Notary

Notary Qualifications

To be eligible to be a notary in Kansas, state law requires that a person must be:

• At least 18 years of age.
• A Kansas legal resident, or a resident of a bordering state, who regularly carries on a business or profession in Kansas or who is regularly employed in Kansas.

Follow these steps to become a Kansas notary:

1. Complete the Notary Public Appointment Form (Form NO).
2. Obtain a notary surety bond. State law requires a notary to be bonded for $12,000. The bond must be a commercial surety bond from an insurance company licensed in Kansas. The surety bond company must complete the appropriate section of the Notary Public Appointment Form.
3. Obtain a notary seal. An impression of the notary seal, or, if the seal is a stamp, a copy of the stamp must accompany the Notary Public Appointment Form. A notary seal must contain the notary’s name exactly as it appears on the notary application for appointment, the word “notary public” and “State of Kansas” or words of like import. Notary seals may be purchased at office supply stores or online.
4. Mail or deliver the completed Notary Public Appointment Form that includes the surety bond, impression of the notary seal or stamp, and $25 application fee to the Secretary of State’s Office.
5. The Secretary of State’s office mails approved applicants a Notary Certificate to their home address. An applicant may not notarize documents until their application is approved.

Length of Appointment

Notaries are appointed for four years.

Renewing a Notary Appointment

Appointments may be renewed by completing Form NO. Notaries are encouraged to submit their renewal application 90 days before their appointment expires to ensure their authority to notarize documents is uninterrupted. The fee is $25.

Notary Name Change

Notaries who change their name are required by state law to obtain a new seal or stamp and notify the Secretary of State. Notaries should submit Form NC indicating the change and provide an impression of the new seal or stamp.

Other Changes to Notary Appointment

Form NC also may be used to change an address, phone number, or notary seal.

For More Information

During the 2021 legislative session, the Kansas Legislature approved SB 106 implementing the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (RULONA), which permits a Kansas notary to provide remote online notarizations (RON) and makes the key changes outlined below to Kansas notary law effective January 1, 2022. The text of the new law is available at http://www.ksrevisor.org/statutes/ksa_ch53.html.

Notary Journal

Effective January 1, 2022, Kansas notaries are required to maintain a notary journal.

A journal entry shall contain the following information:

• The date and time of the notarial act.
• A description of the record, if any, and type of notarial act.
• The full name and address of each individual for whom the notarial act is performed.
• If the individual is identified based on personal knowledge, a statement to that effect.
• If the individual is identified based on an identification credential, such as a driver’s license, or identified by a credible witness, a brief description of the method of identification and, if an identification credential is used, the date of issuance and expiration date of the credential.
• The fee, if any, charged by the notary.

A notary may maintain a journal in both a tangible form and an electronic form. While a notary may maintain only one journal in a tangible format, a notary may maintain more than one journal in an electronic format.

The journal is required to be maintained for 10 years after the last entry. A notary may transfer their journal to an approved repository for retention.

A notary must notify the Secretary of State if the journal is lost or stolen.

Surety Bond

Effective January 1, 2022, the surety bond amount for a new or renewing notary is $12,000. A surety bond must be obtained from an insurance company licensed to do business in Kansas.

The surety bond shall be written for a term of four years, covering the dates of the notary’s commission.

The increased bond amount will not be applicable to current notaries unless and until a notary files for a commission after January 1, 2022. An application filed on or before December 31, 2021, need only have a $7,500 surety bond. However, a higher bond amount may be obtained. If an additional bond amount is obtained, a rider will be accepted and should be submitted with Form NC.

Verification of Identity

The law sets out documentation that can be used to verify the identity of the signer of a document to specifically include a driver’s license and passport, but also permits a government-issued nondriver identification card or another form of government identification.

Identification can be accepted if it is expired, but the expiration is not more than three years prior to the notarial act.

Refusal to Notarize

The law establishes criteria for when a notary may refuse to perform a notarial act. A notary may refuse to perform a notarization if the notary is not satisfied that the:

• Individual executing the record is competent or has the capacity to execute the record
• Individual's signature is knowingly and voluntarily made
• A notary may refuse to perform a notarial act unless refusal is prohibited by state or federal law.

Remote Online Notary

Allows remote online notarization (RON) in Kansas, which enables a Kansas notary to provide notarizations for remotely located individuals. RON allows a notary and a remotely located individual with an electronic document to be notarized to communicate using audio-visual technology to satisfy the personal appearance requirement, eliminating the need for the signer to be in the physical presence of the notary at the time the document is notarized.

Notaries must meet certain requirements to perform remote online notarizations, which can be found here.

Notarial Certificates

Current law includes short form notarial certificates, setting out items that must be included in a notarial certificate. Effective January 1, 2022, the short form notarial certificates will be provided in regulation, not statute. Regulations containing the short forms will be provided on this page when available.

Notary Stamp

A notary is required to notify the Secretary of State if the notary’s stamp is lost or stolen. A notary may use Form NC to notify the Secretary of State’s office of a lost or stolen stamp and provide a copy of the notary’s new stamp.

When obtaining a stamp to replace one that has been lost or stolen, notaries are encouraged to select a stamp that is different from their previous stamp (i.e. round vs. rectangle) to help deter fraudulent use.

Beneficial Interest

The beneficial interest provision is expanded to prohibit a notary from performing a notarization of a record in which either the notary or the notary's spouse is a party to or has a direct financial or beneficial interest.

Notary Advertising

If a notary advertises or offers notarial services, the notary shall include the following statement:

• “I am not an attorney licensed to practice law in this state. I am not allowed to draft legal records, give advice on legal matters, including immigration, or charge a fee for those activities.”

Notary Fee

A notary is permitted to charge a fee for a notarization. The fee must be:

• Disclosed to the signer that the fee is permitted but is not required by state law or regulation.
• Disclosed to the signer and agreed to by the signer before the notarization is performed.
• Collected at the time the notarization is performed.
• Recorded in the notary’s journal.

Please note: The above is a summary of key provisions of the law and does not reflect all changes made to Kansas notary law.

Resources

• Notary Law: SB 106
• Notary Application and Renewal Form Form NO
• Notary Change Form Form NC
• Notary Regulations

For questions regarding a notary appointment, renewal, or notary duties and responsibilities, email notary@ks.gov or call 785-296-4564.

Effective January 1, 2022, Kansas notaries may provide remote online notarizations (RON). RON allows a notary and a remotely located individual with an electronic document to be notarized to communicate using audio-visual technology to satisfy the personal appearance requirement, eliminating the need for the signer to be in the physical presence of the notary at the time the document is notarized.

A Kansas notary is not required to provide remote online notarizations.

A notary shall not perform a notarization for a remotely located individual if the notary is not physically located in Kansas at the time of the notarization.

State law requirements for remote online notarizations are available here (see Section 15).

Regulatory requirements for performing remote online notarizations will be provided here when available.

Complete the following three steps to provide remote online notarization. Please note that notary training and the vendor list will be posted on this page when available.

1. Select a RON provider

A notary will choose a RON technology provider(s) who will provide the RON platform the notary will use to perform remote online notarizations. Platforms are Internet-based and enable the notary and remotely located individual to use audio-video communication to meet the physical presence requirement.

The platform will enable identity verification of the remotely located individual, provide the audio-visual technology for the notary and individual to see and hear each other during the notary session, enable the individual to electronically sign the document and the notary to notarize the document, and enable the notary to record the notarial act in an electronic journal. Many RON platform providers offer training to notaries on how to successfully use their platform.

Notaries are required to obtain a digital certificate that verifies the notary’s identity and, once a document is notarized, makes the document tamper evident. RON platform providers may provide a digital certificate or may provide direction about how to obtain one.

A notary must choose a RON technology provider that is on file with the secretary of state. New providers will be added as approved. Continue to check back for more option.

Generally, the only technology a notary and the individual will need to participate in a RON is an internet connection sufficient for the notary and individual to see and hear each other and to connect to the RON platform.

To apply as a RON or IPEN provider, please submit this application.

2. Complete notary training and pass a test

Before performing a RON, a notary is required to complete training and pass a test.

Training and testing are provided at no cost by the Secretary of State’s office. A notary will be able to complete the training and test at their convenience. A certificate will generate upon successful completion of the test that the notary must submit as part of their registration with the Secretary of State to provide RON.

3. Notify the Secretary of State that the notary intends to perform RONs

Prior to performing RON a notary is required to notify the Secretary of State of the technology the notary intends to use.

• Kansas notaries who have an active commission and wish to perform RONs may submit Form NC (submit online here) at any time prior to their expiration.
• For each commission a Kansas notary applies for, the Form NO (submit online here) must be approved prior to submitting Form NC to perform RONs.

Include a copy of the certificate generated upon completion of training and passage of the exam

A fee of $20 is required

A notary’s RON registration runs concurrent with the notary’s four-year commission

Resources

• Notary Law: SB 106
• Notary Application and Renewal Form Form NO
• Notary Change Form Form NC
• Notary Regulations

For questions regarding a notary appointment, renewal, or notary duties and responsibilities, email notary@ks.gov or call 785-296-4564.