How to Become a Notary in Illinois: Requirements, Fees and Bond
Illinois notaries are commissioned through: Illinois Secretary of State, Index Department. The commission term is 4 years. A surety bond of $5,000 is required. Fields shown as not verified were not found on the official source; check the source page below.
| State | Illinois |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | IL |
| Commissioning office | Illinois Secretary of State, Index Department |
| Commission term | 4 years |
| Surety bond required | Yes |
| Bond amount | $5,000 |
| Application fee | Not verified from the official source |
| Maximum fee, acknowledgment | Not verified from the official source |
| Maximum fee, jurat | Not verified from the official source |
| Fee note | No notarial act fee cap was found. Remote notarization requires an additional $25,000 bond (a combined $30,000 bond may satisfy both). |
| Remote online notarization (RON) allowed | Not verified from the official source |
| Maximum RON fee | Not verified from the official source |
| Training required | Yes |
| Exam required | Yes |
| Minimum age | 18 |
| Residency rule | Illinois resident (30 days) or qualifying non-resident; proficient in English; no felony conviction |
| Official source | https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/index/notary.html |
| Additional official sources | https://www.ilga.gov/agencies/JCAR/EntirePart?titlepart=01400176 |
| Last verified | not re-fetched |
| Notes on how the row was compiled | not re-fetched; value from a search extract of the official page. ron_allowed set to null: no official page read states it explicitly. ilsos.gov returned HTTP 403 to direct fetch; a retry on ilga.gov (legislature) on 2026-10-12 was refused (connection error); all figures are from search extract of https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/index/notary.html and 5 ILCS 312/2-105 ($5,000 bond, 4-year term). Application fee is null because sources conflict ($15 current, $10 on older forms, $40 combined notary plus electronic notary). Not found, so null: fee caps, RON fee cap. |
Official source (plain text, copy into your browser): https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/index/notary.html
Last verified: not re-fetched