Oklahoma § 49-1 - Appointment - Removal

§ 49-1. Appointment - Removal

The Secretary of State shall appoint and commission in this

state notaries public, who shall hold their office for four (4)

years. An applicant for a notary commission shall be eighteen (18)

years of age or older, a citizen of the United States, and employed

within this state or a legal resident of this state. A national

criminal history record check, as defined in Section 150.9 of Title

74 of the Oklahoma Statutes, shall be conducted electronically of

any applicant for a notary commission, including any applicant for

renewal. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) shall

electronically obtain fingerprints of the applicant and require that

the person pay a search fee not to exceed Fifty Dollars ($50.00) or

the cost of the search, whichever is the lesser amount. The fees

shall be deposited in the OSBI Revolving Fund. The Oklahoma State

Bureau of Investigation shall provide the national criminal history

record check to the Secretary of State within fourteen (14) working

days from the receipt of the request. OSBI may contact the Federal

Bureau of Investigation to obtain the information requested. A

felony conviction shall be grounds for removal of a person from the

office of notary public and shall preclude a person from further

applying for or renewing a notary commission. All notary

commissions shall run in the name and by the authority of the State

of Oklahoma, be signed by the Secretary of State, and sealed with

the Great Seal of the State of Oklahoma. Commissions shall not be

attested. Any person filing an application for a new notary

commission shall pay Fifty Dollars ($50.00) to the Secretary of

State with the application. Any person filing an application for a

renewal of a notary commission shall pay Forty-five Dollars ($45.00)

to the Secretary of State with the application. Any person

requiring “same day filing service” shall pay Fifty Dollars ($50.00)

to the Secretary of State in addition to the applicable filing fee.

These funds shall be deposited in the revolving fund created for the

Secretary of State pursuant to the provisions of Section 276.1 of

Title 62 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

R.L.1910, § 4240. Amended by Laws 1929, c. 255, p. 363, § 2; Laws

1975, c. 165, § 1, emerg. eff. May 20, 1975; Laws 1978, c. 91, § 1,

eff. July 1, 1978; Laws 1984, c. 1, § 83, emerg. eff. Jan. 30, 1984;

Laws 1986, c. 157, § 5, emerg. eff. May 9, 1986; Laws 1990, c. 264,

§ 91, operative July 1, 1990; Laws 1997, c. 77, § 1, eff. Nov. 1,

1997; Laws 2002, c. 34, § 1, emerg. eff. April 11, 2002; Laws 2003,

c. 191, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2003; Laws 2025, c. 238, § 1, eff. Jan. 1,

2026.