Can a Felon Become a Notary in Nevada

The Short Answer

It depends on the type of conviction. Some felonies permanently disqualify you from holding a Nevada notary commission. Others allow you to apply after a waiting period and restoration of your civil rights.

Permanent Disqualifications

Felony convictions involving theft, fraud, embezzlement, identity theft, misappropriation of property, burglary, conversion, or larceny are permanent bars to a Nevada notary commission. No amount of time, rehabilitation, or civil rights restoration changes this. The state considers these offenses fundamentally incompatible with the public trust a notary commission requires.

The 10-Year Waiting Period

For all other felony convictions and crimes involving moral turpitude, Nevada allows you to apply if three conditions are met:

1. More than 10 years have elapsed since the date of your release from confinement or the expiration of your parole, probation, or sentence, whichever is later
2. You have made complete restitution
3. Your civil rights have been fully restored

All three conditions must be satisfied. Partial completion of any one of them — even if the other two are met — means you're not yet eligible.

How the Application Works

Nevada does not require fingerprinting or a state-administered background investigation for traditional notary applicants (that's a document preparation service requirement under NRS 240A, a common source of confusion). Instead, you self-disclose your criminal history on the Application for Appointment form.

The application asks directly whether you have been convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude. If yes, provide details about the conviction and sentence, along with evidence that your civil rights have been restored.

Civil Rights Restoration in Nevada

If you rely on restored civil rights, prepare documentation showing that your civil rights have been fully restored. The applicable restoration process and documentation depend on the convicting jurisdiction.

A Realistic Assessment

If your conviction involved theft, fraud, embezzlement, identity theft, misappropriation of property, burglary, conversion, or larceny, the disqualification is permanent under current law, and no amount of time changes that. For other felonies, the more-than-10-year period is measured from the latest of release from confinement or expiration of parole, probation, or sentence, not from the conviction date.

The Nevada notary commissioning guide walks through the full eligibility assessment, including the self-disclosure process and what supporting documentation to prepare if your history includes a conviction.

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