What is and is not in the notary journal pages

Newest sealed read: 2026-09-08. We re-read each state's own page every week. We hold 1 sealed run going back to 2026-09-08.

What this page is51 rows held · newest sealed read 2026-09-08

51 places are read, each from its own legislature or notary office, and 18 of them gave text we could quote word for word.
33 gave us nothing we could read on the day we asked: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming. Their pages say so in place of an answer.
11 places permit an electronic journal in the words we read, 0 tie it to a provider they approve, 1 describe a paper journal only, and 39 we could not settle.
51 of the 51 name the entry fields a journal must hold. Where a state names none, the page says none rather than borrowing another state's list.
No page in this family tells a reader what their own position is. It shows the state's words and the address they came from, and stops.

Real rows out of our sealed copies

Both tables are counted off the same file every state page is built from. Nothing here is a summary of a rule in our words.

All 51 places we read, what each one's own text answered, and when we read it sealed 2026-09-08

Place	Journal required?	Electronic journal	How long it is kept	Did we get its words?	Read on
Alabama	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Alaska	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Arizona	Its text says a notary public shall keep one	Its text permits a journal in an electronic format	no period in the words we read	its own words are quoted on its page	2026-09-08
Arkansas	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
California	Its text says a notary public shall keep one	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	its own words are quoted on its page	2026-09-08
Colorado	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Connecticut	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Delaware	Its text says a notary public shall keep one	Its text permits a journal in an electronic format	10 years	its own words are quoted on its page	2026-09-08
District of Columbia	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Its text permits a journal in an electronic format	no period in the words we read	its own words are quoted on its page	2026-09-08
Florida	Its text says a notary public shall keep one	Its text permits a journal in an electronic format	10 years	its own words are quoted on its page	2026-09-08
Georgia	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Hawaii	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Idaho	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Illinois	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Indiana	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Iowa	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Kansas	Its text says a notary public shall keep one	Its text permits a journal in an electronic format	10 years	its own words are quoted on its page	2026-09-08
Kentucky	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Louisiana	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Maine	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Maryland	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Massachusetts	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Michigan	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Minnesota	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Mississippi	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Missouri	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Montana	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	its own words are quoted on its page	2026-09-08
Nebraska	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Nevada	Its text says a notary public shall keep one	Its text describes a bound paper journal, and we found no words in it permitting an electronic one	7 years	its own words are quoted on its page	2026-09-08
New Hampshire	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
New Jersey	Its text says a notary public shall keep one	Its text permits a journal in an electronic format	10 years	its own words are quoted on its page	2026-09-08
New Mexico	Its text says a notary public shall keep one	Its text permits a journal in an electronic format	10 years	its own words are quoted on its page	2026-09-08
New York	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
North Carolina	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	its own words are quoted on its page	2026-09-08
North Dakota	Its text says a notary public shall keep one	Its text permits a journal in an electronic format	10 years	its own words are quoted on its page	2026-09-08
Ohio	Its text says a notary public shall keep one	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	10 years	its own words are quoted on its page	2026-09-08
Oklahoma	Its text says a notary public shall keep one	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	10 years	its own words are quoted on its page	2026-09-08
Oregon	Its text says a notary public shall keep one	Its text permits a journal in an electronic format	10 years	its own words are quoted on its page	2026-09-08
Pennsylvania	Its text says a notary public shall keep one	Its text permits a journal in an electronic format	no period in the words we read	its own words are quoted on its page	2026-09-08
Rhode Island	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
South Carolina	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
South Dakota	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Tennessee	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Texas	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Utah	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Vermont	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Virginia	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	5 years	its own words are quoted on its page	2026-09-08
Washington	Its text says a notary public shall keep one	Its text permits a journal in an electronic format	10 years	its own words are quoted on its page	2026-09-08
West Virginia	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Wisconsin	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08
Wyoming	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say	no period in the words we read	we could not read its words	2026-09-08

The two questions every page asks, and how many places gave each answer sealed 2026-09-08

Question	The answer its text gave	Places
Is a journal required?	Unsettled: we could not read a sentence either way.	37
Is a journal required?	Its text says a notary public shall keep one.	14
An electronic journal, for acts done in person	Unsettled: we could not read enough of its text to say.	39
An electronic journal, for acts done in person	Its text permits a journal in an electronic format.	11
An electronic journal, for acts done in person	Its text describes a bound paper journal, and we found no words in it permitting an electronic one.	1

What this page cannot tell you

An “unsettled” answer is our reading failing, not the state being silent. It means we could not find a sentence either way in the text we fetched, and the state's own page is linked so you can look yourself.
We read one page per state. A state whose rule is split across a statute, an administrative code and a handbook may say more elsewhere than the page we read.
These are the words as they stood on the date beside each place. A rule that changed after that date is not here until the next weekly read.
Nothing in this family is a legal position. A journal requirement can turn on the kind of act, the commission held, or a rule this feed never reads.
Not affiliated with any secretary of state, notary regulator or court. Not legal, tax or professional advice. Every line on this page is quoted from the state's own page linked beside it, on the date shown.

See the file before you pay

You do not have to take our word for what is in the file. Here are 25 rows of the real thing, carrying all 6 of its columns, cut out of the dated copies we sealed ourselves. Nothing in it is made up and nothing in it is tidied up.

Open the 25 rows as a CSVA plain spreadsheet file. It saves to your machine rather than painting itself into a browser tab, and it opens in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.
The same 25 rows as JSONThe same rows again, laid out for reading with code.

What arrives after you pay: a single private web page carrying the same journal with no entry limit and your state already selected, within 15 minutes of payment. Entries already in that browser open on it with the same passphrase.

What you would be paying for: $49 once, for one private web page carrying the same notary journal with no entry limit and your state already selected. Nothing recurring, nothing to cancel and no subscription behind it. The journal runs in your own browser: entries are sealed with a passphrase you choose and are stored only on your device, so nothing is uploaded and nobody here, including us, can read an entry or reset a forgotten passphrase. A browser can delete stored data on its own, which is why the tool asks for an encrypted backup file and refuses a new entry until one is saved; the backup is your copy to keep. It is sold only for states whose own text we could read and whose text permits a journal in an electronic format, and each state page shows those words and when we read them. It is a record you keep, not a legal opinion, and nothing here is legal or professional advice. Refund on request within 14 days. The private page is delivered within 15 minutes of payment. Entries you already made in the free tool are in the same browser and open on the paid page with the same passphrase. Still not here after 15 minutes? Reply to your Stripe receipt.

These 25 rows are a slice of the file, not the whole of it. What we cannot show you here is how far back it goes: that is the part you are paying for.

Ask about the unlocked copy

$49 · One payment, not a subscription. You get one private page carrying the same journal with no entry limit. The free state pages are re-read every week; buying again is never needed and nothing recurs.

Buy — $49 one-off

$49 once, for one private web page carrying the same notary journal with no entry limit and your state already selected. Nothing recurring, nothing to cancel and no subscription behind it. The journal runs in your own browser: entries are sealed with a passphrase you choose and are stored only on your device, so nothing is uploaded and nobody here, including us, can read an entry or reset a forgotten passphrase. A browser can delete stored data on its own, which is why the tool asks for an encrypted backup file and refuses a new entry until one is saved; the backup is your copy to keep. It is sold only for states whose own text we could read and whose text permits a journal in an electronic format, and each state page shows those words and when we read them. It is a record you keep, not a legal opinion, and nothing here is legal or professional advice. Refund on request within 14 days. The private page is delivered within 15 minutes of payment. Entries you already made in the free tool are in the same browser and open on the paid page with the same passphrase. Still not here after 15 minutes? Reply to your Stripe receipt.

Rather ask first? Email operations@ustechautomations.com. No pay button on this one yet. The free tool on this page keeps 25 entries and is the same tool.