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Notary journal template, by state

Every state that keeps a notary journal says what an entry must hold, and no two say it the same way. Pick your state and this page lays its rule out as columns, numbered and ready to print, with the statute under the page. Need the rule itself first? Read journal requirements by state, or the rest of journals, records and e-seals.

Pre-filled with a Texas page of eight entries. Change any field.

What Texas's rule asks each entry to hold

7 columns

Entries 1 to 8 on this page; the next page starts at 9.

Journal retention: 5 years (Tex. Gov't Code § 406.108(c); 1 TAC § 87.54(b)).

Notary journal, Texas columns

Notary:

Commission no.

Page

No.Date and timeType of actDocumentPrincipalEvidence of identityRecordingFee
1Date and time, entry 1Type of act, entry 1Document, entry 1Principal, entry 1Evidence of identity, entry 1Recording, entry 1Fee, entry 1
2Date and time, entry 2Type of act, entry 2Document, entry 2Principal, entry 2Evidence of identity, entry 2Recording, entry 2Fee, entry 2
3Date and time, entry 3Type of act, entry 3Document, entry 3Principal, entry 3Evidence of identity, entry 3Recording, entry 3Fee, entry 3
4Date and time, entry 4Type of act, entry 4Document, entry 4Principal, entry 4Evidence of identity, entry 4Recording, entry 4Fee, entry 4
5Date and time, entry 5Type of act, entry 5Document, entry 5Principal, entry 5Evidence of identity, entry 5Recording, entry 5Fee, entry 5
6Date and time, entry 6Type of act, entry 6Document, entry 6Principal, entry 6Evidence of identity, entry 6Recording, entry 6Fee, entry 6
7Date and time, entry 7Type of act, entry 7Document, entry 7Principal, entry 7Evidence of identity, entry 7Recording, entry 7Fee, entry 7
8Date and time, entry 8Type of act, entry 8Document, entry 8Principal, entry 8Evidence of identity, entry 8Recording, entry 8Fee, entry 8

Columns from Tex. Gov't Code § 406.108(a), read .

Art Deco illustration of a blank journal open on ruled columns

What it works out

A state's journal rule is one long sentence. This tool splits it into one column per thing you write, in the order the rule lists them, and numbers the rows so a page follows on from the last one. Pick the state that commissioned you; the column heads, the cite under the page and the retention line all change with it. The states read here ask for between 5 and 9 columns, and 4 of them appear in every state: when, what, who, and how you knew who.

A printed page suits a paper journal, your in-person acts, or a working sheet you keep beside the screen. For a remote act, most of these states want the entry in an electronic, tamper-evident journal, so the printed page is not your record there; check what each of the electronic notary journals captures against the same columns, and run a finished entry through the journal entry check.

  1. 01Pick your commissioning state, or the core columns if yours is not listed.
  2. 02Add your name and commission number if you want them on the page.
  3. 03Set the first entry number to follow your last page, and how many entries fit.
  4. 04Print in landscape, or copy the column heads into a spreadsheet.

Worked example: a Texas online acknowledgment

The default page is Texas. Section 406.108(a) of the Government Code, as the Secretary of State's record-keeping page sets it out, lists seven things for each online notarization, so the page carries seven columns after the entry number. Counted by hand from the rule: date and time, type of act, the document, the principal, evidence of identity, the recording, and the fee. Eight entries numbered from 1 end at 8, so the next page starts at 9. Here is one entry filled in, with an invented signer:

One Texas journal entry, column by column
ColumnEntry 1 (example)
Date and timeThe session date, with the start time from the platform's log.
Type of actAcknowledgment.
DocumentWarranty deed.
PrincipalDana Reyes (example), with her full street address in Austin, TX.
Evidence of identityTexas driver's license; credential analysis and identity proofing passed (record kept by the platform).
RecordingRecording on the platform, backup on your own drive (file name noted).
FeeAs charged; Texas allows $25 plus regular fee for an online act.

State notes

What kind of journal each state asks for, and how long it is kept, from the same rules the columns come from. The full reading, state by state, is in notary journal requirements by state.

Journal kind, columns and retention by state
StateJournalColumnsKept
COelectronic journal810 years
FLRequired (electronic)610 years
KSRequired510 years
MERequired, for remote and electronic acts510 years
MDRequired610 years
MOelectronic + bound journal910 years
NEelectronic record of each act710 years
PARequired5to the county Recorder of Deeds within 30 days
TXRequired (electronic record)75 years
VARequired (electronic record)75 years
WAtangible journal required; electronic optional510 years
  • WA Keep one tangible journal (a permanent bound book with numbered pages) for all acts, including remote ones; an electronic journal may be kept only in addition to it. Note in the tangible journal that an act was performed remotely. That journal is a bound book, so a loose printed page is not it; use the page to plan the columns or as a working sheet.
  • MO Keep an electronic journal of remote online notarial acts and also record them in the permanently bound journal. The electronic journal needs two-factor access, no edits or deletions, a backup, and the ability to capture a signature image plus one biometric identifier. See the Missouri page for the platform side.
  • PA Each notarial act a separate entry, completed fully, with no blank spaces or boxes. Each fee recorded against the act it was charged for; a waived fee shown as n/c, 0 or a dash. More in Pennsylvania's rules.
  • KS Only you or the Secretary of State may keep the journal; no other repository, an employer included. See Kansas.

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