DEFINITIONS OF A NOTARY PUBLIC:

A Notary Public is a public officer whose function it is

1. To administer oaths; and
2. To attest and certify, by his signature and official seal, certain classes of documents, in order to give them credit and authenticity; and
3. To take acknowledgments of deeds and other conveyances and certify the same; and
4. To perform certain official acts, chiefly in commercial matters, such as the protesting of notes and bills, the notice of foreign drafts, and marine protests in cases of damage.

REQUIREMENTS TO BE APPOINTED A NOTARY PUBLIC IN MOBILE COUNTY

1. Must be a resident of Mobile County; and
2. Must be a registered voter in Mobile County; and
3. Must be capable of posting bond in the required amount.

TYPES OF NOTARIES

1. County: may perform duties of the office only in the County where he or she is appointed;
2. State-at-Large: may perform duties of the office State-wide;

STEPS TO BE APPOINTED A NOTARY

1. Complete notary public application;
2. Submit application to Judge of Probate;
3. Probate Judge will send applicant an appointment letter;
4. Applicant must take appointment letter to an insurance company to obtain a notary public bond of $10,000.00;
5. Bond and $14.00 filing fee must be sent to Judge of Probate within 40 days of the date of the letter of appointment.

PLEASE REMEMBER!!!!!!

The office of Notary Public is a serious and responsible public office and should not be taken lightly. Abuse of the office or irresponsibility in the performance of notarial duties can result in grave consequences. If a Notary Public has doubts about the propriety of any action, he or she should seek competent professional advice before he or she acts.

Download Notary Application
You will need to complete the form and mail it to:

Notary Department
Mobile County Probate Court
P.O. Box 7
Mobile, AL 36601-0007

You will need to have Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to download and print the Notary Application. You probably already have this software but if you don't, you can get it for free by clicking the icon below:

For more information about Notary Public, you may want to purchase the handbook, A Manual for Notaries Public, published by The Young Lawyers' Section of the Alabama State Bar. The manual costs $5.00.

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