Louisiana Notary Exam Preparation Courses

The next exam prep session will be announced SOON. Register now and begin your preparation for the state exam with our experts!

REQUIREMENTS TO BECOME A NOTARY

HOW TO OBTAIN A NOTARY COMMISSION

From the Secretary of State:

Any resident citizen or alien of the state, eighteen years of age or older, may be appointed a notary public in and for the parish in which he resides provided that he meets the requirements established by law, La.R.S.35:191(C).

Notary applicants must be qualified by the Secretary of State’s Office and, unless licensed to practice law in Louisiana, must complete the Notary Exam Pre-Assessment as well as take and pass the state notary exam. The pre-assessment is online and must be completed before an applicant can register for the state notary exam. The pre-assessment is mandatory, but only needs to be taken once. The state notary exam is given at least twice a year.

NOTARY PUBLIC INITIAL APPOINTMENT REQUIREMENTS

Any resident citizen or alien of the state, 18 years of age or older, may be appointed a notary public in and for the parish in which they reside provided that they meet the requirements established by Louisiana R.S.35:191.

Notary applicants must be qualified by the Secretary of State’s Office and, unless licensed to practice law in Louisiana, must complete the Notary Exam Pre-Assessment as well as take and pass the state notary exam. The pre-assessment is online and must be completed before an applicant can register for the state notary exam. The pre-assessment is mandatory but only needs to be taken once.

UPDATE: NEXT LOUISIANA NOTARY EXAM SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 2024

Examination Date: March 02, 2024 (Additional date March 16, 2024, if capacity exceeded)

Pre-Assessment Deadline: January 25, 2024

Registration Deadline: February 01, 2024

Registration will open: Pre-assessment registration and Notary Exam Registration are now open.

UPDATE: NEXT LOUISIANA NOTARY EXAM SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 2024

Examination Date: June 15, 2024 (Additional date June 22, 2024, if capacity exceeded)

Pre-Assessment Deadline: May 09, 2024

Registration Deadline: May 16, 2024

Registration will open: Monday, March 4, 2024

UPDATE: NEXT LOUISIANA NOTARY EXAM SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 2024

Examination Date: September 14, 2024 (Additional date if capacity exceeded)

Pre-Assessment Deadline: August 08, 2024

Registration Deadline: August 15, 2024

Registration will open: Monday, June 17, 2024

Click here for application information with the Louisiana Secretary of State

How to Qualify to Become a Louisiana Notary

To become an applicant, you are required to complete an Application to Qualify. To qualify, you must:

    • be registered to vote in the parish in which you seek commission;
    • be a resident citizen or alien of this state;
    • not have been convicted of a felony and not been pardoned;
    • be able to read, write, speak and be sufficiently knowledgeable of the English language;
    • be 18 years of age or older; and
    • hold a high school diploma, a diploma for completion of a home study program approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education or a high school equivalency diploma issued after successfully completing the test of General Educational Development.

THE NOTARY INITIAL APPOINTMENT PROCESS: A STEP BY STEP GUIDE

STEP 1: REGISTER FOR OUR NOTARY EXAM PREP COURSE

Refer to our Course Schedule on the top of this page or click here for the latest classroom or virtual online sessions. Remember each class is set with appropriate lead time into the next notary exam so if there is not one scheduled be sure to contact our office and let us know you want to be first in line!

STEP 2: COMPLETE AN APPLICATION TO QUALIFY WITH THE LOUISIANA SECRETARY OF STATE.

You can find the current application to qualify from the LA Secretary of State here. Otherwise, our notary instructor will provide you the application during your prep class and share with you how to fill it out, where to send it, and when it is due. Let us be your guide!

STEP 3: APPLY TO TAKE THE EXAMINATION

When your Application to Qualify is approved, you will receive an email containing your applicant ID and an access code to enable you to register online to take the mandatory Notary Exam Pre-Assessment. (If you have taken the pre-assessment, you proceed to register for the state notary exam.) When registration for the pre-assessment is complete, the LSU Center for Assessment and Evaluation will email you login instructions to complete the pre-assessment. Once the Notary Division of the LA Secretary of State receives your score, you will be able to register for the state notary exam. This test is an evaluation and does not require a passing score for you to register for the state notary exam.

Once you have received a score on the Notary Exam Pre-Assessment, you can register online to take the state notary exam. The deadline to get your Application to Qualify, Notary Exam Pre-Assessment and Examination Registration completed is 30 days prior to the exam. Please take note that the Application to Qualify must be approved by the Secretary of State’s Office and the Notary Exam Pre-Assessment registration and scoring process take approximately one week. It is, therefore, beneficial to the applicant to submit these well in advance of the deadline. The deadline to complete the Pre-Assessment is 37 days prior to the exam.