Oklahoma Notary Employer Requirement

When Your Employer Asks You to Get Commissioned

Banks, law firms, hospitals, title companies, and government offices regularly ask employees to obtain a notary commission as a condition of their role. The request is straightforward — the process of actually getting commissioned is less so, especially since Senate Bill 1028 raised the bar in 2026 with mandatory OSBI background checks and a $10,000 surety bond.

If your employer has asked you to become a notary, here is what both sides need to understand.

Who Pays for the Commission?

Whether the employer covers the fees is a matter of internal policy or employment agreement.

The costs break down as follows: $50 application fee, up to $50 for the OSBI background check, $35 to $55 for the surety bond premium, $25 bond filing fee, and roughly $20 to $40 for a compliant notary seal. Total out-of-pocket is typically $180 to $220.

Many employers who require the commission as part of the job do cover these expenses, either through direct payment or reimbursement. If your employer has not addressed this, ask before you start spending. Getting it in writing avoids a dispute if you leave the job later and the question of who paid for what comes up.

Who Owns the Commission and the Seal?

This is the most frequently misunderstood point. The notary commission is issued to you as an individual, not to your employer. It belongs to you, stays with you if you change jobs, and remains valid through its four-year term regardless of your employment status.

Your notary seal is also your personal property. Even if your employer paid for it, the seal is tied to your personal commission and cannot legally be used by anyone else. When you leave the job, you take the seal with you or destroy it — you do not hand it to your successor.

Some employers mistakenly believe they can transfer a notary stamp to a new employee. They cannot. The replacement employee needs their own commission and their own seal with their own name on it.

What You Can and Cannot Do as an Employer's Notary

As an employed notary, your authority is the same as any other Oklahoma notary — you can take acknowledgments, administer oaths, execute jurats, witness signatures, and certify copies. The maximum fee is $5 per traditional act.

Your employer can direct which documents you notarize as part of your job duties, but they cannot instruct you to:

• Notarize a document when the signer is not physically present
• Backdate a notarization
• Notarize a document without verifying the signer's identity
• Notarize your own signature or a document in which you are a party

These are violations of state law regardless of whether your employer tells you to do them. If a complaint is filed, the commission revocation falls on you, not your employer.

Notarizing Outside of Work

Your commission is statewide and not limited to your employer's business. You can perform notarizations for friends, family, or paying clients outside of work hours. Many employer-sponsored notaries eventually use their commission for side income as mobile notaries or signing agents.

Just be aware that if you perform notarizations outside your job and a claim arises, your employer's professional liability insurance probably does not cover acts performed off the clock. You would need your own errors and omissions policy for those situations.

What Happens When You Leave

When you change jobs, your commission continues. You do not need to notify the Secretary of State about a change in employment unless you also change your physical address (in which case an address update is required on the SOS portal).

If you were a non-resident notary — living in a bordering state and commissioned through your Oklahoma employer — losing that Oklahoma employment could affect your eligibility at renewal. Your commission stays valid through its current term, but renewing requires proof of current Oklahoma employment or residency.

For a complete step-by-step walkthrough of getting commissioned — whether your employer is paying or you are self-funding — the Oklahoma Notary Commission guide covers every phase from application through activation.

See more Oklahoma guides →