Notary commission lookup by state.

The table

Why look up a notary at all

A stamp or a printed commission number does not by itself prove a commission; the state's record does. Several of these states are required to keep a public database for exactly this reason: Washington's statute says the director "shall maintain an electronic database of notaries public" through which a person may verify a notary's authority (RCW 42.45.220), and Oregon has the same duty in ORS 194.345. The portal is the check, and the table shows where it is.

Portal by portal

• California publishes a daily file instead of a search form. That is useful in bulk, but it will not show a commission issued since the last update.
• Florida lets you narrow by notary type, which matters because the same search covers notaries public, civil-law notaries and commissioners of deeds.
• Illinois requires at least one search field from either the name or commission-number group, or from the city or ZIP group.
• Oregon separates the license record from a published directory of notaries approved for remote or electronic acts who agreed to publish their contact details.
• Pennsylvania bundles the public search with the notary's own services, such as updating an address or checking an application.
• Virginia accepts a name or Notary ID and, per the handbook, can recover a registration number for commissions issued from 2010.
• Washington uses the Department of Licensing's general license lookup rather than a notary-only search.

What a hit proves, and what it does not

A match shows the state has a commission record for that name or number and, usually, an expiration date. It does not show that the person is authorized for the specific act you need, that the act was performed correctly, or that the document will be accepted. In California the handbook adds a timing point: the commission does not take effect until the oath and bond are filed with the county clerk, so a recent appointee who has not filed is not yet a working notary.

Worked example (hypothetical)

You receive a deed with a California seal showing commission number 1234567 and an expiration date of 2029. You download the Secretary of State listing, open the text file in an editor and search the number. If a row exists and the expiration date matches the seal, the commission is consistent with the record as of that day's update. If no row exists, the number may have been mistyped, the commission may have expired or been cancelled, or the listing may not yet reflect a very recent commission, so contact the Notary Public Section before drawing a conclusion.

Edge cases

• Search by commission number when the name is common or spelled differently from the name on the seal. Florida and Illinois list commission number as a search field, and Virginia accepts a Notary ID.
• An expired commission can still appear in a historical record. Always compare the expiration date with the date of the notarization, not today's date.
• A lookup shows nothing about acknowledgment wording or apostilles. For foreign use the document may also need authentication from the state, a different office and process.

Who this is for

Title companies, lenders and recorders checking a seal, employers validating staff, and individuals who want to confirm that the person who notarized their paperwork was commissioned.

What this does not cover

Texas, New York and Ohio are not here because we could not verify their statutes or portals when this page was checked, and we do not describe anything we could not verify. Their absence says nothing about whether a lookup exists. This page links to official sources only and does not copy, scrape or mirror any register. It does not cover acknowledgments or apostilles by state and is general information, not legal advice.

FAQ

How do I verify a notary in California?

The Secretary of State publishes a compressed file of active notary commissions, updated each business day. It lists name, business name, mailing address, filing county, commission number and expiration date. Download it and search for the name or number.

How do I look up an Illinois notary?

Use the Secretary of State's Notary Public Search. Enter a last name (or last and first name), a commission number, a city or a ZIP code; at least one field from the name or commission group, or from the city or ZIP group, is required.

Where do I check a Washington notary?

The Department of Licensing's license lookup. Its notary FAQ points consumers there to confirm that a person is an active notary, and the statute requires the director to keep an electronic database for verifying a notary's authority (RCW 42.45.220).

Can I search for a notary by commission number?

Often. Florida and Illinois list commission number as a search field, California's file includes it, and Virginia accepts a name or Notary ID and can recover a registration number for commissions issued in 2010 or later.

Does a lookup prove the notarization is valid?

No. It shows that a commission record exists and usually when it expires. It does not show that the notarial act was performed correctly or that a recorder or court will accept the document.

Why is a new notary missing from the list?

A listing can lag. California updates its file each business day, and a California commission only takes effect once the oath and bond are filed with the county clerk, so a recent appointee may not appear yet.

Is an apostille search the same as a notary check?

No. California's Apostille Search checks whether an authentication certificate was issued; it does not confirm that a person holds a notary commission.

Sources

Retrieved 2026-10-20. Each link was opened and the figure next to it was checked against the text.

• California Secretary of State: Notary Public Listing
• California Secretary of State: Apostille Search
• California Secretary of State: Notary Public Handbook (January 2026), reprinting Government Code sections 8200 to 8230
• Florida Department of State: Remote Online Notary Search
• Illinois Secretary of State: Notary Public Search
• Oregon Secretary of State: Notary home page
• Oregon Secretary of State: Notary Public Directory (data.oregon.gov)
• Oregon Revised Statutes chapter 194, Notaries Public
• Pennsylvania Department of State: Notary Searchable Database and eServices
• Secretary of the Commonwealth: Notary Commissions
• Virginia notary verification site
• Secretary of the Commonwealth: A Handbook for Virginia Notaries Public (revised July 1, 2026)
• Washington Department of Licensing: license lookup
• Washington Department of Licensing: Notaries public FAQ
• Revised Code of Washington chapter 42.45, Uniform Law on Notarial Acts