How to Become a Notary in Iowa: Requirements, Fees and Bond
Iowa notaries are commissioned through: Iowa Secretary of State. The commission term is 3 years. A surety bond is not required. The application fee is $30. Remote online notarization is allowed. Fields shown as not verified were not found on the official source; check the source page below.
| State | Iowa |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | IA |
| Commissioning office | Iowa Secretary of State |
| Commission term | 3 years |
| Surety bond required | No |
| Bond amount | Not verified from the official source |
| Application fee | $30 |
| Maximum fee, acknowledgment | Not verified from the official source |
| Maximum fee, jurat | Not verified from the official source |
| Fee note | Renewal also $30; no fee for name/address changes or for remote notarization approval. Certified copies $1 per page plus $5 certificate fee (Iowa Code 9B.21B). No cap on acknowledgment or jurat fees was found. |
| Remote online notarization (RON) allowed | Yes |
| Maximum RON fee | Not verified from the official source |
| Training required | Yes |
| Exam required | Not verified from the official source |
| Minimum age | 18 |
| Residency rule | Iowa resident or has a job or practice in Iowa (bordering-state residents receive one-year commissions); U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident; reads and writes English |
| Official source | https://sos.iowa.gov/notaries/notary-forms-and-fees |
| Additional official sources | https://sos.iowa.gov/notaries/pdf/notaryhandbook.pdfhttps://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/2026/9B.html |
| Last verified | not re-fetched |
| Notes on how the row was compiled | Mixed record: not re-fetched for bond, age and residency (value from a search extract of the official handbook); the fee and term fields were fetched. Fetched page confirms the $30 fees and the no-fee remote approval. Term of 3 years confirmed 2026-10-12 on https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/2026/9B.html ('a term of three years'; one year for certain out-of-state residents); that text mentions no bond. No bond, age and residency are from search extract of https://sos.iowa.gov/notaries/pdf/notaryhandbook.pdf. Training is stated only for remote online notaries (state-approved course), so that is what training_required reflects. Not found, so null: exam, fee caps, RON fee cap. |
Official source (plain text, copy into your browser): https://sos.iowa.gov/notaries/notary-forms-and-fees
Last verified: not re-fetched