CALIFORNIA NOTARY PRACTICE EXAM
2025 2026 COURSE REAL EXAM
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 100 PERCENT
VERIFI
EXAM
1. What is one requirement for becoming a California Notary Public?
Answer: Be a legal resident of California .
2. Where is a notary's jurisdiction limited to?
Answer: The entire state of California .
3. You have how many days to take your oath of office and file your bond after
your commission commencement date?
Answer: 30 days .
4. What happens if your oath and bond are not filed within the time limit for
qualifying?
Answer: Your commission is no longer valid and you must apply for another one .
5. What is the amount of the surety bond a California notary must file?
Answer: $15,000 .
6. What is the purpose of the surety bond?
Answer: To reimburse members of the public who are damaged by notarial
misconduct .
7. When do you officially become a notary?
Answer: When your oath and bond are filed with the county clerk .
8. If you move, you must notify the Secretary of State within how many days?
Answer: 30 days .
📖 Notarial Acts (Acknowledgments vs. Jurats)
, 9. What does an acknowledgment do?
Answer: It proves that the signer acknowledged to the notary that they signed the
document voluntarily for its intended purpose .
10. What is a Jurat?
Answer: The part of an affidavit where the notary certifies that the signer personally
appeared and was sworn to (or affirmed) the truthfulness of the document's contents .
11. When an oath is administered by a notary public, is raising the right hand an
official requirement?
Answer: No. (True/False: It is NOT an official requirement) .
12. A possible penalty for committing perjury is:
Answer: Any of the above (2, 3, or 4 years in prison) .
13. What is the name for a person who appears before a notary on behalf of the
principal to prove the principal signed the document?
Answer: A subscribing witness .
14. A subscribing witness can bring you which type of document?
Answer: A Homestead Declaration .
🔒 Journal, Seal, and Identification Rules
15. Only one of the following is not a required item in a notary public's journal.
Which one is it?
Answer: The county in which each signer presently resides .
(Note: The journal does require the signer's signature, date/time/type of act, and character
of the document.)
16. When is a thumbprint required in a notary journal?
Answer: For deeds, powers of attorney, and certain property transactions affecting real
property .
17. The notary stamp may be which shape?
Answer: Rectangular .
18. A notary public's seal must contain which of the following?
Answer: The State Seal, the notary's name, the commission expiration date, and the
county where the oath and bond are on file .
2025 2026 COURSE REAL EXAM
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 100 PERCENT
VERIFI
EXAM
1. What is one requirement for becoming a California Notary Public?
Answer: Be a legal resident of California .
2. Where is a notary's jurisdiction limited to?
Answer: The entire state of California .
3. You have how many days to take your oath of office and file your bond after
your commission commencement date?
Answer: 30 days .
4. What happens if your oath and bond are not filed within the time limit for
qualifying?
Answer: Your commission is no longer valid and you must apply for another one .
5. What is the amount of the surety bond a California notary must file?
Answer: $15,000 .
6. What is the purpose of the surety bond?
Answer: To reimburse members of the public who are damaged by notarial
misconduct .
7. When do you officially become a notary?
Answer: When your oath and bond are filed with the county clerk .
8. If you move, you must notify the Secretary of State within how many days?
Answer: 30 days .
📖 Notarial Acts (Acknowledgments vs. Jurats)
, 9. What does an acknowledgment do?
Answer: It proves that the signer acknowledged to the notary that they signed the
document voluntarily for its intended purpose .
10. What is a Jurat?
Answer: The part of an affidavit where the notary certifies that the signer personally
appeared and was sworn to (or affirmed) the truthfulness of the document's contents .
11. When an oath is administered by a notary public, is raising the right hand an
official requirement?
Answer: No. (True/False: It is NOT an official requirement) .
12. A possible penalty for committing perjury is:
Answer: Any of the above (2, 3, or 4 years in prison) .
13. What is the name for a person who appears before a notary on behalf of the
principal to prove the principal signed the document?
Answer: A subscribing witness .
14. A subscribing witness can bring you which type of document?
Answer: A Homestead Declaration .
🔒 Journal, Seal, and Identification Rules
15. Only one of the following is not a required item in a notary public's journal.
Which one is it?
Answer: The county in which each signer presently resides .
(Note: The journal does require the signer's signature, date/time/type of act, and character
of the document.)
16. When is a thumbprint required in a notary journal?
Answer: For deeds, powers of attorney, and certain property transactions affecting real
property .
17. The notary stamp may be which shape?
Answer: Rectangular .
18. A notary public's seal must contain which of the following?
Answer: The State Seal, the notary's name, the commission expiration date, and the
county where the oath and bond are on file .
