How to Become an Arizona Notary in 8 Steps: Exam, $5,000 Bond, $43 Filing
The short answer: becoming an Arizona notary takes eight steps: confirm eligibility, pass the state exam, buy a $5,000 surety bond, complete the application online, print and sign it, mail the package with $43 in fees, wait for your commission, then get your seal and journal. From first study session to first notarization, budget roughly six to ten weeks. The one step that changed everything: since July 1, 2025, the exam is mandatory (A.R.S. § 41-270), and most older guides you will find online still skip it.
Everything below follows the October 2026 Arizona Notary Public Reference Manual (the same 66-page document the exam draws from), verified against azsos.gov on October 19, 2026. This guide is exam-focused: the exam is the gate every step leads toward and the part most guides get wrong. For a broader general walkthrough (supplies, costs, working as a notary), see NotaryStyle’s Arizona state guide. Disclosure: same owner as this site, and it is the informational resource in our family while this site is the exam-prep one.
The path at a glance:
| Step | What | Key number |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confirm eligibility | 18+, AZ resident, no disqualifying record |
| 2 | Pass the notary exam | 45 questions, 60 min, 80% to pass, $35 |
| 3 | Buy your surety bond | $5,000, four-year, in duplicate |
| 4 | Complete the application online | azsos.gov, then print |
| 5 | Sign by hand and mail the package | $43 = $25 + $18 |
| 6 | Wait for processing | 4-6 weeks |
| 7 | Verify your commission certificate | 4-year term |
| 8 | Order seal + journal (RON optional) | 6 seal elements |
Step 1: Confirm you qualify
The manual lists the qualifications on page 4, and the exam tests them directly:
- At least 18 years old.
- A U.S. citizen or a permanent legal resident; either qualifies, a distinction the exam likes to test.
- An Arizona resident for income tax purposes, with your primary residence in Arizona. You can only have one primary residence, and it must be in the state.
- Able to read, write, and understand English (self-certified on the application).
- Not disqualified under A.R.S. § 41-271 (certain felony convictions and crimes involving dishonesty or fraud are disqualifying).
- Passed the notary exam (covered next) and keeping an approved copy of the Reference Manual for your commission.
Two military nuances the manual calls out: commissioned officers are federally commissioned to perform notarial acts and skip the state process entirely; enlisted personnel apply through the standard process like everyone else.
Step 2: Pass the notary exam
This is the step that is new since July 1, 2025, and the one most outdated content still omits. Every new commission and every renewal now requires a passing exam score before the application is filed.
The format: 45 multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes, 80% to pass (36 of 45 correct), open book, meaning the manual is built into the exam interface as a searchable PDF, and a physical copy is banned at the testing site. Every question is drawn from the 2026 Reference Manual, free at azsos.gov.
Registration runs through Pearson VUE: $35, a Pearson account, and a Candidate ID Number before you apply for a commission. (The legacy Prometric notice at $46.75 survives only in older manual prints and older prep pages.) Register through azsos.gov’s current links at the fee posted there, never through a third party. Full detail on the vendor situation: Prometric or Pearson VUE? The Transition, Explained.
Two deadlines bound this step. Your passing score is valid 90 days, so the application must follow promptly. If you fail, the retake rules in force when you registered apply (the Pearson notice allows three attempts before a 30-day wait; the manual-era rule was 30 days after any fail, a year after three).
How to prepare: the exam rewards knowing the manual’s *structure* over memorizing its sentences, because the searchable manual sits in front of you the whole time. Our study guide lays out a two-week plan; the free 24-question practice test shows you where you stand today.
Step 3: Buy your $5,000 surety bond
The bond comes before you submit the application. The manual’s order of operations is application online, exam passed, bond in hand, then one mailed package. Arizona requires a $5,000, four-year surety bond under A.R.S. § 41-269(D), purchased in duplicate: the original is filed with the Secretary of State, the duplicate stays with you.
Buy it from a licensed surety (a bonding company, an insurance company, or a notary organization authorized to issue bonds in Arizona), not from the Secretary of State, which neither sells bonds nor recommends sellers. The premium varies by provider, and the manual itself advises shopping around, so treat any single quoted price with suspicion. The bond must meet strict specifications (your printed name, two signatures, a jurat rather than an acknowledgment, no blank lines, and an expiration date one day less than four years out); the full requirements and rejection traps: The Arizona Notary Bond, Explained.
Step 4: Complete the application online
Fill out the notary application at azsos.gov: full legal name, residential and business address, the Arizona county where you will be commissioned, and your ID number. One detail that catches people: you cannot submit it online. You complete it online, print it, and sign it by hand. The Secretary of State requires an original wet signature and does not accept electronic submission.
Sign exactly as your name appears on your bond. A name mismatch between bond and application is a standard rejection reason, and every rejection costs you time inside your 90-day score window.
Step 5: Mail the package ($43 total)
One envelope, three things, mailed to the Secretary of State (1700 W. Washington Street, 7th Floor, Phoenix, AZ 85007-2808):
1. The signed, printed application.
2. The original bond (you keep the duplicate).
3. Fees of $43 ($25 application plus $18 bond filing) by check or money order payable to “Arizona Secretary of State.”
Mailing only the $25 is one of the most common rejection reasons. Send it by a trackable method; if the package goes missing, your 90-day clock keeps running with no proof of delivery.
Step 6: Wait for processing
Processing runs roughly 4-6 weeks per the manual (azsos.gov currently says approximately 4 weeks). During the wait, do not order your seal (the vendor legally needs your commission certificate first) and do not buy a journal you cannot yet use. If nothing has arrived after six weeks, call the SOS Notary Division with your tracking number.
Step 7: Verify your commission certificate
When the certificate arrives, check five things before doing anything else: your name (matching the bond), your commission number, the issuance date, the expiration date (exactly four years out), and the Secretary of State’s signature. Keep it secure: under A.R.S. § 41-267(B), the only person who receives a copy is your seal vendor. Not your employer, not a title company.
Step 8: Get your seal and journal (RON optional)
- Seal: a rubber stamp (an embosser alone does not qualify) with six required elements (“Notary Public,” your commissioned name, your county, your expiration date, the Great Seal of Arizona, your commission number) in dark ink, within the size limits, and you may hold only one. Verify every element against your certificate when it arrives.
- Journal: a bound paper journal is the standard, chronological, with a required entry for every act. Retention runs five years from the last entry.
- RON, optional: Arizona authorizes remote online notarization, but only after written authorization from the Secretary of State: a separate registration on top of your commission, using credential analysis and knowledge-based authentication to identify signers (manual, Administrative Rules Articles 12-13). You must already be an active commissioned notary before applying. It is a business decision, not a commission requirement.
Then you may notarize, at a maximum fee of $10 per notary public signature (A.R.S. § 41-316).
What changes once you are practicing
Two changes the October 2026 manual now carries that older guides and older manual prints don’t:
- SB 1479, effective September 12, 2026: you must record the signer’s right thumbprint in your journal for deeds, deeds of trust, other real-property documents, and powers of attorney (A.R.S. § 41-254(C)). The October 2026 manual includes it, so the exam’s source and current law agree. If you learned thumbprints as optional, refresh the habit: SB 1479, explained.
- The vendor move to Pearson VUE, covered in Step 2, is finished, and yes, renewal requires the exam again. (The renewal guide.)
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to become an Arizona notary?
Three state-side numbers: $43 in filing fees ($25 + $18), $35 for the exam (Pearson VUE), and the bond premium, which varies by surety, so shop it. Add seal and journal at the end.
How long does the whole process take?
Study time plus a 90-day score window, 4-6 weeks of processing, then seal and journal. Realistically six to ten weeks from starting to study to your first notarization.
Is a course required?
No. Arizona requires an exam, not a course, and designates no official trainer, a warning the manual itself makes. Courses are preparation. Ours is 26 lessons and 295 verified questions built on the manual, $69 at launch; the honest comparison including it: Best Arizona Notary Exam Prep, Compared.
Can I notarize as soon as I pass the exam?
No. Passing is the gateway. The commission certificate, seal, and journal all come after. The full sequence: Arizona Notary Exam Day, Explained.
Start with the free practice test, then the full course →
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