The New York Notary Public examination is the written examination of the New York State Department of State, Division of Licensing Services, that most applicants must pass before the Secretary of State can commission them as a notary public. It is a multiple-choice examination with one hour allowed, drawn from license law and the duties and functions of a notary public as outlined in the Department’s official Notary Public License Law booklet. The Department reports every result as passed or failed only — it publishes no numerical passing score and no question count — a passing result is valid for two years, and the New York State examination fee is $15.
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The examination at a glance
| Item | Verified position |
|---|---|
| Examination | New York Notary Public written examination — New York State Department of State, Division of Licensing Services |
| Commission | Notary public, commissioned by the Secretary of State; jurisdiction co-extensive with the boundaries of New York State; notaries are commissioned in their counties of residence |
| Format | Multiple choice. The Department of State does not publish a question count for this examination, and this guide prints none |
| Length | 1 hour to complete the examination; the allotted time begins at the conclusion of the instructions |
| Content | License law, general terms, and information related to the duties and functions of a notary public, as outlined in the Notary Public License Law booklet. The Department publishes no topic weights |
| Scoring | All results are reported as either passed or failed; candidates do not receive a numerical score. The Department publishes no numerical passing score, and this guide prints none |
| Examination fee | New York State fee: $15 — check or money order payable to the Department of State, or MasterCard or Visa; no cash; non-refundable, $20 returned-check fee |
| Result validity | Examination results are valid for a period of two years only |
| Languages | Spanish, Haitian-Creole, Italian, Korean, Russian, and Chinese; notify a proctor on reporting |
| Identification | A current, government-issued, photo-bearing signature identification from the Department’s published list |
| What else to bring | Two #2 pencils — not provided. Arrive at least 15 minutes before the start time |
| Exemption | A current New York State Bar member, or a Unified Court System court clerk appointed after a Civil Service promotional examination in the court clerk series, may be appointed without an examination — but not without the application fee |
| Administrator | New York State Department of State, Division of Licensing Services. PassProfessor is independent and is not affiliated with the Department of State |
Most licensing examinations hand the candidate numbers to organise preparation around — an item count, a pace, a cut score, a weighted blueprint. This examination hands the candidate almost none of them, and understanding that absence is the first preparation act. The Department publishes the form (multiple choice), the time (one hour), the source (the Notary Public License Law booklet), the topics in one sentence, and the reporting rule (passed or failed, no numerical score) — nothing finer. This guide treats the booklet as the complete syllabus, the route as a sequence with two clocks (the sitting, and the two-year life of a pass), and the standard as the Department states it: a verdict, not a number.
Reading the verified facts
Every fact in the table above is stated as the Department of State states it in its own publications, because candidates for this examination are ill-served by the approximations that circulate about it. Three reading disciplines govern this guide. First, the figures given are the Department’s figures, reproduced from the examination instructions, the Become a Notary Public page, its notary frequently asked questions, and the License Law booklet named in this file’s INTERNAL section; where those documents do not publish a figure, this guide prints none rather than borrowing one. Second, that discipline applies with full force to the two figures candidates ask about most: the Department publishes no question count and no numerical passing score for this examination. Its instructions say, in terms, that all exam results are reported as either passed or failed and that you will not get a numerical score. Any page that tells you how many questions the examination contains, or what score passes it, is telling you something the administering body does not publish. Third, the companion PassProfessor program is in the works and unbuilt: nothing in this guide describes a question bank, a course, or an enrollment that exists today.
The route, step by step
Step 1 — Establish whether the examination is yours to take
The examination is the default gate, not a universal one. Place yourself in one of the Department’s three positions before you study or travel. (a) The standard applicant must pass the examination before applying. (b) The exempt applicant — in the Department’s exact scope, an individual who is currently a member of the New York State Bar, or a court clerk of the Unified Court System appointed after taking a Civil Service promotional examination in the court clerk series of titles — may be appointed without an examination, while remaining liable for the application fee. Note what the exemption is not: not lawyers admitted elsewhere, not law graduates or paralegals, not court staff generally — the two positions the Department names, scoped as it names them. (c) The ineligible applicant should resolve eligibility before spending the examination fee: every person appointed must, at the time of appointment, be a citizen or permanent resident alien of the United States and either a resident of New York or have an office or place of business in New York State; generally a person convicted of a felony cannot be appointed, and certain misdemeanors are disqualifying — subject to the relief route the Department names (an executive pardon, a certificate of relief from disabilities, or a certificate of good conduct, after which the person may be considered). The booklet adds the appointment standard: before issuing a commission, the Secretary must be satisfied the applicant is of good moral character, has the equivalent of a common school education, and is familiar with a notary public’s duties — and appointment is in every case in the Secretary’s discretion. There is no education course anywhere in this step.
Step 2 — Take the booklet as the syllabus
Obtain the Notary Public License Law booklet from the Division of Licensing Services. It is the examination’s stated source and the only content description the Department publishes beyond its one-sentence topic statement. Read it as the statute book it is — the next major section works through it part by part — and note its currency: the booklet’s current form carries the Part 182 regulations, including the electronic-notarization and recordkeeping rules effective January 2023. An older printing will not contain the modern office.
Step 3 — Choose your sitting system: walk-in, or New York City
The examination runs on two logistics, and confusing them is the commonest administrative failure on this route. Outside New York City, sittings in the Department’s walk-in schedule require no pre-registration: seats are limited and first-come, first-served, dates and times are subject to change, late arrivals will not be admitted, and the Department directs you to check its website for the current schedule before travelling. In New York City, the sitting at 123 William Street, 2nd Floor, is scheduled: email the Exam Unit at the address the Department publishes, with the subject line it specifies (“Schedule Notary Public Exam”) and your full name, address, exam type, and chosen date or dates; requests missing that information cannot be processed, your requested date is not guaranteed, and only candidates who receive the emailed confirmation are to report. Either way, arrive at least 15 minutes early.
Step 4 — Sit the examination under its center rules
Bring three things: current government-issued photo identification from the Department’s list (in full in the frequently asked questions below); the $15 fee in an accepted form — check or money order payable to the Department of State, or MasterCard or Visa, never cash; and two #2 pencils, which the site does not provide. Inside the center: phones and other electronic devices must be turned off; dictionaries, books, other reference materials, large bags and briefcases are not allowed, with no storage; eating, drinking, and smoking are not permitted; visitors, guests, and children are not permitted; firearms are not allowed. Using aids, giving or receiving help, or removing examination materials means dismissal, decided by the Department’s Exam Supervisor. The examination is multiple choice; one hour, from the conclusion of the instructions. To take it in Spanish, Haitian-Creole, Italian, Korean, Russian, or Chinese, notify a proctor when you report.
Step 5 — Receive the verdict, and start the two-year clock
You will be notified by mail as soon as results are available, in the Department’s form: passed or failed, with no numerical score. If you failed, you may retake the examination on another date and time of your choice, under the same rules — the instructions publish no waiting period and no attempt limit, and this guide invents neither. If you passed, the result starts a clock candidates lose commissions by ignoring: results are valid for two years only. The pass is not the commission; it is a two-year window inside which the application must be completed.
Step 6 — Apply for the commission through NY Business Express
The application is online, and its order matters. Before starting, download the Oath of Office form, complete it, and obtain a scanned copy (a PDF) for upload — an Oath of Office must be completed each time you apply for a new commission or for reappointment or renewal, and the application includes an oath which must be sworn and notarized. Then log in to NY Business Express with a NY.gov account and click Apply for the commission type you want — traditional notary or electronic notary (application DOS-0033). Pay the $60 New York State initial application fee (non-refundable; $20 for a returned check). Do not also mail the application unless the Department specifically requests it — it warns that extra papers may delay processing. Track the status from your account dashboard.
Step 7 — The county clerk’s record, the identification card, and the term
Notaries are commissioned in their counties of residence. After approval, the Department provides the commission record and the notary’s signature to the appropriate county clerk — the booklet describes the Secretary forwarding the commission, the original oath, and the signature — and the clerk maintains that record for public verification of the official signature. The clerk does not examine you and does not receive your initial application. An online applicant receives a printable identification card by email, showing name, address, county, and commission term. The term is four years. Renewal carries a $60 fee and requires a completed Oath of Office each time; the other published fees are $10 for a name and/or address change (waived for a marital-status name change) and $10 for a duplicate license request.
The booklet in full: what the examination is drawn from
The Department publishes no content outline and no weights, so this section follows the booklet’s own structure: professional conduct, appointment and qualifications, powers and duties, the real property provisions, restrictions and violations, the Penal Law selections, Part 182, and the definitions. Study each part for what it is: operative law with exact figures, named officers, and prescribed forms.
Professional conduct
The booklet opens with what the office forbids in practice. A notary is cautioned not to execute an acknowledgment of the execution of a will — it cannot be deemed equivalent to an attestation clause. Taking acknowledgments and affidavits without the individual’s actual, personal appearance before the notary is illegal. Oath administration is a substantive act: the booklet gives the simplest lawful forms of oath and affirmation and insists on an unequivocal, present act by which the affiant consciously takes the obligation. And unless a lawyer, the notary may not practise law — the prohibited list runs from giving legal advice and drawing legal papers to dividing fees with a lawyer and advertising powers the notary does not have. Expect conduct rules with fact patterns attached, because that is how this section is written.
Appointment and qualifications — Executive Law 130–133 and companions
Section 130 (appointment) carries the office’s constitution: the Secretary may appoint as many notaries as in his or her judgment may be deemed best, with jurisdiction co-extensive with the boundaries of the state; the term is four years; the applicant must at appointment be a New York resident or have a New York office or place of business, with the move-away rules in the text (a resident who moves out but keeps a New York office does not vacate the office; one who retains no office vacates it, as does a nonresident who ceases to have one); the Secretary’s pre-issuance satisfaction as to good moral character, common school education equivalence, and familiarity with the duties — excepting the attorney and qualifying court clerk positions; the crime bar, under which no person convicted of a crime is to be appointed unless the Secretary makes the statutory finding, under Article 23-A of the Correction Law, that the convictions do not constitute a bar; and removal for misconduct, on charges and a hearing. Section 131 (procedure; fees and commissions) carries the mechanics: application with the oath and signature; the $60 non-refundable fee, with no further fee for issuance; the identification card; transmission of the commission, oath, and signature — with $20 apportioned from the fee — to the county clerk of the appointee’s county of residence by the 10th day of the following month; the clerk’s index; and the $10 change and duplicate fees. Sections 132 and 133 cover certificates of official character and the county clerk’s certification of notarial signatures ($3). Around these sit the companions: Executive Law 140, Election Law eligibility provisions, Public Officers Law section 3, County Law 534, and the miscellaneous disqualifications.
Powers and duties — Executive Law 134–138 and 142-a
Section 135 is the working charter: every duly qualified notary is authorised within and throughout the state to administer oaths and affirmations, take affidavits and depositions, receive and certify acknowledgments or proof of instruments such as deeds, mortgages, and powers of attorney, and demand acceptance or payment of, and protest, bills of exchange and related instruments — with liability for misconduct damages and the special provisions for attorney-notaries. Protest fees are capped at 75 cents for a protest and 10 cents per notice, not exceeding five. Section 135-a addresses acting without appointment and fraud in office. Section 135-b governs advertising, including the bar on foreign-language terms implying a status the notary does not hold. Section 135-c authorises electronic notarization on registration — treated under Part 182 below. Section 136 fixes fees at $2 for an oath or affirmation and $2 for an acknowledgment or proof of execution; unless otherwise authorised by law, a notarial fee may not exceed that amount. Section 137 prescribes the statement as to authority: in addition to venue and signature, the notary must print, typewrite, or stamp beneath the signature, in black ink, the notary’s name, “Notary Public State of New York,” the county of original qualification, and the commission expiration date. Section 138 addresses notaries connected with a corporation, and section 142-a preserves the validity of documents notarised by a person who was not in fact commissioned.
Acknowledgments and proofs — the Real Property Law selections
The booklet reprints the Real Property Law provisions governing the notary’s commonest act: section 290 (definitions), 298 (acknowledgments and proofs within the state), 303 (requisites of acknowledgments — personal appearance and identity), 304 (proof by subscribing witness), 306 (certificate of acknowledgment or proof), 309-a and 309-b (the uniform certificate forms), 330, and 333, with special notes from other laws. The interest here is exactness: requisites, required certificate statements, and uniform forms are prescribed material, tested on which element belongs to which certificate.
Restrictions, violations, and the Penal Law selections
The closing selections mark the office’s outer boundary. The Judiciary Law provisions (484, 485, 750) reserve the practice of law to attorneys, backed by misdemeanour and contempt consequences. Public Officers Law 67 and 69 cover officers’ fees and the bar on fees for certain official oaths. The Penal Law selections give the criminal frame: sentencing (70.00, 70.15), forgery in the second degree (170.10), issuing a false certificate (175.40), and official misconduct (195.00) — with the heads that a notary must officiate on request, and on perjury. A candidate who cannot say which act is a fee violation, which is removal-worthy misconduct, and which is a crime has not finished the booklet.
The Department’s regulations — Title 19 NYCRR Part 182
Part 182 is the layer most likely to be under-studied, because its substance dates from January 25, 2023. Section 182.2 defines the regime’s terms, including the electronic notarial act — an act by a notary physically present in New York, on or involving an electronic record, using authorised communication technology. Sections 182.3 through 182.8 set the performance standards: requirements for notarial acts (including satisfactory evidence of identity and disqualification where the notary is a party to or directly benefits from the transaction), additional requirements for electronic acts, credential analysis, identity proofing, and communication technology. The electronic-notarization rules: the notary must be physically in New York at the time of the act; the signer may be elsewhere, with additional verbal-confirmation requirements where the signer is outside the United States; identity is established by personal knowledge, by technology with credential analysis and identity proofing, or by an identified witness’s oath; an audio-visual recording must be kept, with a backup, for at least 10 years; and remote ink notarization is not permitted after January 31, 2023. Section 182.9 is recordkeeping: since January 25, 2023, all notaries must keep a journal of all notarial acts, including the type of identification provided, for 10 years. Sections 182.10 and 182.11 cover applications, registrations, renewals, and fees — including up to $25.00 per electronic act and the $2.00 certificate of authenticity.
Definitions and general terms
The booklet closes with its definitions and general terms — acknowledgment, jurat, affidavit, attestation clause, proof of execution, subscribing witness, venue, and the rest. The Department’s topic sentence names “general terms” as one of the examination’s three content strands, so these are definitions to know cold — including the distinctions candidates habitually merge: oath against affirmation, acknowledgment against jurat, certificate against commission.
The sitting itself: format, scoring, and what follows
The sitting’s arithmetic is the one piece of arithmetic there is: one hour, from the conclusion of the instructions, for a multiple-choice paper whose length the Department does not publish. There is no published pace to practise to, so pace must be self-imposed — work steadily, do not let one statutory-reasoning item consume several definitional items’ time, mark and return, and answer every item. The no-materials rule is total — no books, dictionaries, notes, or aids, on pain of dismissal — so the sitting tests what is in the candidate’s head, which is why this guide treats definitions and fee figures as memorisation targets.
Scoring is where third-party material does candidates the most damage. The Department’s position is: all exam results are reported as either passed or failed; you will not get a numerical score. There is no margin to reconstruct, no domain score report to rebuild a study plan from, and no official basis for any percentage quoted about this examination. A fail is a verdict without a diagnostic — hence the plan below rebuilds from the whole booklet — and a pass is a verdict with a deadline, the two-year window in Step 5.
What this examination is for
The catalog’s notary coverage is organised state by state, because notary law is state law — there is no national notary examination. New York’s gate is among the family’s purest: no course, no vendor, a single state-published law book, and a pass/fail verdict. This guide and its companion cover the New York examination itself — its booklet, its route, and its traditional and electronic commission types — and nothing borrowed from another state’s scheme, whose fees, terms, and duties differ at exactly the points this examination tests.
Preparation errors this guide is written to prevent
The recurring errors are specific to this examination’s shape. Candidates study to a borrowed standard — a percentage or item count from a third-party page — and calibrate readiness against a line the Department never drew. Candidates study an old office: pre-2023 material that omits the universal journal duty, Part 182, and electronic notarization, or still describes remote ink notarization as available. Candidates read the booklet’s narrative parts and skip its machinery — section 131’s transmittal, section 137’s statement as to authority, the protest caps — although machinery is what a law-book paper most easily examines. Candidates merge the two commission types, send paper where an online application is required, or let a pass age past its two-year validity. And candidates lose the sitting before it starts — arriving after the walk-in seats are gone, reporting to 123 William Street without the confirmation email, or arriving without the listed identification, an accepted fee form, or pencils.
After the examination
A pass inside its two-year window, followed by the completed application, produces the commission: a four-year term, a county-of-residence filing, an identification card, and statewide jurisdiction. Keep the Department’s mailed pass notice and your application record together, note when the two-year window closes and when the four-year term expires, and remember the county clerk’s record is the public face of the commission — the record your signature will be verified against for as long as you serve.
A preparation plan that respects the source
Build the plan on the booklet’s own order, because there is no published weighting to build it on instead. Open with appointment and qualifications and powers and duties — the Executive Law core — converting each section into worked items as you finish it: who appoints, on what satisfaction, for what term, with what fees, under what prohibitions. Then work the Real Property Law acknowledgment material and uniform forms until the certificates can be reproduced from memory. Give Part 182 its own complete pass as modern law in its own right, and close with the restrictions, Penal Law selections, and definitions, testing the vocabulary separately. Take timed practice inside the real one-hour limit, with no materials, in the final stage, and treat any practice score as a study signal only — the Department returns a verdict, not a number, and readiness means the whole booklet is secure. Choose the sitting system deliberately and rehearse its logistics — identification, fee form, pencils, arrival time — as part of the plan. The companion New York Notary Public Exam Preparation page describes the preparation program itself, which is in the works; this guide stands on its own as the route and source reference.
Frequently asked questions
Why does this guide give no passing score and no question count?
Because the Department publishes neither. Its instructions state that all results are reported as either passed or failed, with no numerical score, and its description gives the format (multiple choice) and time (one hour) without a count. Figures appearing elsewhere are not the Department’s, and a plan built on them is built on a guess.
What is the difference between the traditional and electronic notary commissions?
Both are commissions as a New York notary public, applied for through the same application (DOS-0033). The electronic notary is additionally registered to perform electronic notarial acts under section 135-c — including remote online acts, with credential analysis, identity proofing, and an audio-visual recording kept for at least 10 years — and may charge up to $25.00 per electronic act. Once an electronic notary license is issued, the holder’s traditional license is automatically cancelled and the new identification number must be used on all notarizations. And traditional notarization was not untouched by the 2023 rules: every notary must keep the journal described in this guide.
Is remote ink notarization still available in New York?
No — not permitted after January 31, 2023. Electronic notarization under section 135-c is the only remote route.
What exactly must the journal contain, and for how long is it kept?
For a traditional notary, five published contents: the date, approximate time, and type of acts performed; the name and address of the individuals served; the number and type of services provided; the type of credential used to identify the principal (with witness details where identification rested on witnesses); and the verification procedures used for any personal appearance. Electronic notaries add the communication technology and providers used, and the audio/video recording. All notaries keep the journal for 10 years, under a duty dating from January 25, 2023.
How much can a New York notary charge?
$2.00 for administering an oath or affirmation, and $2.00 for taking an acknowledgment or proof of execution — and, unless otherwise authorised by law, a notarial fee may not exceed that amount. Electronically: up to $25.00 per act, and $2.00 for a certificate of authenticity. Protest fees are capped at 75 cents plus 10 cents per notice, not exceeding five.
What identification does the exam center accept?
A current, government-issued, photo-bearing signature identification from the Department’s published list: driver’s license; state-issued identification (for example a non-driver ID); military ID; United States passport; Employment Authorization Card; United States INS issued ID; certificate of US citizenship; foreign passport; IDNYC; Brazilian, Mexican, Honduran or Ecuadorian consular ID; or Mexico voter ID card — the New York City instructions also list New York Mobile ID (MiD). “Current” is the Department’s word and its condition.
What happens to my application after the Department approves it?
The identification card follows (by email for online applicants, showing name, address, county, and commission term), and the Secretary of State provides the commission record and your signature to the county clerk of your county of residence, who indexes and maintains it. The public verifies your official signature against the clerk’s record — which is why the name and signature you file are the ones you must use.
Can a notary who is not a lawyer give legal advice or prepare documents?
No. Unless a lawyer, the notary may not engage in the practice of law: the booklet’s list includes giving legal advice, drawing legal papers (wills, deeds, mortgages, contracts, leases, powers of attorney, complaints, and the other named instruments), soliciting legal business for a lawyer, dividing fees with a lawyer, and claiming powers the law does not give — backed by the Judiciary Law’s misdemeanour and contempt consequences.
Why does the booklet warn about wills specifically?
Because a notary is cautioned not to execute an acknowledgment of the execution of a will: such an acknowledgment cannot be deemed equivalent to an attestation clause accompanying a will. Know it as a named rule, not a general impression.
Where do this guide’s facts come from?
From the Department of State’s own publications — its examination instructions, Become a Notary Public page, notary frequently asked questions, and the Notary Public License Law booklet — recorded in this file’s INTERNAL section. Facts that could not be verified from those sources were omitted.