New York Notary Journal Requirements

The Mandate That Applies to Everyone

Since January 25, 2023, every New York notary public — traditional in-person and electronic alike — must maintain a detailed journal of all notarial acts under Title 19 NYCRR Part 182.9. This isn't optional, and it isn't limited to remote online notarizations.

The New York State Bar Association pushed hard to limit the requirement to electronic notaries only. The legislature passed a bill to do exactly that during the 2023–2024 session. Governor Hochul vetoed it in November 2024, citing consumer protection and the role of journals in deterring real estate deed fraud.

Successor bills (Senate Bill S6910 / Assembly Bill A7683) are active proposals in the 2025–2026 session, but until one passes and is signed, the journaling requirement applies to every notarial act you perform, period.

What Each Entry Must Include

For traditional in-person notarizations, five core fields are required per entry:

1. Date and time of the notarial act
2. Name and address of each person whose signature is being notarized
3. Type of notarial act performed (acknowledgment, jurat, oath, affirmation)
4. Identification method used to verify the signer's identity
5. Fee charged for the act

Electronic notaries performing RON have two additional mandatory fields: the communication technology used during the session and the name of the identity verification provider.

Ten-Year Retention

All journal records — whether physical or electronic — must be retained for a minimum of 10 years from the date of the notarial act. This applies to individual entries, not to the journal as a whole. If you notarize a document today, that specific entry must be retrievable through 2036.

If you resign your commission, move out of state, or let your commission lapse, the retention obligation still applies to acts performed while you were active. You don't get to destroy records just because you're no longer a notary.

Physical vs. Electronic Journals

You can use either format, but each has specific requirements:

Physical journal: Must be a bound book with sequentially numbered pages designed to prevent page removal. Loose-leaf binders, spiral notebooks, and printable sheets don't qualify. Entries must be made in ink at the time of the notarial act — contemporaneous recording, not after-the-fact reconstruction.

Electronic journal: Must comply with Part 182's technical requirements for secure digital ledgers. The system must prevent unauthorized alteration and maintain an audit trail. Entries must be tamper-evident and capable of being produced for inspection.

Either way, each entry must be made contemporaneously — at the time you perform the act, not at the end of the day or week. Batch-recording defeats the purpose of the journal as a fraud deterrent.

Who Owns the Journal

This question comes up frequently for notaries whose employers funded their commission. The answer is clear: you do. The notary commission is issued to an individual, not to an organization. Your journal is personal property under your exclusive custody and control.

If you leave your employer, the journal goes with you. Your former employer cannot retain, copy, or claim ownership of your journal records. If they attempt to keep your supplies or journal, that's a compliance issue — the notary is personally responsible for maintaining and securing their records.

What Happens If You Don't Keep a Journal

Failure to maintain required records is a violation that can result in disciplinary action by the DOS, including commission suspension or revocation. Under Penal Law Section 175.40, knowingly issuing a false certificate is a Class E felony.

Beyond the legal risk, journals protect you. If a signer later claims they never appeared before you or that their identity was stolen, a properly maintained journal entry — with identification details and a contemporaneous record — is your primary evidence that the act was performed correctly.

Pending Changes to Watch

Senate Bill S6910 / Assembly Bill A7683 would restrict the journaling mandate to electronic notarizations only, exempting traditional in-person acts. The bills remain active proposals in the 2025–2026 session. Separately, Senate Bill S398 (the deed theft prevention bill) would go the opposite direction — adding mandatory thumbprints in journals and dynamic colloquy forms for residential real estate transactions.

These bills pull in opposite directions. Until one passes, the current rule stands: every act, every entry, 10 years of retention.

For journal templates and a complete compliance walkthrough, get the New York notary commission toolkit.

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