UPDATED SEPTEMBER 30, 2026 A step-by-step guide for an active Tennessee notary — and for the law firm or company that employs that notary — to obtain an online notary commission and begin performing remote online notarizations.
Tennessee has authorized remote online notarization since July 1, 2019, when the Online Notary Public Act took effect. An online notary in Tennessee is not a different kind of notary. It is a traditional, county-commissioned Tennessee notary public who applies to the Secretary of State for an additional online notary public commission and then uses a remote online notary (“RON”) service provider to perform notarial acts over a live two-way audio and video session.
The online commission expires on the same day as the traditional county commission. Renewing the county commission does not automatically renew the online commission. The notary must reapply for the online commission when the county commission is renewed.
The steps below are the path an active traditional Tennessee notary should follow to become commissioned as an online notary and to contract with a RON service provider. NOTARY.IO (https://notary.io/) is used throughout as the example of a RON service provider and as a source of the x.509 signing certificate Tennessee requires the notary to obtain and upload with the application.
Before you start
Only a person who already holds an active Tennessee notary public commission issued after election by a county legislative body may apply. If you are not yet a Tennessee notary, finish the traditional county process first — application with the county clerk, election, surety bond, and official seal — and then come back to this guide.
Confirm your current commission in the Secretary of State’s notary records at tncab.tnsos.gov. The name, county, commission date, and expiration date you later type into the online application must match those records.
Read the statute and the rules before you file. The enacting statute is the Online Notary Public Act, Tennessee Code Annotated §§ 8-16-301 et seq. The procedures for applying and the technology standards are in Chapter 1360-07-03 of the Rules of the Department of State. The Secretary of State’s own walkthrough is here: How to become an Online Notary Public.
Step 1. Complete the required online-notarization course and exam
Beginning in 2026, Tennessee requires every applicant for an online notary public commission to complete a course of instruction concerning online notarization that has been approved by the Secretary of State or the Secretary’s authorized representative, and to pass an examination administered by that course provider. The course must cover, at a minimum, notarial laws, the technology procedures of online notarizations, and the ethical requirements for online notaries.
This requirement was added to T.C.A. § 8-16-306 by 2025 Tennessee Public Acts, Chapter 124, and is implemented in Rule 1360-07-03-.02. Existing online notaries will need the course when their current commission expires and before a new online commission is granted.
Keep the completion certificate. The Secretary of State does not publish a standing list of approved providers, so confirm the course you choose is currently approved before you enroll.
Step 2. Obtain an x.509 signing certificate
Tennessee requires the applicant to upload a copy of the notary’s unique electronic notarial certificate — also called a digital certificate — or other technology that renders a notarized electronic document tamper-evident. The rules require that the technology used to attach the electronic seal and certificate utilize public-key infrastructure from a PKI service provider that is X.509 compliant.
You will need that certificate before you can finish the Secretary of State application. Each online notary must have his or her own certificate. The certificate has its own expiration date, which is independent of the notary’s commission expiration date. The expiration of the signing certificate is not the expiration of the online notary commission.
An example of an x.509 signing certificate for purchase can be found here: https://notarystore.io/products/notary-x-509-signing-certificate-digital-file. Notary.io also sources x.509 tamper-evident signing certificates for notaries on a Notary.io business account. Have a copy of the certificate file ready to attach when you file the application.
Step 3. Contract with a RON service provider before you apply
The Secretary of State is explicit on this point: you must contract with a third-party vendor before you apply. That vendor must provide three things:
- the technology used to attach or logically associate an electronic notarial certificate, signature, and seal to an electronic document;
- the technology used to conduct identity proofing and credential analysis; and
- the technology used to store and maintain a recording of the video and audio conference of the online notarization session.
The Tennessee Department of State does not recommend or endorse any particular third-party vendor. The basic requirements for vendor technology are in the rules, including the identity-proofing and credential-analysis standards in Rule 1360-07-03-.05.
NOTARY.IO (https://notary.io/) is an example of a RON service provider with a simple online notary platform designed for law firms and businesses of all types. It is a transactional SaaS platform that allows free business account creation, does not charge monthly or annual subscription fees, and only charges per use for the online notarizations performed by an account holder. To create a Notary.io business account, use the Create Account page here: https://app.notary.io/register.
On a business account the company administrator invites each employee-notary as a user. Each of those online notaries will still need his or her own x.509 signing certificate, discussed in Step 2, and a unique electronic seal that matches the design in Rule 1360-07-03-.04.
Step 4. Gather the vendor documents the application requires you to upload
The Secretary of State application is filed online and the vendor materials are attached electronically. You will be required to provide:
- the name of your vendor and a description of the technologies it uses to attach the electronic notarial certificate, signature, and seal; to conduct identity proofing and credential analysis; and to store the session recording;
- an explanation of the method or technology you will use to maintain the electronic notary journal;
- a copy of your unique electronic seal;
- a copy of your unique electronic notarial certificate (the x.509 digital certificate) or other tamper-evident technology;
- a copy of the instructions or techniques supplied by the vendor that allow the electronic notarial certificate to be read and authenticated; and
- a copy of the instructions or techniques supplied by the vendor that allow the online notary to conduct identity proofing and credential analysis.
These documents should be obtained from your vendor. If you have selected Notary.io, ask support for the Tennessee technical specifications sheet and the certificate and seal files issued to that notary.
Step 5. File the Online Notary Application and pay the $75 fee
Applications are submitted only online to the Department of State, Division of Business and Charitable Organizations. Start here: Register as an Online Notary. Create a Secretary of State account if you do not already have one, complete the Online Notary Application, attach the vendor documents from Step 4, and pay the $75 application fee by card. Paper filings are not accepted.
The application must include your legal name as listed on the county commission, your Tennessee physical address, a valid email address and telephone number, the county of commission, the commission date and expiration date, the vendor and technology information described above, and a certification that you have reviewed, understand, and will comply with the Online Notary Public Act and Chapter 1360-07-03.
Have a credit card ready. The dates you enter must match the dates on file with the Secretary of State.
Step 6. Wait for the online commission — then begin using the platform
Do not perform any online notarization until the Secretary of State has issued the online notary public commission. An online notarization may not be performed by a person who holds only a traditional county commission.
Once commissioned, the notary must be physically located in Tennessee at the time of every online act. The principal may be inside or outside Tennessee. Identity is verified by personal knowledge, or by remote presentation of a qualifying government-issued credential plus credential analysis and identity proofing (dynamic knowledge-based authentication) that meet Rule 1360-07-03-.05. The entire session is recorded. The electronic journal, the recording, and a backup must be kept for five years.
The maximum fee for an online notarization is $25 per act, in addition to other fees authorized under Tennessee Code Annotated Title 8, Chapter 16.
What a Tennessee company should do for its employee-notaries
Open the Notary.io business account first at https://app.notary.io/register. Invite each notary as a user. Purchase an x.509 signing certificate for each notary — either through the Notary.io account workflow or directly at https://notarystore.io/products/notary-x-509-signing-certificate-digital-file. Pay or reimburse the Secretary of State $75 application fee and the approved course-and-exam fee. Collect the notary’s commissioned legal name, county, commission dates, Tennessee physical address, email, and phone exactly as they must appear on the application.
Remind each notary that the notary — not the employer — holds the commission, controls the seal and the x.509 certificate, and must be physically in Tennessee during every session. If the company later adds a second RON vendor, each vendor the notary actually uses must be listed in the Secretary of State dashboard, with the same class of documents uploaded for each.
Renewal
When the traditional county commission is about to expire, complete county recommissioning first. Then file a timely online-notary renewal with the Secretary of State on the same form as the original application, complete any then-required course and exam, and refresh the vendor documents if the certificate, seal, or platform has changed. The online commission terminates on the same date as the county commission, regardless of when the online commission was granted.
Official sources
- Tennessee Secretary of State, How to become an Online Notary Public: https://sos.tn.gov/businesses/guides/how-to-become-an-online-notary-public
- Tennessee Secretary of State, Register as an Online Notary: https://sos.tn.gov/businesses/services/register-as-an-online-notary
- Notary commission lookup: https://tncab.tnsos.gov/
- Rules, Chapter 1360-07-03 (March 2026 revision): https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules_all/2018/1360-07-03.20260302.pdf
- Online Notary Public Act, T.C.A. §§ 8-16-301 et seq.
Interested in Notary.io?
Start notarizing with a remote online notary platform built for law firms and businesses. Create a free business account at https://app.notary.io/register, obtain an x.509 signing certificate at https://notarystore.io/products/notary-x-509-signing-certificate-digital-file, or contact us at (972) 362-9886 or https://notary.io/contact-us/.
Legal disclaimer
Notary.io is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Nothing on this website or any materials, information, or training by Notary.io or the use of the Notary.io platform and services shall be construed to create an attorney-client relationship or constitute legal advice. Always consult with your own attorneys or legal advisors if you have unanswered questions about electronic signing, electronic transactions, online notarization, remote online notaries or digitally signed documents and the laws and rules governing them that may vary by state. Online notaries like traditional notaries are public officials and solely responsible for their own notarial acts. The Tennessee Secretary of State does not recommend or endorse any third-party vendor.