Notary Public
Before your initial notary appointment, applicants must complete a course of instruction in the duties of notaries
approved by the Secretary of State. This course must contain not less than 6 hours of classroom instruction. Approved
courses are currently offered by all community colleges and technical institutes. You may call Forsyth Technical
Community College at 723-0371 to obtain information on when the next class will occur in Forsyth County. You will
receive a form with which to apply for your commission after completing the course. Complete the form and obtain the
signature of any elected official. Send the completed form with $50.00 to the Secretary of State at the address indicated
on the form.
When notified by the Secretary of State, you must appear before the Register of Deeds to take the oath. The fee for
administering the oath is $10.00. We accept cash or checks only.
Notary Re-Appointment
To obtain information on notary re-commissioning, go to the Secretary of State’s website. The application for re-commissioning can be completed on
their website.
Upon notification by the Notary Public Section, you must appear (within 45 days from the issue date) before
the Register of Deeds in the county in which the commission is issued to take the oath of office. The Register of Deeds
fee for administering the oath is $10.00
Change of Name / Address
A notary must notify the Secretary of State of a name or address change by completing the Change of Name / Address
Form at the Secretary of State’s website and sending it to them at the address indicated on the form. Upon receiving
confirmation of approval of the change of name from the Secretary of State, you must appear before the Register of Deeds
to take the oath. The Register of Deeds fee for administering the oath is $10.00.
Notary Certificates
A "Notary Certificate" that certifies that one was a notary at the time an acknowledgement was taken can be obtained
from this office for a fee of $5.00. We can issue these certificates for Forsyth County Notaries only.
If you need to obtain an Apostille from the Secretary of State, you no longer need to obtain a notary certificate from
the Register of Deeds before submitting the document to them. You can obtain information on this from their website at
www.secretary.state.nc.us/authen.
North Carolina Notary Association
The North Carolina Notary Association is a non-profit North Carolina Corporation organized to benefit all notaries in
North Carolina. For information, visit their website.
Visit the Secretary of State to receive
additional information pertaining to notarizing documents and to get sample acknowledgement forms.
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