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Notary Public Overview

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Have you ever been in a situation where you had to deal with some kind of legal matter? Or perhaps you went into some kind of legal contract with another party? Or you agreed to submit some kind of document as proof of your legal status to do business? If your answers to these questions is yes, then at one time or another you more than likely needed to have those papers notarized. This means you had to go to a notary public to have those documents legalized. If you ever did this you know what notaries do. But what if you wanted to get involved with the profession yourself and become a notary. There are steps you must take to become one. It isn't just a matter of stamping a document and signing it. You have to know more than that. There are legal issues you need to know that the state you reside in requires you to follow. Before you get started on your quest to become a notary, you need to know first what the requirements are. Here are the first things you need to do before you can become a notary:

• Resident: Before you even think about applying to become a notary you have to be a resident of the state you live in. To be a resident, you usually have to live in the state for at least a year, but each state's requirements for residency are different. Learn the rules in your state.
• Age factor: To be a notary, you must be at least 18 years of age. You will not be accepted if you are 17 and ½ or are just about to turn 18 in a day or so. You must be 18. No exceptions.
• Sign written agreement: To be considered a notary, you must sign a written agreement under oath stating that you have not committed any crimes or that any crimes that were committed were annulled by the court. Or that the person has any kind of traffic violations either minor or major.
• Application endorsement: In order for your application to be approved, it must be endorsed by at least 2 notaries and one registered voter.
• Complete a special form: For consideration to be a notary, the applicant must complete a State Police Records Check Form. This will allow the state police to run a check on your background to see if you have a clean record or not.
• Pay a fee: Every applicant must pay a fee of $75. This is good for five years.

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