Your Notary Jurisdiction

In almost all states, a notary has statewide jurisdiction that is not limited by county boundaries. For example, a notary public in the state of Texas can perform notarial acts anywhere within the state of Texas. When notarizing a signature, the notarial certificate a notary completes typically includes a venue, in the format “State of __________, County of ____________,” which is an indication as to where the notary and the signer were physically located at the time the signature was notarized and also indicates the authority of the notary to perform notarial acts at that location.

There are few states that allow their notaries to notarize documents outside their state border line with no additional commissioning requirements.  For example, Virginia notaries have limited powers in performing notarial acts outside the Commonwealth of Virginia. A traditional notary public may perform any notarial act outside the Commonwealth for any writing intended to be used in the Commonwealth of Virginia or by the United States government. (§ 47.1-13, § 47.1-13.1)

Kentucky allows a resident or non-resident of Kentucky to apply for a special commission to perform notarial acts inside or outside of the state if the documents are to be recorded in Kentucky [KRS 423.110(6)].

If you live in a state bordering Illinois and work in Illinois, you may apply for a non-resident notary commission to notarize documents in Illinois. Kansas and Missouri allow for residents who live in adjacent states and work in their states to apply for a non-resident notary commission.

A non-resident licensed Texas escrow officer who resides in a state adjacent to Texas can become a Texas notary public if the person (1) meets the same qualifications as a Texas resident, setting aside the residency requirement; (2) is a resident of one of the following adjacent states: Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, or New Mexico; and (3) completes Form 2301-E. If the non-resident notary public is no longer a licensed Texas escrow officer, the notary must voluntarily surrender his or her notary public commission to the Secretary of State.  

Always remember, your notary authority typically stops at your state border line. However, you may have more than one notary commission if you live in a bordering state that issues notary commissions to non-residents.