Yes. State law requires you to buy a surety bond before you receive your commission as a notary public and the rules of the Secretary of State's Office require the bond to be in the amount of $5,000. (A.R.S. §§ 41-312 and 41-315 and A.A.C. R2-12-1103) The bond must remain in effect for the four years of your commission. If your bond is cancelled by your bonding or insurance company before the end of your four-year commission, the Secretary of State will revoke your commission.

You must buy a notary bond from a licensed surety. Bonds may be purchased from a notary bonding company, an insurance company, or through one of the two national notary organizations. Because prices vary, you may want to check with several companies or organizations before actually buying your bond. (A.R.S. § 41-315(A)) Please note, as stated in #411, that the State of Arizona does not designate an "official" bonding company.

If it is the first time you are applying for a notary commission you should buy the bond after you submit the application. Approximately two weeks after you submit your application you can check our website (www.azsos.gov) for your assignedcommission dates. Once you have the dates for the term of your notary commission you can then purchase a bond thatcontains the bond dates that match your notary commission dates. You then send the bond to the Clerk of the Superior Court in your county of residence along with the bond filing fee.

However, if you are renewing a notary commission it is suggested that you purchase your notary bond before sendingyour application and then submit your notary application, your notary application filing fee, and a copy of your notary bond tothe Secretary of State’s Office. (A.R.S. §§ 41-312(B) and 41-315). You still need to send the bond itself to the Superior Courtin your county of residence along with the bond filing fee. Because you are renewing a notary commission you already knowthe dates of your next notary commission since your next commission term begins the date after your present term expires and ends four years from that date. For example, if your commission expires on May 31, 2005, your next commission begins onJune 1, 2005 and ends on May 31, 2009. Therefore you would purchase a notary bond consisting of bond dates beginning June 1, 2005 and ending May 31, 2009. On a renewal, buying the bond first and sending us a copy will facilitate the processing time.

The bond cannot be issued more than 60 days before or 30 days after the beginning date of the commission for which the bond was purchased. If the Secretary of State’s Office discovers that your bond dates do not fall within that 90-day window, we will notify you so that you can get a rider on your bond. Remember that the issue date of a bond may not be the same asthe date the bond takes effect. The law states that the time limits apply to the date of issuance of a bond. (A.R.S. § 41-315(B))

If you send us a copy of your bond with your application we will attempt to contact you to let you know that the bonddates are incorrect. If we cannot reach you by telephone, we will send you a letter specifying that the dates on your bond are incorrect and that you need to get a rider for your bond with the correct dates (the letter will specify the dates) and file therider with the Clerk of the Superior Court. For your county Court Clerk’s procedure, contact the Clerk’s office directly.

We will send your commission certificate showing the dates we used to the Clerk of the Superior Court in your county ofresidence. By law, the Clerk is to notify you that the Clerk’s office has received your certificate from the Secretary of State’sOffice. You then have 20 days to buy your bond and submit it to the Clerk’s Office along with the appropriate filing fee.

No. The surety bond that you are required to buy before being commissioned as a notary protects the public for whomyou are performing the notarizations. If you wish to protect yourself, you may wish to purchase Errors and Omissions Insurance (also called E&O Insurance). E&O insurance will protect you in the event your mistake is inadvertent. Please note that, if you intentionally do something wrong when performing a notarization, nothing will protect you.

Your signature on your notary bond MUST match the signature on your application form.

No. The State of Arizona does not designate an “official” bonding company. However, one or more bonding companiesmay solicit your business and you might think, because of the wording of their material that they send to you, that a particular company has been designated as the “official” bonding company for Arizona. DO NOT be misled.