Persons who desire appointment as a Texas Notary Public for the State of Texas must file an application with the Secretary of State.  The persons desiring appointment as Texas Notary Public must meet the following requirements: 1) you must be at least 18 years of age; 2) a legal resident of the State of Texas and; 3) must not have been convicted of a felony or crime involving moral turpitude.

Once you have obtained your application/bond form you must do the following to qualify for appointment: 1) complete the application & take the oath of office; 2) furnish a bond in the sum of $10,000 and; 3) pay the fee required by law.  A properly licensed insurance or bonding company must execute the bond as surety.

Being a Texas Notary Public, in the truest sense of the word, is being “a public servant” and “an officer of the State of Texas” who is located in the community so that they may be of service to the public.  Each Texas Notary takes two official oaths: 1) is the Statement of the Officer which is found on your Application for appointment; and 2) the Notary Public Oath of Office found on the back of your Notary Public Commission.  Both oaths must be taken before you can assume the duties of the office of Texas Notary Public.  When you take the last oath you “swear” to faithfully execute the duties of the office:, and to insure your performance you are required to post a $10,000.00 bond with the Secretary of State.

Once appointed, a Texas Notary Public owes allegiance to the state of Texas, not to his employer who may have paid the bonding and appointment fees.

The Texas Notaries first duty is that of a disinterested party.  You are required to admonish the signer of an instrument as to the importance of that document, and the signer of the document is required to declare that their identity, signature and reason for signing the document are genuine.  Your signature and seal does not prove these facts conclusively, but does provide (prima facie) proof of them, and allows people involved in the business of trade or commerce to rely upon the truth of the Notary Public as a disinterested third party.

Texas Notaries Public cannot refuse to perform notarial services on the basis of customer or non-customer status, engage in the practice of law, draft legal documents, give legal advice or accept fees for legal advice, issue identification cards, advertise as immigration specialist or consultants, use the Texas notary seal for commercial endorsements notarize documents which are not signed and completed in the presence of the Texas Notary, notarized their own signatures or for transactions in which one has a monetary interest, fail to keep a record book of notarizations, fail to post a notary fee chart, fail to issue an itemized receipt upon request, or charge notarial fees in excess of this allowed by law. Financial penalties are also prescribed by law for violations.

As a Texas Notary Public you should know and strictly follow all the different procedures and requirements of your office in order to protect yourself and to protect the public from harm or damage.

As a Texas Notary Public you are personally liable for any negligence or fraud in the performance of your duties of office.  The bond is to insure that the person injured (“public”) can recover at least the amount of your bond, but this does not protect you from personal liability for the full extent of damages caused by a breach of official duty.  In addition to civil liability, you could also be subject to criminal prosecution and the revocation or suspension of your Texas Notary Public commission.