Ohio Notary Requirements
ACCEPTABLE IDs FOR AN OHIO NOTARY
Ohio Rev. Code § 147.50
Ohio Rev. Code § 147.50 (Identity of person). (A) A notary public has personal knowledge of the identity of the person appearing before the notary public if the person is personally known to the notary public through dealings sufficient to provide reasonable certainty that the person has the identity claimed. (B) A notary public has satisfactory evidence of the identity of the person appearing before the notary public if the notary public can identify the person by either of the following means: (1) An inspection of a passport, driver's license, government-issued nondriver identification card, or other form of government-issued identification with the signature or photograph of the individual, which is current or expired not more than three years before performance of the notarial act, and is satisfactory to the notary public; (2) By verification on oath or affirmation of a credible witness personally appearing before the notary public and personally known to the notary public or whom the notary public can identify on the basis of a passport, driver's license, or other government-issued nondriver identification card, which is current or expired not more than three years before performance of the notarial act. A witness is not credible if the witness has a conflict of interest regarding the transaction. (C) A notary public may require a person to provide additional information or identification credentials necessary to assure the notary public of the identity of the person.
STATE IDs
Ohio requires a state-issued identification bearing a photograph or 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 or signature - verify on the card presented; some states' License to Carry/CHLs do not.
**Ohio does not issue this credential.
***Acceptable only if the Voter ID card bears a photograph or signature - verify on the card presented; some states' Voter IDs do not.
FEDERAL IDs
Ohio requires a federally issued identification bearing a photograph or 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
Ohio requires a government-issued identification bearing a photograph or signature, current or expired no more than 3 years ago.
*Acceptable if the card bears a photograph or signature - verify on the card presented.
INMATE IDs
Ohio accepts state, county, and federal inmate identification as listed below.
*Acceptable if the card bears a photograph or signature - verify on the card presented.
FOREIGN IDs
Ohio requires a foreign-government issued identification bearing a photograph or 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.
CREDIBLE WITNESS(ES)
Ohio (Ohio Rev. Code 147.50(B)(2)) provides satisfactory evidence of identity by a verification on oath or affirmation of a credible witness personally appearing before and personally known to the notary or whom the notary can identify on the basis of a passport, driver license, or other government-issued nondriver ID (current or expired not more than 3 years); the oath is the act. (Notary Public Modernization Act, SB 263, 132nd G.A., eff. 9/20/2019).
PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE
*Personal knowledge through sufficient dealings permitted.
OTHER IDs
*Acceptable if the card bears a photograph or signature - verify on the card presented.
Journal Rules
No traditional journal statute
NO TRADITIONAL JOURNAL MANDATE.
- Journal required?
- ✗
- Bound paper journal required?
- ✗
- Wet signature required in journal?
- ✗
- Wet thumbprint required?
- ✗
- Digital journal allowed?
- ✓
- Journal format
- Optional
Notary Fees
ORC § 147.08
ORC § 147.08 (FEES; eff. Apr. 3, 2025): (A) A notary public is entitled to the following fees: (1) Up to five dollars for any notarial act that is not an online notarization; (B) A notary charging the fee authorized under division (A)(2) of this section shall not also charge the fee authorized under division (A)(1) of this section. (C) The fees charged under division (A) of this section shall not be calculated on a per signature basis. (D) In addition to the fees authorized under division (A) of this section, a notary may charge either or both of the following: (1) A reasonable travel fee, as agreed to by the notary and the principal prior to the notarial act (E) The secretary of state may adopt rules under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to increase the fees authorized under this section.
- Acknowledgment (max)
- $5.00
- Jurat (max)
- $5.00
- Additional signature (max)
- $2.00
- Travel fee capped?
- ✗
- Travel fee disclosure required?
- ✓
Notarial Acts
Certificate Language
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)