STATUS OF NEW JERSEY NOTARY PUBLIC EDUCATION
A PUBLIC SERVICE REPORT TO THE PUBLIC

An Investigation into the State's Implementation of Notary Public Education and Examination Requirements.

Published by the New Jersey Notary Association
March 2026

Executive Summary

In 2021, the New Jersey Legislature passed a bipartisan law (P.L.2021, c.179) to strengthen notary public education and examination requirements. The goal was simple: ensure that those entrusted with verifying identities, preventing fraud, and authenticating critical documents are properly trained before receiving a commission.

More than four years later, the state's implementation of this law has fallen dramatically short.

KEY FINDINGS:

This report documents these failures in detail and offers a proven solution, one already embraced by three New Jersey community colleges.

The Law's Promise

When P.L.2021, c.179 was signed into law in July 2021, the public was told—through official state and county announcements—that new notaries would be required to complete a six-hour course and pass an examination.

This was not speculation. It was the message disseminated by the very agencies responsible for implementing the law.

Official State Announcements

The New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services (DORES), the agency within the Department of the Treasury that oversees notaries, published clear guidance on its official website. It stated explicitly that non-attorney applicants for an initial commission must provide proof that they have "[c]ompleted a six-hour course of study approved by the State Treasurer."

County Clerk Communications

County clerks' offices, which swear in new notaries and are the public face of the commissioning process, distributed the same information. For example, the Sussex County Clerk's Office website informed applicants that they must complete a "six-hour course of study."

Business and Professional Organizations

The New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA), which closely tracks legislation affecting its members, reported to its members that the new law required "complet[ion] of a six-hour training course."

The Law Itself

The law is unequivocal about its purpose. N.J.S. § 52:7-10.3 states that the examination is designed "to determine the fitness" of applicants to perform notarial acts. "Fitness" implies genuine competence, not passive exposure to information.

Notaries are the gatekeepers of document integrity. They verify identities, administer oaths, and certify copies. When a deed is recorded, a power of attorney executed, or an affidavit sworn, a notary's seal stands between the public and fraud. Proper training is not optional; it is essential.

The public was promised six hours. The public has a right to hold the state to that promise.

The Six-Hour Promise
Documentary Evidence

The attachment linked below contains screenshots and citations that document that state and county agencies explicitly told the public that the law required six hours of education.

NJ Division of Revenue (DORES) – Official Website

"For initial commissions. Non-attorney applicants for initial notary public commissions must provide proof that they have: Completed a six-hour course of study approved by the State Treasurer."

Sussex County Clerk's Office

"For initial commissions. Non-attorney applicants for initial notary public commissions must provide proof that they have: Completed a six-hour course of study approved by the State Treasurer."

New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA)

"Individuals seeking to become a notary public for the first time would have to complete a six-hour training course and pass an examination given by the State Treasurer."

These are not isolated statements. They represent a consistent, official message delivered by multiple government and trusted organizations. The public was unequivocally promised six hours of education. What they received was 45 minutes of video.

View State, County & Organization Announcements

What the State Provides

45 Minutes of Video

The primary educational tool provided by the state to satisfy the six-hour mandate is a series of online videos. The total runtime is 45 minutes and 7 seconds.

That's 12.5% of the promised instruction.

A notary receiving only this education misses critical knowledge, including:

Personal liability and the need for Errors and Omissions insurance
The credible witness procedure, a high-risk identification method mentioned but never explained
Assessing signer capacity, recognizing when someone is confused, coerced, or unable to understand
The "appearance of impartiality" and ethical boundaries beyond one's spouse
Step-by-step procedures for verifying ID, completing journal entries, and correcting errors
How to professionally refuse a notarization when something feels wrong

The state's videos recite statutory definitions. They do not teach practical skills.

View Critical Gap Analysis
A 206 Page Report

The Examination

Designed to Test Fitness, Implemented as Open-Book

The Law's Intent

N.J.S. § 52:7-10.3 explicitly requires an examination "to determine the fitness" of applicants. This means genuine assessment, ensuring applicants have actually learned the material and can be trusted to perform notarial acts correctly.

The Reality

The notary exam is administered online with:

No proctoring
No identity verification
No lockdown browser
No monitoring

Worse, the Treasury's own website explicitly describes it as an open-book test. Applicants may consult the manual during the exam.

An open-book test cannot "determine fitness." It determines only whether someone can find information while the clock runs, not whether they have retained knowledge, understand consequences, or can spot fraud without reference materials.

The Compounding Factor

The exam is completely compromised. Multiple online sources openly provide the full text of the notary exam, along with the correct answers. Screenshots, URLs, and archived copies document this security failure.

The result: an applicant could:

Watch none of the state's 45-minute videos
Read none of the Notary Manual
Complete zero hours of actual study
Find the exam questions and answers online
Pass with no retained knowledge
Receive a notary commission
Perform notarizations on real documents

The state would have no idea any of this occurred.

View Documentation

A Pattern of Silence

Provider Applications Ignored

For months, the New Jersey Notary Association has sought to help the state fulfill its mandate. We developed a comprehensive six-hour curriculum that meets and exceeds the standards contemplated by the 2021 law. We repeatedly contacted the Notary Public unit to request information and applied for approval as an education provider.

The state's response? Complete silence.

No acknowledgment. No requests for information. No approval. No denial. Just silence, despite multiple follow-up inquiries.

The Manual

National Resources, No New Jersey Presence

The state's Notary Public Manual lists professional associations for notaries seeking additional resources:

American Society of Notaries
National Notary Association

These organizations provide valuable national resources. But none are based in New Jersey. None provide New Jersey-specific training.

Recognizing this gap, the New Jersey Notary Association requested inclusion in the manual. We are a New Jersey-based organization with a membership pool that has decades of combined experience practicing under New Jersey law. A complete package, including the full "Garden State Notary" textbook, was delivered via USPS Priority Mail on February 6, 2026.

The response? Silence.

The manual continues to direct notaries to out-of-state resources while ignoring a homegrown solution.

What It Is vs. What It Needs to Be

What the Manual Is:

A 26-page reference document that recites statutory requirements. It contains definitions, lists of rules, and blank certificate forms.

What the Manual Does Not Do:

The Bottom Line:

The manual tells you what the law says. It never tells you how to follow it.

It has sample certificates but no instruction on when to use them or how to fill them out.

It is a reference document, not an education. And 26 pages cannot replace six hours of training.

View Critical Gap Analysis

A 56 Page Report

The OPRA Request

"No Records Exist"

Frustrated by months of silence, the New Jersey Notary Association submitted a formal request under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) on February 17, 2026 (Request No. W248812). We asked for basic records any functioning program should maintain:

Approval standards: How are education courses evaluated?
Review procedures: Who reviews courses, and how?
Communications: What discussions have occurred with providers?
Approved provider list: Who is authorized to offer courses?
Vendor contracts: Does any outside vendor assist with reviews?

On February 26, 2026, the official response arrived from Jacquelyn McCarty, Manager of the Government Records Access Unit. It stated, in its entirety:

"The Department of Revenue and Enterprise Services (DORES) does not have any specific records related to the review, evaluation, approval, denial, and oversight of New Jersey Notary Public education courses."

No records.
None.

No approval standards. No review procedures. No communications. No provider list. No vendor contracts. Nothing.

More than four years after the law's passage, the state has no records of any education program administration whatsoever.

View State OPRA Response

Missing Annual Reports

The law explicitly requires the Treasurer to publish an annual report on the state of notary education by September 30 each year (N.J.S. § 52:7-10.2(i)). The report must include:

A summary of commissioning activity
An assessment of whether educational content needs updating
Timelines for delivering new content

As of March 1, 2026, no report for 2025 has been published. To our knowledge, no annual report for 2025 has ever been issued.

The OPRA response explains why: there are no records because there is no program to assess.

A Proven Solution

The "Garden State Notary" Curriculum

Confronted with the state's inaction, the New Jersey Notary Association created the resource that should have existed all along.

"Garden State Notary: A Complete Guide for New Jersey Notaries" is a comprehensive textbook designed specifically to satisfy the six-hour educational requirement. It is a professionally published curriculum (ISBN: 9798248397228) covering every aspect of notarial practice in New Jersey.

Beyond the textbook, we created a complete facilitator's guide so thorough that anyone, even someone with no prior notarial experience, can successfully teach the full six-hour course. It includes:

Detailed lesson plans with timing recommendations
Scripts for explaining complex concepts
Discussion prompts and scenario-based learning
Complete answer keys
Guidance on handling student questions

Going Further

A Seven-Hour Video Library

Recognizing that different people learn in different ways, we also created a comprehensive educational video library. Every chapter of "Garden State Notary" became an engaging instructional video. The total runtime is nearly seven hours.

Sourse	% of Instruction
NJNA	116%
State of New Jersey	12.5%

The state, with all its resources, produced 45 minutes of video. One private individual, with no government funding and no staff, produced nearly seven hours, enough to exceed the six hours the public was promised.

Independent Validation

Three Community Colleges Say "Yes"

While the state has ignored our curriculum, New Jersey's educational institutions have embraced it.

Three community colleges have reviewed our materials and expressed strong interest in offering the course

These institutions independently assessed the curriculum's quality and determined it meets the highest standards of educational excellence. Their partnerships are currently being finalized.

This is powerful independent validation: while the state has no records, no approved providers, and no program, New Jersey's community colleges are stepping into the breach.

What the Current System Allows

Possible Scenarios:

Receive the six hours of education the state promised
❌ No (only 45 minutes provided)
Watch none of the state's 45-minute videos
✅ Yes
Read none of the Notary Manual
✅ Yes
Complete zero hours of actual study
✅ Yes
Find full exam questions and answers online
✅ Yes
Take an open-book exam that tests research skills, not knowledge
✅ Yes
Have someone else take the exam
✅ Yes
Pass exam with no retained knowledge
✅ Yes
Receive notary commission
✅ Yes
Perform notarizations on real documents
✅ Yes

This is not a system.
This is a facade.
This is an embarrasment.

What Needs to Change

Secure the Examination
The exam must be redesigned to fulfill its statutory purpose, to "determine the fitness" of applicants. This requires moving away from an open-book format to a secure, proctored assessment that genuinely tests retained knowledge and understanding.
Create a Functioning Approval Process
The state must establish clear standards for education providers, create a review process, and publish a list of approved courses. Providers deserve responses. The public deserves choices.
Publish Annual Reports
The Treasurer must comply with the law and publish annual reports assessing program efficacy. The public has a right to know whether the program is working.
Include New Jersey Resources in the Manual
The Notary Public Manual should direct notaries to New Jersey-specific training. The New Jersey Notary Association stands ready to be included.
Embrace the Community College Model
The state should recognize the proven curriculum already embraced by New Jersey's community colleges and allow these institutions to offer state-approved courses without further delay.

About the New Jersey Notary Association

The New Jersey Notary Association (NJNA) is dedicated to the education and professional development of New Jersey's notaries public. Founded in 2021 by Patrick Anthony, a notary of more than 20 years, NJNA provides comprehensive training, resources, and advocacy for notaries across the state. Membership to the association is $35 per year. Members are granted full acces to the complete video course library. Membership is open to commissioned New Jersey Notaries Public, and anyone that wishes to become a New Jersey Notary Public.

Patrick Anthony is President of NJNA, founder of the NJNA Foundation, author of "Garden State Notary: A Complete Guide for New Jersey Notaries," and creator of the NJNA Educational Video Library (7+ hours). He has served as an expert witness in litigation cases involving notarial misconduct and is committed to strengthening notarial practice in New Jersey.

Access the Full Analysis

All findings documented on this page are supported by primary sources. The complete evidence package includes:

For Legislators and Media

Legislators and members of the press seeking access to the full "Garden State Notary" textbook and video library may request credentials by contacting:

New Jersey Notary Association
Email: info@newjerseynotaryassociation.org
Website: www.newjerseynotaryassociation.org

Conclusion

The 2021 notary modernization law was a bipartisan achievement intended to protect the public. More than four years later, that promise remains unfulfilled. The state provides 45 minutes of video. It administers an open-book exam with publicly available answers. It has no records of any program administration. It directs notaries to out-of-state resources while ignoring a homegrown solution.

New Jersey's notaries, and the public they serve, deserve better.

The solution exists. It has been built. It has been validated by community colleges. All that remains is for the state to say "yes."

This report is a public service of the New Jersey Notary Association.
It may be freely shared and reproduced with attribution.

STATUS OF NEW JERSEY NOTARY PUBLIC EDUCATION A PUBLIC SERVICE REPORT TO THE PUBLIC