Readable version: Notary journal requirements by state, explained state by state. All site datasets: open data · data roundups.
What this dataset covers
Whether notaries must keep a journal for in-person and for remote acts, the entries it must hold, whether the signer's signature, thumbprint or ID number is required, how long to keep it and what happens to it when the commission ends.
Most often unconfirmed in this release: What happens to the journal when the commission ends: not s… (2), Entries the statute itself requires for fee records, and ho… (1), Journal format and retention for remote acts: the Remote & … (1), Journal rules for remote online notarizations (RSMo 486.118… (1), Records rule for eNotary acts: the eNotary FAQ says only th… (1). Every row carries all of its official sources.
Field dictionary
| Field | Meaning | Type | In this release |
|---|---|---|---|
jurisdiction_code | Two-letter postal code of the state or DC. | string | 51 of 51 filled |
jurisdiction | State name (or District of Columbia). | string | 51 of 51 filled |
category | Overall journal rule (for example required, remote only, recommended, not required). | string (code) | 51 of 51 filled: all-acts (24), remote-only (13), not-required (6), recommended (5), conditional (2) |
inPerson | Journal rule for in-person acts. | string (code) | 51 of 51 filled: required (24), recommended (12), not-required (8), conditional (2), not-stated (2) |
inPersonNote | Detail on in-person acts. | string (free text) | 51 of 51 filled |
remote | Journal rule for remote acts. | string (code) | 51 of 51 filled: required (23), every-act (14), recording (5), not-stated (5), not-applicable (1) |
remoteNote | Detail on remote acts. | string (free text) | 33 of 51 filled |
entries.scope | Which acts need an entry. | string | 51 of 51 filled |
entries.items | Entries the journal must hold. | array of strings | 42 of 51 filled |
signature.rule | Whether the signer's signature is required in the journal. | string (code) | 51 of 51 filled: not-listed (29), required (14), recommended (7), optional (1) |
signature.note | Detail on the signature rule. | string (free text) | 25 of 51 filled |
thumbprint.rule | Whether a thumbprint is required. | string (code) | 51 of 51 filled: not-listed (47), required-some (2), prohibited (2) |
thumbprint.note | Detail on the thumbprint rule. | string (free text) | 6 of 51 filled |
idNumber.rule | Whether the ID number is recorded. | string (code) | 51 of 51 filled: not-listed (40), required (4), prohibited (4), last-four (2), advised-against (1) |
idNumber.note | Detail on the ID rule. | string (free text) | 21 of 51 filled |
retention.years | Years the journal must be kept. | integer | 34 of 51 filled; 5 to 10 |
retention.text | The retention rule as stated. | string (free text) | 51 of 51 filled |
commissionEnd | What happens to the journal when the commission ends. | string (free text) | 26 of 51 filled |
unconfirmed | Fields the official sources read did not confirm for this row. Those values are null. | array of strings | 19 of 51 rows list at least one |
source_titles | Titles of the official sources for the row. | array of strings | 51 of 51 filled |
source_urls | Links to the official sources for the row. | array of strings | 51 of 51 filled |
checked | When the row's sources were opened (YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD). A row with no official source carries the date of the check that found none. | date (YYYY-MM-DD) | 51 of 51 filled |
page_url | The page on mcc-solutionsnj.com that explains this row. | string (URL) | 51 of 51 filled |
Preview: the first 10 rows
jurisdiction | category | inPerson | remote | signature.rule | retention.years | checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | not-required | not-required | recording | not-listed | null | 2026-11-06 |
| Alaska | not-required | not-required | not-stated | not-listed | null | 2026-11-06 |
| Arizona | all-acts | required | every-act | required | 5 | 2026-11-06 |
| Arkansas | recommended | recommended | not-stated | recommended | null | 2026-11-06 |
| California | all-acts | required | not-applicable | required | null | 2026-11 |
| Colorado | all-acts | required | required | required | 10 | 2026-11 |
| Connecticut | recommended | recommended | recommended | recommended | null | 2026-11 |
| Delaware | all-acts | required | every-act | not-listed | 10 | 2026-11 |
| District of Columbia | all-acts | required | every-act | required | null | 2026-11-06 |
| Florida | remote-only | recommended | required | not-listed | 10 | 2026-11 |
7 of 23 columns shown; the downloads have every column in full.
Download formats
The CSV has one row per jurisdiction and one column per field above, UTF-8, comma-separated. Nested fields use dotted names (entries.scope); lists are joined with | , and lists of objects become key: value; key: value items. The JSON keeps types (numbers, true/false, null, arrays) and includes this dictionary, the license and the checked date.
License
License: free to copy, share and adapt, including commercially, under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
Attribution required: credit "MCC Solutions" and link to this dataset page (https://mcc-solutionsnj.com/data/notary-journal-rules). The cite box below has text ready to paste.
Accuracy
Accuracy: every fact comes from an official government page as it read when checked (November 2026 for this release). Anything those pages did not confirm is null and named in the row's unconfirmed list; a null that is not on the list means the point does not apply or the source states none. This is general information, not legal or tax advice. We are not lawyers, and MCC Solutions is not a law firm.
Cite this data
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: credit MCC Solutions and link to https://mcc-solutionsnj.com/data/notary-journal-rules.
Changelog
- November 2026: sources checked for all 51 jurisdictions; this release has 23 fields, 646 confirmed values and 22 unconfirmed items.
- Downloads are generated from the data files on each request, so a corrected file shows up in the CSV and JSON straight away; a new entry is added here when the sources are checked again.