Free Notary Exam Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the Notary Exam practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1A signer presents a document with only a blank space for a stamp and no wording describing a notarial act. What must the Utah notary do?

   1. A. Add or attach an appropriate notarial certificate
   2. B. Affix the seal alone in the blank space
   3. C. Sign the document without applying a seal
   4. D. Initial the blank space and return the document

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The official guide directs, "Never just stamp and sign. Make sure the proper language ... is included in the written description of the notarial act." The document needs notarial language, not a bare stamp.

   Reference: Utah Notary Public Study Guideand Handbook 5 16 (2022) — p. 5, Top 10 Mistakes, item 1

2. 2A Utah notary's remote-certification application already identifies the commission number, expiration date and solution provider, and contains the required compliance statement. Which specimen must also accompany the application?

   1. A. A copy of the constitutional oath and original surety bond
   2. B. A copy of the electronic seal and electronic signature
   3. C. A copy of the name-change documentation and bond rider
   4. D. A copy of the commission and notarized seal declaration

   Answer: B

   Explanation: R623-100-4(B)(3) requires "A copy of the notary public's electronic seal and electronic signature provided by the solution provider". These are the specimens required in addition to the items already supplied. The oath and bond support commission effectiveness; name-change documents support a name amendment; the commission and seal declaration support obtaining an official seal. Those documents do not substitute for the electronic specimens.

   Reference: Utah Administrative Code R623-100, Remote Notarization — R623-100-4(B)(3)

3. 3A completed certificate is detached from the document it describes. Which placement satisfies Utah's definition of a notarial certificate?

   1. A. Stored only in the notary's journal
   2. B. Made part of or attached to the notarized document
   3. C. Filed only with the surety company
   4. D. Kept only with the notary's commission

   Answer: B

   Explanation: Utah Code defines a notarial certificate as an affidavit that is "a part of or attached to a notarized document." It must accompany the document it certifies.

   Reference: Utah Code Title 46 Chapter 1 — Utah Code § 46-1-2(14)(a)

4. 4An actively certified Utah remote notary wants to use a new vendor's software. The vendor claims that its identity checks and recording features satisfy Utah standards. Whose approval of the solution is required before the notary uses it?

   1. A. The director of elections
   2. B. A licensed surety
   3. C. A designated testing center
   4. D. The lieutenant governor

   Answer: D

   Explanation: R623-100-4(D) says the notary "shall use an approved solution vendor". R623-100-8(C) specifies that the solution "shall be approved by the lieutenant governor prior to use in this state". Technical capability and the notary's own certification do not replace that approval. The director makes standards, a surety executes bonds, and a testing center scores examinations; none supplies this vendor approval.

   Reference: Utah Administrative Code R623-100, Remote Notarization — R623-100-4(D)

5. 5Which combination completes the Utah statutory definition of a notarial certificate after it is attached to the document?

   1. A. Date and venue only
   2. B. Signer signature and thumbprint
   3. C. Notary signature and official seal
   4. D. Bond number and surety signature

   Answer: C

   Explanation: Section 46-1-2(14)(b) requires the certificate to be "completed by the notary and bears the notary's signature and official seal."

   Reference: Utah Code Title 46 Chapter 1 — Utah Code § 46-1-2(14)(b)

6. 6The lieutenant governor suspends a Utah notary's traditional commission. The resulting remote-certification suspension prevents the notary from completing remote acts. Which event governs the end of that linked suspension?

   1. A. Approval of the additional remote-notary bond
   2. B. Receipt of the remote-certification application
   3. C. Lifting of the traditional commission's suspension
   4. D. Expiration of the traditional commission's term

   Answer: C

   Explanation: R623-100-4(F) links the remote certification to the traditional commission "until such time that the lieutenant governor lifts such suspension or revocation". Lifting the traditional suspension is the controlling event. Bond approval and application receipt are certification steps, while expiration ends the existing commission term; none ends this suspension.

   Reference: Utah Administrative Code R623-100, Remote Notarization — R623-100-4(F)

7. 7A Utah notary has an embossed seal that cannot be photographed clearly. How may it be used?

   1. A. Instead of the official seal on paper certificates
   2. B. Only after the commission expires
   3. C. Only on electronic messages
   4. D. In addition to, but not instead of, the required reproducible seal

   Answer: D

   Explanation: Utah Code permits an embossed impression "in addition to, but not in place of, the photographically reproducible official seal."

   Reference: Utah Code Title 46 Chapter 1 — Utah Code § 46-1-16(4)

8. 8Automated credential analysis reports that a Utah remote signer's identification is authentic. To carry out the separate human visual comparison, what must the notary compare with the information and photograph on the identification image?

   1. A. The principal viewed live through the audio/video system
   2. B. The identification details held by the issuing source
   3. C. The identification document in the principal's possession
   4. D. The security features embedded in the identification

   Answer: A

   Explanation: R623-100-5(B)(2) identifies the comparison target as "The principal as viewed by the notary in real time through the audio/video system." The human comparison remains necessary after successful automated analysis. Issuing-source details and security features support authenticity testing; matching the image to the possessed credential supports image capture. Those checks do not replace comparing the image with the live person.

   Reference: Utah Administrative Code R623-100, Remote Notarization — R623-100-5(A)(2), (B)(1)-(2)

9. 9A signer already signed a contract and now personally admits the signature was voluntary. Which notarial act matches that request?

   1. A. Acknowledgment
   2. B. Jurat
   3. C. Copy certification
   4. D. Oath without a signature

   Answer: A

   Explanation: An acknowledgment is the act in which a signer "has admitted, in the presence of the notary, to voluntarily signing a document."

   Reference: Utah Code Title 46 Chapter 1 — Utah Code § 46-1-2(1)

10. 10A Utah remote notary cannot validate the principal's identification and stops the act. How many further audio-video attempts to complete that act using the same credential may the notary or solution provider make?

    1. A. 1
    2. B. 2
    3. C. 3
    4. D. 0

    Answer: D

    Explanation: R623-100-5(B)(3)(i) states, "No further attempt may be made by the notary or the Solution Provider to complete the notarial act using audio-video communication using that credential." Thus the number is zero. The KBA quiz-retry allowance does not authorize retries with an identification credential that could not be validated.

    Reference: Utah Administrative Code R623-100, Remote Notarization — R623-100-5(B)(3)-(3)(i)