Maryland requires a “fair register” (journal) for every notarial act with 10-year retention. The notarial fee was updated to $8/signature in January 2024. RON requires A/V recording with a $30 maximum and is not permitted for wills. State Senator approval is required for every commission. NotaryAct is state-configured for Maryland — all required fields enabled and compliance built in.
📋 Fee update — effective January 22, 2024: Maryland’s maximum notarial fee was raised to $8 per signature on the original or first copy of a document under updated COMAR regulations. The maximum RON fee remains $30. Notaries who have not updated their fee schedules should do so now.
| ⚖️ Maryland Notary Journal (Fair Register) Law — Quick Reference | |
|---|---|
| Governing Law | State Government Article § 18-219 · RULONA (SB 678, eff. October 1, 2020) |
| Journal Name | “Fair Register” (now also called “journal” under RULONA) |
| Journal Required? | Yes — every notarial act ✓ |
| Permitted Formats | Bound paper with permanently numbered pages OR secure tamper-evident electronic |
| Retention Period | 10 years after last entry in journal |
| Required Entry Fields | 7 fields (name/address, date, identity method, act type, document type, fee, signer signature) |
| Thumbprint / Fingerprint | Not required · Not prohibited · Optional in NotaryAct MD configuration |
| Max Traditional Fee (updated 2024) | $8 per signature on original/first copy · Effective January 22, 2024 ✓ |
| Max RON Fee | $30 per remote notarial act |
| RON A/V Recording | Required — 10-year retention ✓ |
| RON for Wills | Not permitted ✓ |
| Commission Term | 4 years · $25 application fee · No bond required |
| State Senator Approval | Required for every commission and renewal — unique to Maryland ✓ |
| Education Requirement | SOS-approved course and exam required for new and renewing notaries (eff. Oct 1, 2021) · ~3 hours |
Maryland has required notaries to maintain a record of their official acts since the state’s earliest notary laws. Historically called a “fair register,” this record is now also referred to as a “journal” under the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (RULONA), enacted as Senate Bill 678 and effective October 1, 2020. The terminology change is largely cosmetic — the underlying obligation is the same — but the 2020 law expanded the required contents of each entry.
Every Maryland notary must maintain the fair register for all notarial acts they perform — acknowledgments, oaths and affirmations, verifications, witnessing or attesting signatures, and copy certifications. The journal may be a traditional bound paper register with permanently numbered pages or a secure tamper-evident electronic journal.
Maryland is the only state in the country that requires every notary commission application — including renewals — to be approved by a State Senator. After the Secretary of State reviews the application and runs a background check, the application is forwarded to the State Senator of the applicant’s legislative district for approval. The Senator may contact references provided with the application.
Once the Senator approves, the applicant must appear in person at the Circuit Court Clerk’s office in their county (or Baltimore City) within 30 days to take the oath and pay the Clerk’s fees. Failing to appear within 30 days revokes the approval and requires starting over. For out-of-state residents with Maryland employment, the application is processed through a designated Maryland Senator.
Maryland State Government Article § 18-219 specifies the following required fields for every journal entry. All must be recorded at the time of the notarial act. NotaryAct’s Maryland configuration captures all seven.
| 1 | Name and Address of Each Person Full name and address of every person coming before the notary. NotaryAct’s barcode scanner auto-fills from any Maryland driver’s license. |
| 2 | Date of the Notarial Act Auto-timestamped by NotaryAct at submission — locked and permanent. |
| 3 | Method of Identification How the person was identified — personal knowledge, credible witness, or the type of government-issued ID used. NotaryAct supports all three scenarios with dedicated fields. |
| 4 | Type of Official Act Acknowledgment, oath or affirmation, verification, witnessing or attesting a signature, copy certification, or protest. NotaryAct provides a structured dropdown for all Maryland-authorized act types. |
| 5 | Type of Document Involved Deed, mortgage, lease, motor vehicle form, affidavit, deposition, or other document description. NotaryAct includes a dedicated document description field. |
| 6 | Fee Charged The fee charged, or a notation that no fee was charged. Maryland’s maximum is $8 per signature on the original/first copy, effective January 22, 2024. NotaryAct includes a required fee field. |
| 7 | Signatures of Persons Signing the Document The signature of each person whose document was notarized. NotaryAct captures electronic signatures for every journal entry. |
✔ NotaryAct is state-configured for Maryland: All seven required fair register fields are enabled in the Maryland configuration. The barcode scanner auto-fills name and address from Maryland driver’s licenses. Fingerprint capture is available as an optional feature. The fee field reflects Maryland’s current $8 maximum. Records are retained in encrypted cloud storage for the full 10-year period.
Maryland authorized RON effective October 1, 2020, under RULONA (SB 678). To register as a Remote Notary, an active Maryland notary must submit a Remote Notary Notification Form online through the SOS portal and select an SOS-authorized RON vendor. No additional fee or bond is required for RON registration.
Two distinct RON notification forms exist: one for notaries using RON vendor platforms (for electronic records with credential analysis and KBA), and one for notaries performing remote acts on tangible records using personal knowledge or credible witness identification (no RON vendor required for those identity methods).
Every RON session requires a mandatory audio-visual recording that must be retained for at least 10 years. The maximum RON fee is $30 per notarial act — significantly higher than the $8 traditional maximum, reflecting the additional technology costs.
RON is not permitted for wills under Maryland law (as defined in the Estates and Trusts Article). All other standard notarial acts are authorized for remote performance.
| Maryland Requirement (§ 18-219) | How NotaryAct Covers It | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Fair register for every notarial act | All act types covered; entries locked at submission with auto-timestamp | ✔ |
| Tamper-evident electronic format | Entries locked at submission; encrypted cloud; audit trail | ✔ |
| All 7 required entry fields | Name/address, date, ID method, act type, document type, fee, signer signature — all in MD configuration | ✔ |
| 10-year retention | Encrypted cloud retains records well beyond 10-year minimum | ✔ |
| $8 fee maximum reflected | Fee field in MD configuration reflects current January 2024 maximum | ✔ |
| RON electronic journal | Tamper-evident records for all remote notarial acts | ✔ |
| Fingerprint — optional | Available as optional via camera or Bluetooth scanner; not presented as required | ✔ |
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NotaryAct is state-configured for Maryland — all seven required fair register fields enabled, the current $8 fee maximum reflected, 10-year encrypted cloud retention, and full RON electronic journal support. Compliance is built in from the first entry.
This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Information reflects Maryland State Government Article §§ 18-101 et seq. (RULONA, effective October 1, 2020) and updated COMAR fee regulations (effective January 22, 2024) as in effect June 2026. Consult the Maryland Secretary of State’s Notary Division at sos.maryland.gov/Notary or qualified legal counsel for guidance specific to your situation.
