How to List Notary Public on Your Resume (With Examples)

Where a notary commission belongs on your resume

A notary commission can go in one of three places. Which one is right depends on how central notarization is to the job you are applying for.

• A standalone Licenses and Certifications section. Use this when notarization is a core, named requirement of the role, such as a loan signing agent, title closer, legal assistant, or escrow officer. The section header should contain the literal words "Licenses and Certifications" so applicant tracking systems map the entry to the correct field.
• A line inside your Skills section. Use this when notary status is a useful extra rather than a requirement, such as for an administrative assistant, office manager, or HR coordinator whose employer benefits from having an in-house notary but does not require one to do the job.
• A credentials line near your contact information. Reserve this for the rare case where notary status is effectively your job title, such as a mobile or traveling notary signing agent whose entire business is notarization. Everyone else should use one of the first two options instead.

VisualCV and the Houston Chronicle's Chron careers site both point to the same two main options: the Skills section or a dedicated Licenses and Certifications section. Chron adds a useful nuance that is easy to miss: the specific notarial acts you are authorized to perform vary by state, so do not assume your authorized duties match a notary in another state.

Filled example: Licenses and Certifications section for a legal or title role

For a role where notarization is a stated requirement, the credential needs its own line in a dedicated section, with the state named explicitly and an expiration date shown in standard resume date format.

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS
Notary Public, State of California, Commission #1234567, Active through March 2028

Note the pattern: credential name, issuing state, commission reference, then the active through date. This is the same structure VisualCV recommends for a notary line, and it lines up with how other state issued credentials are formatted in a Licenses and Certifications section.

Filled example: Skills section line for an admin or office role

When notarization is not required for the job but is a genuine, usable skill, a single line inside Skills keeps the credential visible without implying it is a job requirement.

SKILLS
Calendar Management · Travel Coordination · Expense Reporting · Notary Public (State of Texas,
   commission active through June 2027) · Microsoft Office Suite · Vendor Relations

Keep the parenthetical short: state and an active through date are enough. A full Licenses and Certifications block is not necessary here, since the credential is supporting evidence rather than the headline qualification. See our companion guide on how to list licenses on a resume for how this placement decision applies to other regulated credentials.

Notary commission term length varies by state, so confirm your own

There is no single national term length for a notary commission. The term length, renewal window, and bonding requirement are all set individually by each state, and they genuinely differ. Examples from five states:

• California: a four year term, with the term beginning on the date printed on the commission rather than the issue date (California Secretary of State, under California Government Code Section 8204). California notaries also have 30 calendar days from the start of the term to file an oath and a $15,000 surety bond with the County Clerk.
• North Dakota: a four year term that expires at midnight on the stated expiration date, with renewal allowed up to sixty days before expiration and a new $7,500 bond required at renewal (North Dakota Secretary of State).
• Wyoming: a four year term, with renewal applications accepted up to six weeks before the term expires (Wyoming Secretary of State).
• Maryland: a four year term, renewable from term to term (Maryland General Provisions, Section 18-103).
• Indiana: an eight year term, longer than the common four year pattern, with renewal applications accepted starting ninety days before expiration (75 IAC 7-2-4, Indiana notary public renewal rule).

Because these figures differ by state, and because bonding amounts and renewal windows differ too, do not copy a term length from this guide or any other onto your resume without confirming it. Check your own state's Secretary of State or commissioning authority for your current term, your renewal window, and your expiration date before you write anything down. Your commission certificate also shows this information directly.

What to put on your resume if your commission is expiring or mid-renewal

A notary commission that is about to lapse, or one where the renewal paperwork is already filed, is still worth listing. The goal is to show a recruiter the credential is current or actively being maintained, not lapsed and forgotten. VisualCV touches on a "renewal pending" phrasing; here is a full, dated version of that idea.

Say your Maryland commission expires January 15, 2027, and as of your resume's last update in November 2026 you have already filed your renewal application with the state. The line would read:

Notary Public, State of Maryland, Commission #MD-88213, Active through January 2027
   (renewal filed November 2026)

Once you reword a credentials line like this one, it is worth confirming it still reads correctly to a parser. Our free ATS resume checker shows exactly what an applicant tracking system pulls out of your resume, line by line.

If your commission has already fully lapsed and you have not yet filed for renewal, it is more accurate to drop the active through date and simply note the commission as lapsed, or omit the credential until the new commission is issued, rather than list an expired date as if it were current.

Should you include your notary commission number

Including the commission number is optional. It is not required by any state to appear on a resume, since it is a public record detail rather than a resume formatting rule. The main reason to include it is verification: a recruiter or employer who wants to confirm your commission directly with the state can look it up faster with the number in hand.

If you are applying broadly and are not yet far along in a specific hiring process, it is reasonable to omit the number and add it later if an employer asks. If you are applying to a role where notarization is a stated job requirement, such as a signing agent or escrow position, including the number signals that you expect your credential to be checked, which tends to read as a positive.

When notary status is worth leading with versus a minor add-on

Treat notary status as a headline qualification, placed in a dedicated Licenses and Certifications section near the top of the resume, for roles where it is a named requirement: loan signing agent, title or escrow officer, real estate closing coordinator, legal assistant or paralegal at a firm that routinely notarizes documents, and some banking roles that require in-branch notarization.

Treat it as a minor add-on, placed as a single Skills line, for roles where it is a convenience rather than a requirement: general administrative assistant, office manager, HR coordinator, or any role where the employer benefits from an in-house notary but does not list it as a qualification in the job description.

Frequently asked questions