Kansas Notary Requirements
ACCEPTABLE IDs FOR A KANSAS NOTARY
K.S.A. § 53-5a07
K.S.A. § 53-5a07 (Identification of individual). (a) A notarial officer has personal knowledge of the identity of an individual appearing before the officer if the individual is personally known to the officer through dealings sufficient to provide reasonable certainty that the individual has the identity claimed. (b) A notarial officer has satisfactory evidence of the identity of an individual appearing before the officer if the officer can identify the individual: (1) By means of: (A) A passport, driver's license or government-issued nondriver identification card that is current or expired not more than three years before performance of the notarial act; or (B) another form of government identification issued to an individual that is current or expired not more than three years before performance of the notarial act, contains the signature and a photograph of the individual and is satisfactory to the officer; or (2) by a verification on oath or affirmation of a credible witness personally appearing before the officer and known to the officer or whom the officer can identify on the basis of a passport, driver's license or government-issued nondriver identification card that is current or expired not more than three years before performance of the notarial act. (c) A notarial officer may require an individual to provide additional information or identification credentials necessary to assure the officer of the identity of the individual. (d) This section shall take effect on and after January 1, 2022.
STATE IDs
Kansas requires a state-issued identification bearing a photograph and signature, current or expired no more than 3 years ago.
Documents qualifying under this standard remain subject to your judgment as the notary that the identification presented is satisfactory.
*Acceptable only if the License to Carry/CHL card bears a photograph and signature - verify on the card presented; some states' License to Carry/CHLs do not.
**Kansas does not issue this credential.
FEDERAL IDs
Kansas requires a federally issued identification bearing a photograph and signature, current or expired no more than 3 years ago.
Documents qualifying under this standard remain subject to your judgment as the notary that the identification presented is satisfactory.
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT IDs
Kansas requires a government-issued identification bearing a photograph and signature, current or expired no more than 3 years ago.
*Acceptable if the card bears a photograph and signature - verify on the card presented.
INMATE IDs
Kansas accepts county inmate identification as listed below.
*Acceptable if the card bears a photograph and signature - verify on the card presented.
FOREIGN IDs
Kansas requires a foreign-government issued identification bearing a photograph and signature, current or expired no more than 3 years ago.
Documents qualifying under this standard remain subject to your judgment as the notary that the identification presented is satisfactory.
*Most foreign driver's licenses bear a photograph and signature; verify the signature is present before accepting - some countries do not include one.
CREDIBLE WITNESS(ES)
Kansas (K.S.A. 53-5a07(b)) accepts identification by oath or affirmation of a credible witness; the oath is the act.
PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE
*Personal knowledge permitted.
OTHER IDs
*Acceptable if the card bears a photograph and signature - verify on the card presented.
Journal Rules
K.S.A. 53-5a20
K.S.A. 53-5a20 (Journal)
(a) A notary public shall maintain a journal in which the notary public chronicles all notarial acts that the notary public performs. The notary public shall retain the journal for 10 years after the performance of the last notarial act chronicled in the journal.
(b) A journal shall be created on a tangible medium or in an electronic format. A notary public shall maintain only one journal in a tangible medium or one or more journals in an electronic format to chronicle all notarial acts performed regarding electronic records. If the journal is maintained on a tangible medium, it shall be a permanent, bound register with numbered pages. If the journal is maintained in an electronic format, it shall be in a permanent, tamper-evident electronic format complying with the rules and regulations of the secretary of state.
(c) An entry in a journal shall be made contemporaneously with performance of the notarial act and contain the following information:
(1) The date and time of the notarial act;
(2) a description of the record, if any, and type of notarial act;
(3) the full name and address of each individual for whom the notarial act is performed;
(4) if identity of the individual is based on personal knowledge, a statement to that effect;
(5) if identity of the individual is based on satisfactory evidence, a brief description of the method of identification and the identification credential presented, if any, including the date of issuance and expiration of any identification credential; and
(6) the fee, if any, charged by the notary public.
(d) If a notary public's journal is lost or stolen, the notary public shall promptly notify the secretary of state on discovering that the journal is lost or stolen.
(e) On resignation from, or the revocation or suspension of, a notary public's commission, the notary public shall retain the notary public's journal in accordance with subsection (a) and inform the secretary of state where the journal is located.
(f) Instead of retaining a journal as provided in subsections (a) and (e), a current or former notary public may transmit the journal to a repository approved by the secretary of state.
(g) On the death or adjudication of incompetency of a current or former notary public, the notary public's personal representative or guardian or any other person knowingly in possession of the journal shall:
(1) Retain the notary public's journal in accordance with subsection (a) or transmit the journal to a repository approved by the secretary of state; and
(2) inform the secretary of state where the journal is located.
(h) This section shall take effect on and after January 1, 2022.
- Journal required?
- ✓
- Bound paper journal required?
- ✗*
- Wet signature required in journal?
- ✗
- Wet thumbprint required?
- ✗
- Digital journal allowed?
- ✓
- Journal format
- Either
- Retention — required
- 10 yr
- Retention period
- After the last journal entry
JOURNAL ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Required
Prohibited
None
*You may keep your journal on paper or electronically. If you choose paper, it must be a permanent, bound register with numbered pages.
Notary Fees
K.A.R. 7-43-16
K.A.R. 7-43-16 (Fee for performing a notarial act)
(a) Any notary public may charge a fee for performing a notarial act with respect to a tangible record or an electronic record or a notarial act for a remotely located individual. If the notary public charges a fee, the notary public shall ensure that all the following requirements are met:
(1) The fee shall be disclosed to the signer and agreed to by the signer before the notarial act is performed.
(2) The fee shall be collected when the notarial act is performed.
(3) The fee shall be recorded in the notary public's journal.
(b) The notary public shall disclose to the signer that the fee is permitted but is not required by state law or regulation.
- Acknowledgment (max)
- —
- Jurat (max)
- —
- Additional signature (max)
- —
- Travel fee capped?
- ✗
- Travel fee disclosure required?
- ✓
Notarial Acts
Certificate Language
Dated: {date}
Bracketed {tokens} are placeholders the app fills in (venue, names, dates) when it generates a certificate.
Source Documents
Full statute and (where published) the commissioning authority’s notary handbook. Download links appear here once the documents table is populated.
📄 Full notary statute (coming soon) 📄 Notary handbook (coming soon)