Washington Notary Resignation — How to Properly Resign Your Commission

Resignation Is Not the Same as Letting It Lapse

If you decide to end your Washington notary commission before it expires, you have specific obligations under state law. Simply stopping notarizations and waiting for the four-year term to run out is not a formal resignation — and it leaves loose ends that can create problems years later if a past notarization is challenged and your journal cannot be located.

A proper resignation involves three things: notifying the Department of Licensing, securing your stamp against unauthorized use, and reporting the physical location of your journal records.

Step 1: Notify the DOL

Submit a written notification to the Department of Licensing that you are resigning your commission. You can do this through your SecureAccess Washington (SAW) portal account or by sending an email to [email protected] with your commissioned name, commission number, and the effective date of your resignation.

There is no specific DOL form for resignation. A clear written statement identifying your commission and declaring your intent to resign is sufficient. Keep a copy of whatever you send — this is your proof that you formally ended your commission on a specific date, which matters if any notarizations performed after that date are attributed to your stamp.

Step 2: Secure and Destroy Your Stamp

Under RCW 42.45.135, you are personally responsible for the security of your stamping device for as long as your commission exists. Upon resignation, the obligation shifts: you must render the stamp unusable to prevent anyone from fraudulently stamping documents under your former commission.

Destroy the stamp physically — break the housing, deface the die, or cut the stamp face so it cannot produce a legible impression. If you hold an electronic endorsement, deactivate or delete your digital certificate and notify your tamper-evident technology provider (DocuSign, EscrowTab, or whichever vendor you enrolled with) that your commission has ended.

Do not hand your stamp to your employer, a coworker, or anyone else. The stamp is your personal property under WAC 308-30-080(3), and transferring it — even to someone who "needs a notary" — exposes your bond to claims from notarizations you did not perform.

Step 3: Report Your Journal Location

Under WAC 308-30-210, when you resign your commission you must report the physical location of your journal to the DOL. This is the most commonly overlooked step, and the one with the longest tail.

Your journal contains records of every notarization you performed during your commission term. Washington law requires you to retain it for 10 years from the date of your last journal entry. That retention obligation survives your resignation — it does not end when your commission does.

When you notify the DOL of your resignation, include a statement identifying where your journal is stored. If you retained more than one journal from different periods, report the location of each. Washington requires only one active tangible journal; an electronic journal is permitted only as a duplicate.

What Happens After Resignation

Once the DOL processes your resignation:

• Your commission is terminated. You cannot perform any notarial acts, even if your term has not expired.
• Your bond remains in effect until its term ends. The bond protects the public from financial damages arising from notarizations you performed while commissioned — that exposure does not vanish when you resign.
• Your journal remains your property. You are still legally obligated to maintain it securely and produce it if a past notarization is challenged or investigated.
• Your electronic endorsements are deactivated. If you held the electronic records endorsement or the RON endorsement, those are linked to your active commission and terminate with it.

When Resignation Makes Sense

Most notaries let their commission expire naturally at the end of the four-year term. Formal resignation before expiration typically makes sense when:

• You are leaving Washington permanently and will no longer maintain a residence or employment in the state
• You face a potential disciplinary action and want to resign proactively (note: the DOL can still pursue disciplinary proceedings against a former notary for acts performed during their commission)
• Your employer relationship ended badly and you want to eliminate any risk of your stamp being misused — destroying it immediately upon resignation is the cleanest cut

If your commission is simply expiring and you do not plan to renew, disable your stamp and retain your tangible journal for 10 years after its last entry. If you keep an electronic journal, follow WAC 308-30-210's requirement to provide the DOL with access instructions.

The Full Commission Lifecycle

From initial application through active practice to resignation or expiration, the Washington Notary Commission guide covers every stage — including the journal retention timeline and stamp destruction procedure that most applicants do not think about until it is too late.

See more Washington guides →