’s banks, title and real estate offices, law offices, healthcare and government offices, vehicle and lending businesses, and independent mobile-notary and signing work — anywhere a signature must be verified, sworn, or witnessed by a public official rather than by a party to the transaction. It is an eight-year, renewable public appointment, effective throughout Indiana, with a public verification record by which anyone may confirm the notary’s authority. Remote notarization is a separate authorization layered on a current commission, with its own fee, course, and examination under IC 33-42-17; it is not part of the base commission this program prepares for, and nothing in this program substitutes for it.
What the PassProfessor program will cover
Practice in the examination’s own shape. The program in the works practises in the sitting’s shape: 30-question sets, online, scored against the published standard — at least 80% (24 correct answers) — with the six-question margin made explicit in every result, because on a paper this short, readiness is a margin calculation, not a feeling.
Written from the primary sources. The program is written from the Secretary of State’s own publications — the New Notary System guidance, the Indiana Notary Public Guide, and the 2024 Notary Public Update — and from IC Title 33, Article 42 itself: the qualifications and disqualifications, the acts and their requirements, certificates and the current seal, the fee schedule, the prohibited acts, and the continuing education and renewal machinery. Where a figure in circulation cannot be verified in those sources — an examination time limit, a topic weighting — the program prints none and says so.
The inside-the-application sequence, taught exactly. The program separates what belongs to the State from what belongs to preparation. The education course itself must be completed in the Secretary of State’s Learner Hub — no outside course satisfies it, and this preparation program is not that course. What preparation can do is ensure the candidate arrives at that course already knowing the law it teaches, so the course instructs instead of ambushing, and the examination that follows it is taken once, at full readiness.
The whole candidate, not only the test-taker. Around the practice, the program carries the route as the Secretary of State publishes it — bond and background record gathered before the application, the six-section application and its verification review, approval before the course opens, the 24-hour retake rule, the three continuing education deadlines across the term, and the renewal window with its new commission number — because on this route the administrative failures are as fatal as the knowledge failures.
Preparation only. This is preparation for an examination administered by the Indiana Secretary of State inside its own application system. PassProfessor is not affiliated with the Indiana Secretary of State, and nothing in the program substitutes for the State’s education course, the examination, the application, the bond, or any commission requirement.
Tell me when enrollment opens. The Indiana Notary Public program is in the works and enrollment is not yet open. Leave an email address and PassProfessor will write to you when the program is ready — and only about this program.
Frequently asked questions
Does Indiana really have a notary examination?
Yes. IC 33-42-12-1(b) makes having “passed the examination described in section 2” a condition of the commission, and IC 33-42-12-2(a) requires every applicant — including an applicant reapplying for a subsequent commission — to complete a course of education and an examination. Material that says Indiana has no examination is contradicted by the statute and by the Secretary of State’s own system guidance, which publishes the examination’s length and passing standard.
What is the passing score?
In the Secretary of State’s published form: the exam consists of 30 questions, and you must score at least 80% (24 correct answers) to pass.
Where and when do I take the examination?
Inside the application, not before it. Once your application is submitted and approved, the Secretary of State emails that your education course is ready; you complete the State’s course in the Learner Hub, and the examination follows there, online. There is no test center, no separate examination vendor, and no separate examination fee — the $75 application fee covers the application, the course, and the examination.
What happens if I fail?
You wait 24 hours and take it again. The Secretary of State allows an unlimited number of attempts, with the 24-hour wait after each failed attempt before the examination opens back up.
How long is the commission?
Eight years (IC 33-42-12-1(f)) — twice the four-year term many states use. Do not template another state’s term onto Indiana.
I am an attorney. Am I exempt from the course or the examination?
No exemption on that basis appears in the official sources. IC 33-42-12-2(a) states its requirement for an applicant generally, expressly including an applicant reapplying for a subsequent commission, and no attorney carve-out from the education course or the examination appears in the statute or the Secretary of State’s guidance read for this page. The attorney provisions in Indiana notary law concern what a notary who is a licensed attorney may do — legal advice and drafting, which a non-attorney notary may not provide — not relief from commissioning requirements.
What does the route cost in Indiana fees?
The application fee is $75, nonrefundable, for an initial application and likewise for renewal, and it covers the education course and the examination. Continuing education is $50 per course, three courses across the eight-year term. The $25,000 surety bond is purchased from a surety — its premium is set by the surety, not by the State — and the Indiana State Police criminal history report carries its own charge. No total-cost figure is stated here, because bond premiums and supply costs are not State-published figures.
What continuing education does the commission require?
A course of not more than two hours every two years (IC 33-42-12-2(b)) — three courses across the eight-year term, administered through the Secretary of State’s office, each due by the last day of the month in which the commission was issued on its two-year cycle. Only courses administered through the Secretary of State fulfill the requirement, and failure to complete continuing education on time results in expiration of the commission.
Does Indiana require a notary journal?
Not for traditional paper notarizations — the Secretary of State’s guidance does not impose one, though keeping a journal is strongly recommended. The journal duty in Indiana law attaches to remote notarizations, which are a separate authorization with their own requirements.
When do I renew, and what changes?
The renewal window opens 90 days before the current commission expires, with email notification from the Secretary of State; the fee is $75. On renewal you are issued a completely new commission number, the new commission takes effect on the previous commission’s expiration date, and the new number may not be used before that date.
Is PassProfessor affiliated with the Indiana Secretary of State?
No. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider, not affiliated with the Indiana Secretary of State. The program confers no commission and reports nothing to the Secretary of State.