Notary Public Supplies: What Do You Need to Begin?

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To become a notary, one needs to do a certain amount of preparation, including taking any certification. Once you have done all of the necessary steps, what is next? What notary public supplies do you need to start that business?

Notary Supplies

What exactly is a notary? A notary is a public officer or a state officer (in most states) who is appointed and commissioned to perform certain functions or notarial acts. Those acts include being an impartial witness in the case of documents, helping to defer fraud, and promoting integrity of documents.

The process of becoming a notary is different for each state, so it is important that you contact your local notary office via the National Notary Association. The basic supplies for a notary are a notary stamp and a logbook. These can easily be purchased at an office supply store, though your best bet would be to purchase them from an actual notary store.

Items needed -

notary stamp/seal
logbook/journal of notary acts
notary bond
notary insurance/law primer

A notary stamp or seal is used to authorize a document by your office. Again, depending on the state, the rules for these on dependent on what your state law says about seals. In some cases, you may need to send in or verify your notary certification in order to receive your seal.

The logbook (also known as a journal of notary acts) is basic record keeping book of all the official and important actions you perform as a notary.

The notary bond is not really for the notary, but for the person that signs the documents that the notary views. Most states will require this if you are to become a notary, which protects the public from negligence or mistakes by the notary.

The notary insurance (called E/O - errors and omissions) and the law primer are optional notary public supplies, but ones that are very beneficial. The E/O insurance is to protect the notary and covers some of the things that the notary bond will not or does not cover. The law primer is just a way to keep up on your state laws, helping you keep track of any changes to existing laws or additions to new laws that your state may pass.

Notary public supplies are a vital aspect to achieving your business goal. An important thing to remember about becoming a notary and obtaining supplies is that you must check with your state for their specific requirements. While the basic notary public supplies are usually the seal and the logbook, every state is different. Checking with the NNA is helpful, but find out if your state or city has a local office so that you may contact them to confirm this information.

Image credit: The National Notary Association