Louisiana Notary Pre Assessment

The mandatory pre-assessment is the step that derails more Louisiana notary applications than any other — not because it is difficult, but because candidates misunderstand its timing requirements and end up missing their intended exam date by an entire cycle.

Here is exactly how the pre-assessment works and how to schedule around its deadlines.

What the Pre-Assessment Is

Under Act 610 of the 2014 Regular Session, every non-attorney applicant for a Louisiana notary commission must complete the Notary Exam Pre-Assessment before they can register for the state exam. The pre-assessment is administered by LSU's Office of Testing and Evaluation Services (OTES) and is taken online.

It is a reading evaluation, not a qualifying exam. There is no minimum passing score. You must complete it and receive a grade, but any score satisfies the requirement. The purpose is to evaluate your baseline reading comprehension before you sit for the actual state exam.

Registration and Fees

You can register for the pre-assessment only after the Secretary of State approves your Application to Qualify. The fee is $30.

Registration happens through the LSU OTES portal. Once registered, you complete the assessment online — there is no in-person component.

The 37-Day Deadline

This is the critical timing constraint that catches candidates off guard.

Your pre-assessment must be completed, graded by LSU, and transmitted to the Secretary of State at least 37 days before your intended exam date. LSU takes up to 7 business days to grade the assessment and send the results. If you complete the pre-assessment 35 days before the exam, your score may not arrive in time, and the Secretary of State will not let you register.

Working backward from a target exam date:

If you add in the 3–7 business days for the Secretary of State to approve your initial Application to Qualify, you should submit that application roughly 60 days before your target exam date to give every step adequate buffer.

The Pre-Assessment Does Not Expire

One genuinely helpful fact: pre-assessment scores do not expire. If you complete the pre-assessment and then delay taking the state exam — whether by months or years — you do not need to retake it. The score stays on file with the Secretary of State indefinitely.

This means you can complete the pre-assessment as soon as your application is approved, even if you haven't decided when to sit for the exam yet. Getting it done early eliminates one variable from your scheduling.

After the Pre-Assessment

Once LSU transmits your score to the Secretary of State, you become eligible to register for the state notary exam. The exam registration has its own deadline — at least 30 days before the exam date — and costs $100.

The exam itself is held exclusively at LSU Baton Rouge and runs up to four hours. With historical pass rates between 10% and 25%, most candidates treat the pre-assessment-to-exam window as their primary study period.

Common Mistakes

Registering for the exam before the pre-assessment score is on file. The Secretary of State will reject your exam registration, and the $100 fee is non-refundable.

Assuming the pre-assessment is instant. The online evaluation itself may be quick, but LSU's grading and transmission window of up to 7 business days is firm. Plan around it.

Confusing the pre-assessment with exam prep. The pre-assessment is a state-mandated reading evaluation. It does not prepare you for the state exam's civil-law content. Separate study — whether self-directed through the Yellow Book or through a prep course — is a different step entirely.

The Louisiana Notary Commission Guide includes a filing-sequence timeline planner that maps every deadline backward from your target exam date, so the pre-assessment window never sneaks up on you.

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