For Notaries · Tennessee
How to Become a Notary in Tennessee
To become a notary in Tennessee, you must be at least 18, a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident, and reside or work in the county where you apply. You are elected by the county legislative body, post a $10,000 surety bond, pay the $12 fee, and serve a 4-year term. No exam or training is required.
Last updated: July 16, 2026 · By Andrew Ray Yon, MBA, ChFC — CEO & Founder, USA Notary
Tennessee handles notary commissions through a distinctive county-based process: you are elected by your county legislative body (county commission) and then commissioned by the Tennessee Secretary of State, with the Governor signing your commission. You file your application with the county clerk in the county where you reside or maintain your principal place of business, pay the $12 state fee, and post a $10,000 surety bond before picking up your commission. There is no required class or exam for a traditional commission, which makes Tennessee one of the more straightforward states to enter. Once you hold an active commission, you can also register with the Secretary of State to perform remote online notarizations.
Tennessee Notary Requirements at a Glance
| Eligibility | Be at least 18 years old; be a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident; reside in Tennessee or maintain your principal place of business in the county where you apply; and not have been convicted of bribery, larceny, or certain other offenses unless your rights of citizenship have been restored. Members of the military or Congress and those holding certain conflicting offices or owing debts to the state cannot serve. |
|---|---|
| Surety bond | Required: post a $10,000 surety bond for the 4-year commission term. Purchase it through a Tennessee-licensed insurance company or bonding agency, then provide proof of the bond to your county clerk and take your oath of office. |
| State filing fee | $12 application fee, paid to the county clerk (statutory fee under TCA 8-16-106, split $7 to the county clerk and $5 to the Secretary of State). Some county clerks charge slightly more; confirm the exact amount with your county clerk. |
| Commission term | 4 years |
| Notary education | Not required. Tennessee does not mandate any training or course to obtain a traditional notary commission (an approved course is only required to add remote online notarization). |
| Exam | Not required. No proctored or written exam is required for a traditional Tennessee notary commission (an exam is required only to become an online notary). |
Tennessee notaries post a $10,000 surety bond, pay a $12 application fee to the county clerk, and serve a four-year term. — National Notary Association - How to Become a Notary Public in Tennessee
How to Become a Notary in Tennessee: Step by Step
- 1
Confirm you're eligible
Verify you are at least 18, a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident, and reside or maintain your principal place of business in the Tennessee county where you'll apply, with no disqualifying convictions.
- 2
Get and submit your application with the fee
Obtain an application from your county clerk's office, complete it, and submit it with the $12 application fee to the county clerk where you reside or work.
- 3
Be elected by the county legislative body
Your name is presented to the county legislative body (county commission), which elects you as a notary. The county clerk certifies the election to the Secretary of State.
- 4
Obtain your $10,000 surety bond
Purchase a $10,000 surety bond from a Tennessee insurer or bonding agency, provide proof to the county clerk, and take your oath of office so the bond is recorded.
- 5
Receive your commission and start notarizing
The Secretary of State issues your commission and returns it to the county clerk for pickup. Buy your notary seal (and a journal), then begin notarizing.
- 6
Optional: add remote online notarization
Once commissioned, complete an approved online-notary course and exam, contract with a RON vendor, and apply to the Secretary of State with the $75 fee to perform online notarizations.
How to Become an Online (Remote) Notary in Tennessee
Remote online notarization is operative in Tennessee. You must first hold an active traditional notary commission, then complete an approved online-notarization course and pass its exam, contract with an approved RON technology vendor, and apply to the Secretary of State for an online notary commission. There is a $75 initial state fee; the online commission runs concurrently with and expires on the same day as your traditional commission.
Online / remote notary application fee: $75 initial state fee (plus separate vendor and course costs)
Online Notary Public Act (SB 1758), TCA 8-16-301 et seq.; effective July 1, 2019. Rules: Chapter 1360-07-03.
See how RON is authorized in Tennessee — and state by state →
Remote online notarization changes the economics of a Tennessee commission. A traditional notary serves the signers they can physically reach; a registered online notary can take sessions from wherever the work comes from, stacking remote appointments alongside in-person ones. The requirements in the summary above are Tennessee's own rules — meet them once, and the online side of the practice is open to you.
New to the online side of the work? Start with whether you can become a notary entirely online — it separates the commission, the RON registration, and the platform account, the three pieces first-timers most often blur together.
Walk through the Tennessee remote online notarization process →
Need a document notarized in Tennessee instead? Notarize online with a Tennessee commissioned notary.
Traditional Notary vs. Remote Online Notary in Tennessee
Tennessee allows remote online notarization, so once you hold a Tennessee commission you can register to notarize for signers who appear over live video — and take on assigned online signings.
| Traditional (in-person) notary | Remote online notary (RON) | |
|---|---|---|
| How the signer appears | In person, in the same room | Over a live, recorded audio-video call |
| Available in Tennessee? | Yes | Available now — register once commissioned |
| What you need | Seal and journal | An approved RON platform, identity-proofing, and a digital certificate |
| Where the work comes from | Local, walk-in and mobile appointments | Nationwide — e.g. assigned online signings through USA Notary |
What Does It Cost to Become a Notary in Tennessee?
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| State application fee (county clerk) | $12 |
| $10,000 surety bond (4-year term) | ~$45 (varies by supplier) |
| Notary seal | ~$30 (varies by supplier) |
| Notary journal | $30 - $55 (varies by supplier) |
| Online notary (RON) registration | $75 state fee + vendor/course costs |
See costs and fees on USA Notary for platform-side details.
What a Tennessee Notary Can Charge
The costs above are what you pay to get commissioned — this is the other side of the ledger. Tennessee is one of the states that sets no statutory maximum on the in-person notarial fee, so the per-act price is whatever you and the signer agree to.
| Maximum in-person fee (per notarial act) | No cap |
|---|---|
| Maximum remote online notarization (RON) fee | $25 |
Two things to keep straight about these numbers. First, a statutory maximum is a ceiling, not a price list — a notary may always charge less, never more, and the figure applies per notarial act or signature. Second, the cap covers the notarial act itself: travel to a signer, printing, or after-hours convenience are separate charges, and how those extras are regulated differs from state to state — so quote them as their own line items, never folded into the notarial fee.
A per-act cap also explains why volume, not the stamp price, is what makes notary work pay — the notaries earning real income stack signings, loan packages, and online sessions on top of the base fee. To see how Tennessee's numbers compare with every other state — including which states set no cap at all — check the full 50-state breakdown of how much a notary costs.
Verified July 2026 against the National Notary Association "Notary Fees by State" table and primary state statutes/Secretary of State rules. Several states (WA, VA, NC) raised caps in 2023–2024. Fees are per notarial act/signature; a notary may charge less, never more. Confirm your state before relying on a figure.
Renewing Your Notary Commission in Tennessee
Commission term in Tennessee
4 years
A notary commission is not a one-time credential: it runs for the term shown above, and the authority ends the day the commission does. No state renews a commission automatically — the renewal is on you, and notarizing on a lapsed commission is treated as acting without authority everywhere.
What renewal actually involves differs by state — some treat it as a lighter re-file, others repeat the education, exam, or bonding steps — so when your date approaches, work from the official Tennessee sources listed at the end of this guide rather than a supplier's summary. The practical rule that holds everywhere: start well before the expiration date, because a gap between commissions means turning away work until the new one is issued.
For timelines, typical costs, and what to do if you've already let a commission lapse, see our step-by-step notary commission renewal guide.
Turn Your Tennessee Commission Into Income
Getting commissioned is step one. USA Notary connects commissioned notaries with assigned, paid remote signings — so your commission actually earns. Learn how Tennessee notaries earn, see what platform membership costs a Tennessee notary, check the platform requirements for Tennessee notaries, and browse become-a-notary guides for other states.
Join USA Notary as a notaryFrequently Asked Questions
How long does a Tennessee notary commission last?
A Tennessee notary commission has a 4-year term. To continue serving, you follow the same application, election, and bonding steps to renew before it expires.
How much does it cost to become a notary in Tennessee?
The state application fee is $12. Adding a $10,000 surety bond (around $45) plus a seal and journal typically brings the total to roughly $117 to $142, depending on your suppliers.
Is a class or exam required to become a Tennessee notary?
No. Tennessee does not require any training course or exam for a traditional notary commission. A course and exam are only required if you also want to perform remote online notarizations.
Who appoints and commissions notaries in Tennessee?
You are elected by your county legislative body (county commission), and the Tennessee Secretary of State issues the commission, which the Governor also signs. The county clerk coordinates the application and hands you your commission.
Can Tennessee notaries perform remote online notarizations?
Yes. Remote online notarization has been legal since July 1, 2019. You must already hold an active commission, complete an approved course and exam, contract with a RON vendor, and register with the Secretary of State for a $75 initial fee.
How much can a notary charge in Tennessee?
Tennessee sets no statutory maximum on what a notary may charge for an in-person notarial act — the fee is whatever the notary and signer agree to, so disclose it up front, before the appointment. Travel or convenience charges are separate from the notarial fee itself.
How much can a Tennessee notary charge for online notarization?
Tennessee's listed maximum fee for a remote online notarization is $25. Platform or technology charges are separate from the notary's statutory fee.
When does a Tennessee notary commission expire?
The Tennessee commission term is: 4 years. No state renews a commission automatically — once yours lapses you cannot perform notarial acts until the renewal or reappointment is complete, so calendar the expiration date and start the paperwork early.
Where to Go From Here
This guide covers what's specific to Tennessee; a few of the questions that come next are the same in every state. If you're mapping out the calendar, our breakdown of how long it takes to become a notary walks through each stage of the timeline — the application, the processing queue, and the waiting you can't control. Budgeting instead? The companion piece on what it costs to become a notary itemizes the same line items you saw in the Tennessee cost table above, across every state's version of the process, so you can sanity-check any package a vendor quotes you.
Two topics trip up more new notaries than anything else. The first is protection: a surety bond protects the public while errors-and-omissions insurance protects you, and our notary bond vs. E&O insurance explainer untangles which is a state requirement and which is your own call — start from the bond details in the requirements table above. The second is income: the highest-earning specialization for a commissioned notary is loan signings, so once your Tennessee commission arrives, read what a loan signing agent does and earns to decide whether that's your next step.
Becoming a Notary in Other States
Requirements differ by state — here are nearby East South Central guides and other popular states. See the full 50-state directory.
About the author
Andrew Ray Yon, MBA, ChFC
CEO & Founder, USA Notary Services LLC
Andrew Ray Yon is the founder and CEO of USA Notary Services LLC and the architect of the SharpNote remote online notarization platform. A Certified Notary Signing Agent since 2005, he has handled mortgage and title loan signings for two decades and holds an MBA and the ChFC (Chartered Financial Consultant) designation. Based in Virginia’s Greater Richmond region, he leads the company’s strategy, compliance, and platform development.
Connect on LinkedInOfficial sources
- Tennessee Secretary of State - How to become a Notary
- Tennessee Secretary of State - How to become an Online Notary Public
- National Notary Association - How to Become a Notary Public in Tennessee
This guide summarizes public requirements from Tennessee's notary authority and is for general information, not legal advice. Requirements and fees can change — always confirm current details with your state before applying.