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Notary Public
Please visit our Notary Public Online Office. You can pre-apply, renew, change your official address, or find local Notaries Public in our searchable database. (New...please be patient as we begin adding historical records to the database and load testing these online services.)
GENERAL INFORMATION
A notary public is a public official whose powers and duties are defined by statute. It is a relatively simple matter to become a notary public, but the office has important responsibilities, limitations and liability potential that should be fully realized.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
A notary must be at least 18 years of age and be a resident of, or maintain a principal place of business in, the county from which he/she is elected. Tenn. Code Ann. 8-16-101. A person with a principal place of business in a Tennessee county may be elected as notary even though that person's residence is in another state. Tenn. Code Ann. 8-16-101. United States citizenship is not a requirement of Tenn. Code Ann. 8-16-101.
NOTARY PUBLIC AT LARGE
As of July 1, 2004, notary publics will no longer be identified as Notary Publics "At Large" but will be identified as Notary Publics for the State of Tennessee.
BOND
After election by the county legislative body and before commencing duties or exercising powers, a notary must post bond by a surety company authorized to do business as a surety in Tennessee, in the amount of $10,000. The bond is payable to the state and conditioned on the faithful performance of the duties of a notary public. The bond must be filed in the office of the county clerk in the county of election. Tenn. Code Ann. 8-16-104. The county clerk may charge $1.50 for taking and recording the bond. Tenn. Code Ann. 8-21-701.
OATH
The notary must also take and subscribe to an oath before the county clerk or a deputy county clerk to support the constitutions of the State of Tennessee and the United States, and that the notary will, without favor or partiality, honestly, faithfully and diligently discharge the duties of a notary public. Tenn. Code Ann. 8-16-105.
OFFICIAL SEAL
As of July 1, 2004, a notary must purchase an official rubber stamp seal that will imprint the seal of office in "..any color other than black or yellow, provided the color used to imprint the seal shall be clearly legible and appear as black when photocopied on a non-color copier." However, if the notary public was approved for their term of office prior to this date, they may continue to use their current notary seal until their term of office expires. Tenn. Code Ann. 8-16-206(a).
(The use of an embossed notary seal was eliminated in May 2003)
Tenn. Code Ann. 8-16-301(b).
Links to Public Chapter 854 and to the new seal design rules appear under the "Notary Laws" section of the following website:
http://tennessee.gov/sos/bus_svc/notary.htm