The Pennsylvania Department of State (Department) Office of Notaries, Commissions and Legislation (Office) has adopted comprehensive regulations fully implementing the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (RULONA). These regulations will take effect on March 28, 2026.
Please find a summary of the major changes instituted by the regulations below. Notaries should read and be familiar with the full text of the regulations, once they are published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. These regulations should be read together with the RULONA statute.
- Notary Bond – The bond amount is increased from $10,000 to $25,000. A notary public who holds a current commission on March 28, 2026 may continue to use the same bond until the expiration of that commission. All notaries newly appointed or reappointed on or after March 28, 2026 must obtain a $25,000 bond.
- Notary Stamp – The seven-digit commission identification number assigned by the Department is now required on the official stamp of the notary (formerly called the notary seal). The notary stamp must contain, in the following order:
- The words “Commonwealth of Pennsylvania”
- The words “Notary Seal”
- The name as it appears on the commission of the notary public and the words “Notary Public”
- The name of the county in which the notary public maintains an office
- The date the notary public's commission expires
- The notary commission number
The following is an example of a compliant stamp:
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania – Notary Seal
John Q. Doe, Notary Public
Dauphin County
My commission expires May 19, 2027
Commission number 1234567
The size of the stamp remains the same (a maximum height of 1 inch and a width of 3 ½ inches with a plain border). Use of an embosser remains optional.
A notary public who holds a current commission on March 28, 2026 may continue to use his or her seal until the expiration of that commission. All notaries newly appointed or reappointed on or after March 28, 2026 must use the new seal format.
- Notary Journal – The new regulations do not change the information for each notarial act that is required in the journal. The regulations clarify that the journal may not contain any personally identifiable information about any individual appearing before the notary public, to include any part of a Social Security number, full driver’s license number or government-issued nondriver identification card number, date and place of birth, mother’s maiden name or biometric records. A journal may contain the customer’s signature and any additional information about a specific transaction that might assist the notary public to recall the transaction, including the date of the record. The journal may also contain terminal numbers of identification credentials, including the last four digits of a driver’s license or passport.
- Inspection and Copies of Notary Journal – The new regulations further implement the RULONA requirement that a notary public must permit inspection of the journal to any person requesting to view the journal. The request for inspection may be oral or in writing. The inspection must occur in the presence of the notary public. Requests for certified copies of the journal may be oral or in writing and must specify the particular entry or time period sought. The notary public must provide the certified copy within 15 days of receipt of the request.
- Notary fees – The maximum fees which notaries public may charge for notarial acts remain unchanged, but a new fee of $5 (per signature) has been added for the notarial act of witnessing or attesting a signature. In addition, the new rules allow electronic notaries public and remote notaries public to charge a fee not to exceed $20 per notarial act performed with respect to electronic records or using communication technology. The regulations require that a notary public shall provide an itemized receipt for all fees charged by the notary.
- Identification of individual/customer – The regulations provide additional types of credentials which meet the requirement for satisfactory evidence of identity. Other forms of government identification that are current, contain the signature or a photograph of the individual, and are satisfactory to the notarial officer include any of the following:
- An identification card issued by any branch of the United States armed forces
- An inmate identification card issued by the Department of Corrections for an inmate who is currently in the custody of the Department of Corrections
- An identification card issued by the United States Department of Homeland Security
- A Social Security card
- A Pennsylvania State university identification card or State-related university identification card
- A Pennsylvania medical marijuana identification card
- A consular identification document issued by a consulate from the individual’s country of citizenship, provided it uses letters, characters and a language that are read, written and understood by the notary public
- Use of interpreter and documents not in English – The new rules specify that a notary public must be able to communicate directly with the individual for whom a notarial act is being performed in a language they both understand or indirectly through an interpreter. The interpreter must be able to communicate directly with the individual for whom the notarial act is being performed and with the notary public at the time of the notarization. A notary public may notarize a document that is a translation and in a language that the notary public does not understand only if the person performing the translation makes a verification on oath or affirmation stating that the translation is accurate and complete. The translation and notarized verification must be attached to the record for which the notarial act is being performed. The notarial certificate must always be in English. The certificate may be simultaneously worded and completed in another language that is read, written and understood by the notary public. The foreign language certificate must be immediately adjacent to the English-language certificate.
- Notifications to the Department – The new rules require a notary public to notify the Department within 30 days of any change in the information on file with the Department, including:
- Name
- Office address and phone number
- Home address and phone number
- Email address
- Selected electronic notarization technology provider
- Selected remote notarization technology provider
- Resignation from the office of notary public
- Conviction of or acceptance of Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition in resolution of a felony or an offense involving fraud, dishonesty or deceit
- Disciplinary action taken against the notary public’s commission by the commissioning authority of another state or jurisdiction
- Finding against, or admission of liability by, the notary public in any criminal, civil or administrative proceeding, based on the fraud, dishonesty or deceit of the notary public
- Finding by the Pennsylvania Bar Association or the courts of the Commonwealth or the bar or courts of any other state or jurisdiction finding that the notary public has engaged in the unauthorized practice of law
- Payment to a claimant under the notary’s bond
- Certified copies – The new rules list records for which a notary public may not issue a certified copy:
- Vital records (birth and death certificates)
- United States Naturalization Certificates
- A government-issued record that on its face states “do not copy,” “illegal to copy” or words of similar meaning.
- A record that is prohibited by law to copy or certify
- The new rules list records for which a notary public may issue a certified copy:
- Public records
- Passports
- Driver’s licenses
- Transcripts
- Diplomas
- Contracts
- Leases
- Bills of sale
- Medical records, consents or waivers
- Powers of attorney
- Standards for approval of electronic notarization technology and remote notarization technology – The regulations provide more specific rules for the approval of electronic notarization and remote notarization technologies and also for when a provider ceases providing the technology.
- Acts or omissions providing the basis for sanctions – The new rules provide explicit examples of acts or omissions that may lead to discipline of a notary commission. Some examples include:
- Notarizing the individual’s own signature or statement
- Notarizing a spouse’s signature or statement, when the notary public or the spouse has a direct or pecuniary interest in the record
- Affixing to or logically associating the notary’s official stamp or signature with a record or notarial certificate before the notarial act has been performed
- Post-dating or predating notarial acts
- Altering a record after it has been notarized. This includes altering the notarial certificate for a purpose other than to correct a ministerial error
- Altering, inserting or deleting journal entries other than to correct a clerical error
- Retaining a customer’s record or identification credential or retaining a copy of a customer’s record or identification credential, unless permitted by law
- Offenses involving fraud, dishonesty or deceit – The regulations provide a new and comprehensive list of crimes that involve fraud, dishonesty or deceit and which may be a basis for discipline upon conviction or acceptance of accelerated rehabilitative disposition by the applicant or notary public.
The regulations do not change the other major provisions of the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (RULONA), including education, examination, the six notarial acts authorized by RULONA, personal appearance, notarial certificates, appointment and commission as a notary public, disqualification to receive a commission, penalties, the ability of notaries to electronically and remotely notarize records and advertising.
December 29, 2025