New York

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Every claim below carries its citation and the source it was checked against. Sections still in verification say so rather than guess.

Fees

$2 for a notarial act — an oath, or an acknowledgment, per person.

Each additional person is another $2, as is swearing each witness. New York sets the lowest notarial fee of the states we publish.

N.Y. Exec. Law §136(1)–(2)

Cross-checked · NY DOS Notary Public License Law (March 2026)

Fees · Electronic

An electronic notarization is $25, and that covers everything.

The rule makes the fee inclusive of every cost the notary incurs, so it is the whole price of the act. The amount sits in regulation rather than the statute, so it can change without a new law.

19 NYCRR §182.11(g)

Cross-checked · NY DOS Notary Public License Law (March 2026)

Notarial acts

Acts · Certified copies

A New York notary cannot certify a copy of a document.

Certified copies come from the official who holds the original. A notary's powers are listed in the Executive Law and copy certification is not among them.

N.Y. Exec. Law §135

Cross-checked · NY DOS Notary Public License Law (March 2026)

Signer ID

Identification

A government photo ID, two signed documents, personal knowledge, or witnesses can identify a signer.

A remote signer who isn't personally known to the notary must clear more: everything required in person, plus credential analysis and identity proofing.

19 NYCRR §182.5(b)

Cross-checked · NY DOS Notary Public License Law (March 2026)

Journal & seal

Records

Every New York notary records each act as it happens, and keeps those records ten years.

The record covers the date, time and type of act, who it was for, and how they were identified. New York requires no thumbprint, and unlike Texas the entries are not public.

19 NYCRR §182.9

Cross-checked · NY DOS Notary Public License Law (March 2026)

Online (RON)

Electronic Notarization

A New York electronic notary must be in New York; the signer can be elsewhere.

Identity needs two or more authentication processes unless the notary already knows the signer, and the video and audio recording is kept for ten years.

N.Y. Exec. Law §135-c

Cross-checked · NY DOS Notary Public License Law (March 2026)

Apostille

A notarized New York document goes to the county clerk first, then to the Department of State.

The Department of State authenticates documents signed by a New York official or county clerk, so the clerk first certifies that the notary held office.

N.Y. Department of State

Cross-checked · N.Y. Exec. Law §133, county clerk authentication

Becoming a notary

You pass the state exam, then file the application, the oath and a $60 fee with the Department of State.

Attorneys admitted in New York are appointed without the exam. You must be a New York resident or keep an office or place of business in the state, and the term is four years.

N.Y. Exec. Law §130

Cross-checked · NY DOS Notary Public License Law (March 2026)

Complaints

The Secretary of State may suspend or remove a New York notary for misconduct, after charges and a hearing.

Removal requires that the notary be served with the charges and given a chance to be heard. Advertising violations carry a civil penalty of up to $1,000.

N.Y. Exec. Law §130; §135-b(5)

Cross-checked · NY DOS Notary Public License Law (March 2026)

Straight answer · What these guides are

Reference, not legal advice.

These guides explain how notarization works: the fees, the acts, the process. They won't tell you which document your situation needs, and neither will any notary. Notaries public are not attorneys and cannot give legal or immigration advice. For that, talk to a lawyer.

The same rule that governs our directory governs these pages: we publish what the state publishes, cite it, and stop there.

Find a New York notary All state guides