Notary Public Underwriters Blog
Consider This When Renewing Your Florida Notary Commission
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- Published: April 21, 2025
Notary Public Underwriters would like to thank you for the vital service you provided to your state. As you know, not just anyone can be a notary public. As required by Senate Bill 1334, first-time Florida notaries are required to complete an education course before they can be commissioned. Now that you’re renewing, you may be asking yourself:
Should I take the Florida notary education course again?
Our memory has a funny way of forgetting things. It is an indisputable fact that our minds sometimes fail us, and we forget things. As you continually obtain new information in your day-to-day life, your brain has to decide what information is essential and what information can be pushed into the background. You know the phrase “use it or lose it?” It can be applied to your memory too! Let’s say that during your first commission you only notarized documents for your employer that were the same few forms that required jurats (oaths) and acknowledgements. For whatever reason, your life has taken you in a different direction (maybe a new job or new business), and during your next commission, you will be making more attested copies or will be asked to notarize a handwritten document that does not contain certificate language. After all, it has been four years since you last took the notary education course, and since you rarely, if ever, made attested copies or knew how to present certificate language to a client. You may be rusty on the legalities of the matter.
Laws change regularly. Florida’s laws and administrative rules guide notaries in the performance of their duties. A notary must follow these laws and rules to the letter. Since you first became a notary four, eight, or even twelve years ago, it is certain that Florida notary laws and/or administrative rules have been changed. If you do not regularly check each year for new notary laws, how will you know if you are in compliance?
Renewing your education is one of the best ways to ensure you are performing your critical duties as a notary properly. Remember, a notary commission is a privilege, and it is your job to protect it.
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