Montana Notary Journals..."Did you know...?
Montana Notary Journal Quick FactsPublished April 3, 2026
A Montana Notary Public is required to make a journal record of every notarial act he or she performs. The Notary may use one or more journals simultaneously; use is not restricted to just one active journal at a time.
Prohibited Journal Entry Information
Montana Notaries are statutorily prohibited from including information unique to the identity of the signer in a journal record.* This information includes Social Security numbers, passport numbers, driver’s license numbers, the principal’s birth date and any other information prohibited by administrative rule of the Secretary of State [MCA §1-5-618(4)].
*TIP: Some journals, including the journal (recordbook) published by American Society of Notaries, include a space for obtaining the principal’s thumbprint in the journal record. This is a required practice only in California, and only when notarization involves certain document types. A Montana notary is not prohibited from obtaining a principal’s thumbprint in the journal record, but because the practice is not required, the Notary cannot use the refusal to provide a thumbprint as a basis for refusing to notarize.
Journal Storage, Retention
As mentioned earlier, a Notary Public must store active journals and journal records securely.
Only the Notary who owns an active journal may access or use it. The Notary must not surrender or destroy a journal or any notarial records unless authorized by law or rule, a court order, or at the direction of the Secretary of State.
A Notary Public under an active commission must securely keep journal records (for example, a completely filled paper journal; and any electronic journal records) for 10 years after performance of the last notarial act entered. While actively commissioned, a Notary cannot delegate this responsibility.*
*TIP: A copy of any journal record can be requested at any time. Remember that Montana Notaries may use more than one active journal at a time. American Society of Notaries recommends that Notaries using multiple active journals create some personal method of tracking which journal contains particular records. An example would be assigning a number to each active journal, and keeping careful personal notes about the date range of notarial acts contained in each numbered journal. Another strategy might be to use one numbered journal only for work-related notarizations, and another only for notarizations performed on personal time. Similar strategies might also be used by notaries who maintain tangible (paper) journals and an electronic journal; personal notes could help you recall whether certain acts were recorded in a particular paper journal, and whether others were recorded in an electronic journal.
Disposition of Records on Notary’s Death or Finding of Incompetency
When a Notary dies or is judged by a court (adjudicated) to be mentally incompetent, the Notary’s personal representative or guardian or any other person or entity knowingly in possession of the Notary’s journal(s) or audio-video recordings of remote online or remote notarizations must transmit all the Notary’s journal records to an approved repository.
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