Become a notary

Texas Secretary of State

Become a notary in Texas

Notaries in Texas are commissioned by the Texas Secretary of State. Apply there first. StampSide is a public page after you have used their process. Texas publishes an official commissions listing. Confirm electronic and remote rules on the SOS notary page.

Official Texas registerRegister on StampSide

Where to register

Applications go to the Texas Secretary of State. Open their page for the current application, not a StampSide form.

Requirements

What the official page states. If a topic is missing here, that page did not spell it out.

Residency and age
Be a Texas resident and at least 18 years of age.
Record
No convictions for a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude. The Office runs background checks on all applicants.
Education
Complete the Notary Education Requirement through the SOS Notary Portal. The SOS is updating administrative rules under SB693 for those educational standards.
Bond (traditional)
Obtain proof of a Notary Public Surety Bond from a Texas-licensed bonding company. The bond form is completed by the surety, not by you alone.

How to get started

  1. Create an SOS Portal account

    The Notary Portal is how you submit or renew, check status, pay, and handle name or address changes.

  2. Complete education in the portal

    Required for traditional, online, and state-employee paths.

  3. Traditional: bond, then submit

    Follow the SOS PDF instructions. If a bonding agency files for you, use the bonding-agency instruction PDF.

  4. Sign the commission under oath

    After approval, download the commission from the portal and sign it under oath in the presence of a notary or authorized official. You cannot execute your own commission.

  5. Register on StampSide

    After you use the Texas Secretary of State site, create a public page: photo, where you work, and how clients reach you. You can appear in the Texas directory. The page stays unpublished until a commission is on file.

Tools after you apply

Official pages and named suppliers already listed in this product. Checkout is on their site — StampSide does not sell stamps.

  • Bond or E&O

    Texas requires a surety bond from a Texas-licensed bonding company for a traditional commission. The SOS page does not state a dollar amount on the HTML we read.

    National Notary Association

  • Stamp or seal

    Texas publishes seal-of-office requirements (star, wording, size). Buy the stamp after you have the commission.

    Texas SOS seal requirements

  • More suppliers

    Notary Rotary, Notary.net, and the National Notary Association are on the supplies list. State-specific seals only.

    StampSide supplies list

More official pages

Remote / electronic notarization

Online Notary is a separate SOS commission. It needs the same education, plus an x.509 digital certificate and electronic seal from a third party. State-employee notaries cannot notarize for the public.

Register, then getting started

StampSide does not commission you — the Texas Secretary of State does, on the official site above. Register here for a public page. After you sign up, getting started walks through a photo, your commission when you have it, and an email signature for cards and mail. The page stays unpublished until a commission is on file.

RegisterCreate your page

After you are commissioned

Appear in the Texas directory. Closers and the public still confirm standing on the official site.

Create your pageTexas listingsTexas hub

Other jurisdictions: all state guides · quiz · Train your eye.