How to Start a Notary Business in Virginia
How to Start a Notary Business in Virginia
Virginia’s notary commission costs $45 to apply for, requires no exam, and can be active within a few weeks. That’s the easy part. The real question is what you do with it — because a basic notary stamp earns you $5–$10 per signature at a UPS Store, while a Notary Signing Agent working real estate closings earns $75–$200 per appointment. Same commission. Very different business.
This guide covers the full path: getting commissioned, becoming a signing agent, adding an eNotary commission for remote work, and setting up an actual business around it. Virginia is a strong market for this — the D.C. metro area alone generates constant real estate activity, and loan closings need notaries every single day.
Virginia Notary Public Requirements
Notary commissions in Virginia are issued by the Secretary of the Commonwealth — not DPOR, not the SCC, not any licensing board. That’s an important distinction. The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s notary page lives at commonwealth.virginia.gov/official-documents/notary-commissions/, and that’s where your process starts and ends.
Eligibility is straightforward:
- At least 18 years old
- Legal U.S. resident
- Able to read and write English
- Must reside legally in Virginia — OR reside out of state but be regularly employed in Virginia (this covers commuters)
- No felony convictions under U.S. or Virginia law, unless you’ve received a pardon or had your rights restored
One thing Virginia doesn’t require: a training course or exam. Some states put you through hours of coursework before you can even apply. Virginia hands you the commission, then trusts you to read the handbook. That keeps the barrier to entry low — and means you can move fast if you decide this is worth pursuing.
The application fee is $45, non-refundable. You can pay online by credit card or mail a check/money order with your paper application.
The Application Process Step by Step
The process has more steps than most people expect, but none of them are hard. Here’s the exact sequence:
1. Complete the online application at the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s website. You fill out your personal information, employment details, and the locality where you’ll be commissioned.
2. Print the application. Part 3 of the printed application must be signed in front of a current, commissioned Virginia notary. This is the one bureaucratic quirk — you need a notary to become a notary. Find one at a bank, UPS Store, or through a mobile notary service. Cost is up to $10.
3. Mail the notarized application to the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office in Richmond, along with your $45 fee if you’re not paying online.
4. Wait for approval. Once the Secretary of the Commonwealth approves your application, they send your commission certificate to your designated Circuit Court — not to you directly.
5. Appear at your Circuit Court within 60 days. This is the step people miss. You must go in person to your local Circuit Court, take the oath of office, and pick up your commission certificate. Miss the 60-day window and you have to start over. The oath fee runs approximately $10.
6. Buy your notary seal. You purchase this from a private vendor after you’re commissioned — not from the state. An ink stamp or embosser runs $20–$40 depending on the vendor. Make sure it meets Virginia’s requirements for size and content (your name, commission number, and “Notary Public, Commonwealth of Virginia”).
Total startup cost for the commission itself: approximately $85–$105. That includes the application fee, oath, and seal. Everything else is optional — until you decide to build a real business around it.
Becoming a Notary Signing Agent (NSA) in Virginia
Here’s where the math changes.
A Notary Signing Agent specializes in one thing: notarizing real estate loan document packages at closings. Refinances, purchases, home equity loans — every one of those transactions requires a stack of documents signed and notarized, often at the borrower’s kitchen table. That’s where you come in.
The pay: $75–$200 per signing, paid as a flat fee per appointment. A signing typically takes 45–90 minutes including drive time. Do two or three in a day and you’ve made more than a lot of people earn in a full eight-hour shift. Full-time NSAs who work high-volume markets — Northern Virginia, Richmond, Hampton Roads — can clear $5,000+ per month.
Virginia does not require a separate license to work as a signing agent. Your notary commission is sufficient from a legal standpoint. But “legally sufficient” and “actually hireable” are different things. Title companies and signing services — the companies that assign you work — have their own requirements:
- NSA certification from a recognized training program (NNA, Loan Signing System, Notary2Pro)
- Background check (usually run through the NNA or a third-party screening company)
- Errors & Omissions (E&O) insurance
NSA certification courses run $100–$200 and teach you the actual loan documents — what each form does, where signatures go, what to do when a borrower has questions. This is genuinely useful training. Loan packages run 100–200 pages and you need to move through them efficiently without giving legal advice.
One Virginia-specific note worth knowing: NSAs in Virginia can work on behalf of a registered settlement agent without needing a title insurance license, as long as you’re not handling money or closing costs directly. You’re there to notarize, not to conduct the closing in a legal or financial capacity. Stay in that lane and you’re fine.
E&O insurance for signing agents runs $200–$500 per year. Some signing services won’t assign you work without proof of at least $25,000–$100,000 in coverage. Get it before you start marketing yourself.
Virginia eNotary Commission
After you have your standard notary commission in hand, you can apply for a separate eNotary commission — Virginia’s designation for notaries authorized to notarize electronic documents.
The eNotary commission is what unlocks Remote Online Notarization (RON). Instead of sitting across a table from your client, you meet via video call. They present their ID on camera, you verify it, and you notarize their electronic document with a digital seal. The client could be anywhere — across the state, in another state, technically anywhere in the U.S. depending on the document type. That expands your market considerably.
To get the eNotary commission:
- Be a commissioned Virginia notary public first. You can’t apply for eNotary status before you take your Circuit Court oath.
- Apply through the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s website.
- Purchase a digital certificate and electronic seal from a Secretary-approved provider before submitting your application. The electronic seal runs $15+, and digital certificates are required to digitally sign electronic documents in a tamper-evident way.
- Pay the $45 eNotary application fee (also non-refundable).
RON is a growing market. Lenders, title companies, law firms, and individuals increasingly want the option to close or sign documents without anyone traveling anywhere. If you’re building a signing agent business, adding eNotary capability sets you apart from notaries who only do in-person work. And for clients outside your immediate area — or borrowers with mobility issues — it fills a real gap.
Register Your Notary Business
You can start notarizing under your own name as a sole proprietor. But if you’re doing signing agent work — handling real estate loan packages worth hundreds of thousands of dollars — you want a legal entity between you and any potential liability.
Form an LLC with the Virginia State Corporation Commission at cis.scc.virginia.gov. Filing fee is $100 (one-time), plus a $50/year annual registration fee. That’s cheap liability protection for a business where mistakes on documents can cause real problems.
Get an EIN from the IRS at irs.gov/ein. Free, takes about 10 minutes online, and you’ll need it to open a business bank account.
Register with the Virginia Department of Taxation at tax.virginia.gov. Notary services are generally exempt from Virginia sales tax (you’re providing a service, not selling tangible goods), but you still need to register if you have any taxable activity or employees.
Get your BPOL license from your local city or county. Virginia has no statewide business license — every locality runs its own Business, Professional, and Occupational License system. The cost varies by jurisdiction and is usually calculated on gross receipts. Call your city or county’s Commissioner of the Revenue office to find out what you owe.
One statutory quirk worth knowing: notary fees in Virginia are capped by state law. You cannot charge more than the maximum allowed per notarial act. But mobile notary travel fees are not regulated — you set those yourself. Most mobile notaries charge $25–$75 in travel fees on top of the notarial act fee. That’s where you recover your time and mileage.
Insurance and Bonding
Virginia does not require a surety bond for notaries. This surprises people who’ve researched notary requirements in other states — California, Florida, and others mandate bonds as part of the commission. Not Virginia. You can skip the bond entirely.
That said, E&O insurance is a different matter.
Errors and Omissions insurance covers you if you make a mistake on a notarization that causes someone financial harm — wrong date, missed signature, improper identification. For signing agents working on real estate transactions, this isn’t hypothetical risk. A missed signature can delay a closing. A notarized document with an error can require re-signing, which costs everyone time and money. E&O insurance for notaries and signing agents runs $200–$500/year.
Many signing services and title companies require proof of coverage — often $25,000–$100,000 minimum — before they’ll add you to their network. Get this before you start applying to platforms.
If you’re doing mobile notary work — meeting clients at their homes, offices, or hospitals — general liability insurance is also worth considering. It covers slip-and-fall incidents and other property-related claims that E&O doesn’t touch. A basic GL policy for a solo service business runs $400–$600/year.
No bond required. But don’t skip E&O.
Startup Costs for a Virginia Notary Business
The math is genuinely attractive for a service business. Here’s how it stacks up:
Basic notary commission only: $85–$105 Application fee ($45) + Circuit Court oath (~$10) + notary seal ($20–$40). Gets you commissioned and legal. Doesn’t build much of a business on its own.
Add signing agent capabilities: another $300–$700 NSA certification course ($100–$200) + background check ($50–$75) + E&O insurance ($200–$500/year). This is the investment that turns your commission into actual income.
Add eNotary commission: another $60–$100+ $45 application + $15+ electronic seal + digital certificate (provider-dependent). One-time costs, mostly, with annual renewal depending on your provider.
Business formation: $200–$300 LLC filing ($100) + first-year annual registration ($50) + BPOL license (varies) + EIN (free).
Laser printer: $200–$400 If you’re working as a signing agent, you’ll print loan packages yourself — often 150–200 pages per appointment. A laser printer pays for itself fast. Inkjet is too slow and too expensive per page at that volume.
Total first-year investment for a mobile notary/signing agent business: approximately $800–$1,500.
That’s one of the lowest legitimate business startup costs you’ll find anywhere in Virginia. No storefront, no inventory, no employees required. Your main assets are your commission, your car, and your ability to show up on time and execute cleanly.
Costs at a Glance
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Notary application fee | $45 |
| Circuit Court oath | ~$10 |
| Notary seal | $20–$40 |
| LLC filing (one-time) | $100 |
| LLC annual registration | $50/year |
| BPOL license | Varies by locality |
| NSA certification course | $100–$200 (recommended) |
| E&O insurance | $200–$500/year |
| eNotary application | $45 |
| Electronic seal | $15+ |
| Surety bond | Not required in Virginia |
| Total first-year (full build-out) | ~$800–$1,500 |
The commission is just a credential. What you do with it determines whether this is a side income or a real business. Start with the commission, get your E&O coverage and NSA certification before you market yourself to title companies, and add eNotary capability once you want to grow beyond your immediate geography. That’s the sequence that actually works.