Notary Public Permit Requirements in Lexington, KY

1. EIN (Employer Identification Number)

   Required if you operate as an LLC/corporation or have employees. Sole proprietor notaries with no employees may use their SSN.

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online)

   Free

   Immediate (online)

1. Kentucky Notary Commission

   Apply for a Kentucky notary commission through the Secretary of State (online portal or mailed form). After the Secretary of State approves the application, you have 30 days to complete the appointment by taking the oath of office and providing surety at your county clerk's office, which records the filing and oath under KRS 423.400. Must be 18 or older and a Kentucky resident or work in Kentucky; the commission lasts four years.

   Official government source

   $10 application fee payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer, plus county clerk recording fee and surety bond·Not published by the Secretary of State; the county clerk oath and surety must be completed within 30 days of approval

   $10 application fee payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer, plus county clerk recording fee and surety bond

   Not published by the Secretary of State; the county clerk oath and surety must be completed within 30 days of approval

2. Kentucky Notary Public — Mandatory $1,000 Assurance (Errors and Omissions Insurance Is Optional)

   Kentucky notaries are commissioned by the Secretary of State under the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, KRS 423.300 to 423.455. Errors and omissions insurance is nowhere required by that chapter — it protects the notary's own wallet, not the public — but a surety assurance is mandatory and is the requirement a notary actually cannot skip. KRS 423.390(2) requires an applicant to be at least eighteen, a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident, a resident of or employed or practicing in the county where the application is made, able to read and write English, not disqualified under KRS 423.395, and to submit proof of the surety bond plus the fee under KRS 423.430. KRS 423.390(4) then requires the applicant, within thirty days of receiving the commission, to appear in person before the county clerk named in the application to take the oath of office, submit the assurance in the form of a surety bond, and file the commission. KRS 423.390(5) fixes the assurance at one thousand dollars, issued by a surety licensed in Kentucky, covering acts performed during the commission term and in the form prescribed by the Secretary of State; a notary may perform notarial acts only during the period a valid assurance is on file with the county clerk, and the surety must give the Secretary of State thirty days' notice before cancellation. Performing electronic or online notarial acts requires a separate registration with the Secretary of State under KRS 423.390(10) on top of the commission.

   Official government source

   Secretary of State application or renewal fee $10 (KRS 423.430(3)(a)); $10 for a replacement commission and $10 to update commission or registration information. County clerk fees under KRS 64.012: $10 to record the bond (subsection (1)(h)) and $5 for administering the oath and certificate (subsection (1)(k)). The $1,000 assurance itself is a surety bond whose premium is set by the bonding company, not by statute. Errors and omissions insurance is optional and carries no statutory amount or fee·Commission term is four years (KRS 423.390(3)). The oath, assurance and filing must be completed before the county clerk within thirty days of receiving the commission from the Secretary of State, and the commission is not effective until that is done

   Secretary of State application or renewal fee $10 (KRS 423.430(3)(a)); $10 for a replacement commission and $10 to update commission or registration information. County clerk fees under KRS 64.012: $10 to record the bond (subsection (1)(h)) and $5 for administering the oath and certificate (subsection (1)(k)). The $1,000 assurance itself is a surety bond whose premium is set by the bonding company, not by statute. Errors and omissions insurance is optional and carries no statutory amount or fee

   Commission term is four years (KRS 423.390(3)). The oath, assurance and filing must be completed before the county clerk within thirty days of receiving the commission from the Secretary of State, and the commission is not effective until that is done

1. Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government — Occupational License (if operating a standalone notary business)

   If you operate a standalone notary business in Lexington — mobile notary or notary signing agent services — you must obtain an occupational license. If notarizing is incidental to another job, such as an attorney or bank teller, the employer's account generally covers it. Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government requires every person and business entity engaged in any business in Fayette County to obtain an initial occupational license before starting business and to pay an annual minimum license fee every year after. The license is administered by the LFUCG Division of Revenue, 218 E. Main St., (859) 280-8300 — not a "City Clerk's Office." The initial license fee is $100, due at registration, and the annual minimum license fee is $100, due on the same date as the net profit license fee return (Form 228). The LFUCG Charter sets the occupational license fee at 2.25% of individual compensation and net profits; the annual minimum fee is credited against the occupational license fee owed for that year and never generates a refund. Individuals and sole proprietorships reporting gross receipts of $4,400 or less for a tax year do not owe the minimum license fee for that year or the next.

   Official government source

   $100 initial license fee and $100 annual minimum license fee, plus the 2.25% occupational license fee on compensation and net profits. Sole proprietors with gross receipts of $4,400 or less are exempt from the minimum fee·Not published by the Division of Revenue; the initial license must be obtained before the business starts, and the annual minimum fee is due with the Form 228 net profit return

   $100 initial license fee and $100 annual minimum license fee, plus the 2.25% occupational license fee on compensation and net profits. Sole proprietors with gross receipts of $4,400 or less are exempt from the minimum fee

   Not published by the Division of Revenue; the initial license must be obtained before the business starts, and the annual minimum fee is due with the Form 228 net profit return

Official Sources

• Kentucky — Notary Public Requirements
• Kentucky Secretary of State

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