National Verification Guide · Updated 2026
Before you sign anything important, take 60 seconds to confirm the notary's commission is active. This guide covers Secretary of State notary lookups for every U.S. state, plus deep-dive walkthroughs for Washington, New York, Pennsylvania, California, Texas, Florida, and Maryland.
We help users understand how to verify notary status and find notary public services. For official commission status, always confirm with the state notary commissioning office or Secretary of State.
Under 1 min
Time to verify
All 50 states + DC
Coverage
Free (state-run)
Cost
Status · Expiry · RON
What to check
An expired, suspended, or non-existent notary commission can invalidate your document — costing weeks in re-signings, missed real estate closings, rejected court filings, or a returned loan package. A quick license search prevents all of that. Every state runs a free, government-operated notary public license search (sometimes called a Secretary of State notary lookup). It takes under a minute.
Any of these = stop and find a different notary. Our notary directory pre-verifies every listing against the state registry so this never comes up.
Official state notary databases, A → Z. Click "Official lookup" to open the government search tool in a new tab. Where we have an in-depth walkthrough for a state, follow the "Our guide" link.
| State | Regulator | Official lookup | Deep-dive guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Probate Court (county) | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Alaska | Office of the Lt. Governor | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Arizona | AZ Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Arkansas | AR Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| California | CA Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | Our California guide → |
| Colorado | CO Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Connecticut | CT Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Delaware | DE Notary Public Office | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| District of Columbia | DC Office of Notary Commissions | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Florida | FL Department of State | Official lookup ↗ | Our Florida guide → |
| Georgia | GA Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Hawaii | HI Attorney General | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Idaho | ID Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Illinois | IL Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Indiana | IN Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Iowa | IA Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Kansas | KS Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Kentucky | KY Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Louisiana | LA Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Maine | ME Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Maryland | MD Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | Our Maryland guide → |
| Massachusetts | MA Governor's Office | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Michigan | MI Department of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Minnesota | MN Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Mississippi | MS Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Missouri | MO Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Montana | MT Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Nebraska | NE Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Nevada | NV Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| New Hampshire | NH Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| New Jersey | NJ Department of the Treasury | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| New Mexico | NM Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| New York | NY Department of State | Official lookup ↗ | Our New York guide → |
| North Carolina | NC Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| North Dakota | ND Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Ohio | OH Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Oklahoma | OK Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Oregon | OR Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Pennsylvania | PA Department of State | Official lookup ↗ | Our Pennsylvania guide → |
| Rhode Island | RI Department of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| South Carolina | SC Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| South Dakota | SD Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Tennessee | TN Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Texas | TX Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | Our Texas guide → |
| Utah | UT Lt. Governor's Office | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Vermont | VT Office of Professional Regulation | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Virginia | VA Secretary of the Commonwealth | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Washington | WA Department of Licensing | Official lookup ↗ | Our Washington guide → |
| West Virginia | WV Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Wisconsin | WI Department of Financial Institutions | Official lookup ↗ | — |
| Wyoming | WY Secretary of State | Official lookup ↗ | — |
Regulator names and lookup URLs change occasionally. If a link is broken, search the state's official website for "notary public license search" or "notary lookup" and confirm you're on a .gov domain before entering any information.
Still need a notary?
NotaSealPros cross-checks every listing against the state commission registry before it goes live. Search by city, state, or service and book in minutes.
Every U.S. state maintains an official notary commission database — usually run by the Secretary of State or Department of Licensing. Search by commission number, name, or county to confirm the notary is active, unexpired, and in good standing.
It's the free, official search tool most states operate that lets anyone verify a notary's commission. 'Secretary of State notary lookup' and 'notary public license search' refer to the same thing in most states — some states use the Department of Licensing, Governor's Office, or a county probate court instead.
Washington State's notaries are commissioned by the Department of Licensing (DOL), not the Secretary of State. Use the DOL professional license lookup and select 'Notary Public.' See our Washington State Notary Search guide for a walkthrough.
New York notaries are commissioned by the NY Department of State (NYDOS). Use the NYDOS license verification tool and select 'Notary Public.' Full walkthrough on our NYS Notary License Verification page.
Most state search tools accept either the notary's full commissioned name or their commission ID number. Some also let you filter by county or ZIP code.
Yes — 'license' and 'commission' are used interchangeably in most states. It authorizes the individual to perform notarial acts for a fixed term (typically 4–10 years).
The notary may be expired, suspended, or never commissioned in that state. Do not proceed with the notarization until you can confirm the commission is active.
Yes. RON notaries carry the same state commission plus a separate RON endorsement. Both should appear in the state database.
Grab the notary's full commissioned name and commission number from their seal or ID card. Open your state's lookup tool from the table above, search by name or number, and confirm status = active and the expiration date is after your signing date.
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Trust & verification
Verify before you book
Step-by-step guide to confirm a notary's active commission.
State lookup links
Direct links to every US state's official notary registry.
Profile review badges
"Verified" badges appear only after we confirm the commission. Ratings reflect real signer reviews.
Service descriptions
Read what each service covers before you request a notary.
Disclaimer: NotaSealPros is a directory that helps you find notary services. We are not a government agency and do not commission notaries. Always verify official notary commission status with the appropriate state authority (Secretary of State or Department of Licensing) before finalizing any notarization.