California Notary Journal: Requirements, Thumbprints, and Penalties

California notary journal requirements start with a single rule: every commissioned notary must keep one active sequential journal and record every notarial act in it, with a separate complete entry for each signature, secured under the notary’s exclusive control.¹ Everything else, the thumbprints, the fee entries, the response deadlines, the surrender rules, follows from that.

What Each Journal Entry Must Contain

One notarial act, one line item. If you notarize ten signatures in a loan package, you make ten full entries. Hash marks, ditto marks, arrows, and diagonal lines across multiple entries all violate the law.²

Each entry must include:

The date and time you performed the act.
The type of notarization performed, such as acknowledgment, jurat, or oath. Avoid generic words like “notarized.”
A specific description of the document, such as “deed of trust” or “power of attorney.” Vague labels like “loan docs” do not satisfy the requirement. If the document is in a foreign language you cannot identify, record that fact.²
A statement of the satisfactory evidence you used to identify the signer. If the signer presented a paper ID, record the document type, issuing agency, serial or identifying number, and issue or expiration date.¹
The signer’s signature. The person whose signature you are notarizing signs the journal for every line item. No exceptions.
The fee charged, even if it was zero. List travel fees separately from the notarial fee.

The maximum fee for taking an acknowledgment or executing a jurat is $15 per signature.³ Recording the correct amount matters because overcharging is an independent basis for discipline.

When You Must Capture a Thumbprint

Certain documents trigger a thumbprint requirement. You must capture the signer’s right thumbprint in the journal whenever you notarize a deed, quitclaim deed, deed of trust, any other document affecting real property, or a power of attorney.⁴ If the right thumb is unavailable, use the left. If neither thumb works, use any available finger and note which one.

Two documents are exempt: a trustee’s deed resulting from a foreclosure and a deed of reconveyance. If the signer is physically unable to provide any print, document that in the entry with a brief explanation of the condition. You do not need a medical diagnosis, just enough to show why you could not collect a print.

Credible Witness Entries

When a signer lacks acceptable identification, the requirements expand depending on how many credible witnesses vouch for them.

With one credible witness personally known to you, the entry must include either the witness’s signature or the full details of the identification document the witness presented, meaning the document type, issuing agency, serial number, and issue or expiration date.⁴ One or the other, not both.

With two credible witnesses who establish the signer’s identity through their own IDs, the entry must include both witnesses’ signatures and the full ID details for each. In either scenario, the entry must also note that the signer’s identity was established through satisfactory evidence.

How to Store and Secure the Journal

Only one active journal at a time, and it must be kept in a locked and secured area, such as a lock box or locked desk drawer, under your direct and exclusive control.¹ Direct and exclusive control means no one else has access, including your employer.

The journal is your personal property by statute, even if your employer bought it. Your employer cannot require you to hand it over or allow others to access it. If anyone inspects or copies entries, you must be physically present while they do it. Failing to keep the journal properly secured is grounds for suspension or revocation of your commission.

Responding to Public Requests for Copies

Any member of the public can request a copy of a specific journal line item by submitting a written request that names the parties, the type of document, and the month and year of the notarization.¹ You can charge up to $0.30 per page.

You have 15 business days to respond, either by providing the copy or by confirming that no matching entry exists. The statute allows a defense for delays caused by unavoidable personal or business circumstances, but it is a narrow exception. Requests from law enforcement or the Secretary of State follow different rules and often demand faster compliance. Ignoring a valid request can lead to discipline against your commission.

Reporting a Lost, Stolen, or Damaged Journal

If your active journal is lost, stolen, damaged, or otherwise unusable, notify the Secretary of State immediately. The notice must be sent by certified mail, registered mail, or another physical delivery method that generates a receipt.¹ Email alone does not satisfy the requirement.

Your report must include the date range of the entries in the missing journal, your commission number, and your commission expiration date. If the journal was stolen, include a copy of the police report.⁵ After reporting, if someone requests a copy of a line item that was in that journal, you still must respond and explain that the entry is unavailable because the journal was lost or stolen.

Turning In the Journal When Your Commission Ends

When your commission expires, you resign, or you are removed from office, you must deliver all notarial journals, records, and papers to the county clerk’s office where your current oath of office is on file. You have 30 days from the date your commission becomes invalid.⁶ If you are reappointed within those 30 days, you still deposit the completed prior journal and start a fresh one for the new commission.

If a notary dies, the personal representative of the estate must notify the Secretary of State promptly and deliver the journal and other notarial papers to the county clerk. Tell a family member or executor about this obligation so it does not fall through the cracks.

Penalties for Journal Violations

Consequences range from administrative discipline to criminal charges. Failing to properly secure the journal, refusing to provide copies when required, or making incomplete entries can trigger disciplinary proceedings by the Secretary of State and result in suspension or revocation of your commission.¹

The stakes rise at the end of a commission. Willfully failing or refusing to deliver your journal to the county clerk within the 30-day window is a misdemeanor. You also become personally liable for damages to anyone harmed by the failure to turn over those records.⁶ Personal liability attaches even if you simply forgot, though the misdemeanor itself requires willful conduct.

A Note on Electronic Journals

These requirements govern the paper journal you keep for in-person notarizations. California adopted remote online notarization through SB 696, but the full online system becomes operative only when the Secretary of State completes the necessary technology infrastructure, or by January 1, 2030, whichever comes first.⁷ Until that happens, the paper journal remains the standard. When remote notarization goes live, notaries performing those acts must keep a separate electronic journal on encrypted storage accessed through multifactor authentication, with backups after every new entry and, if the platform does not offer custodial storage, a monthly deposit to a Secretary of State-registered depository.

1
California Legislative Information. California Government Code GOV 8206
2
California Secretary of State. Notary News
3
California Legislative Information. California Government Code GOV 8211
4
California Secretary of State. 2025 California Notary Public Handbook
5
California Secretary of State. Duplicate Seal Authorization Request – Report Lost or Stolen Seal and Journal
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California Legislative Information. California Government Code GOV 8209
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California Secretary of State. Customer Alerts