How to Look Up a Florida Notary Commission

Published 2026-08-19 · Updated 2026-08-19 · For the Public

What to check

A Florida notary commission is a public record. You do not need permission, a reason, or an account to verify one. Four fields, checked together:

• Name — exactly as it appears on the seal. Not a nickname, not a maiden name.
• Commission number — the identifier on the seal, usually beginning with two letters.
• Expiration date — the field that catches almost every real problem.
• Status — active, expired, or resigned.

The expiration date is the one that matters. Florida commissions run four years with no grace period. A notarization performed one day past expiration is void, and on a recorded deed or mortgage that becomes a title defect long after everyone has forgotten the appointment.

Where to look

The Florida Department of State maintains the official record at notaries.dos.fl.gov. This is the authoritative source and the one to cite if anything is ever disputed.

This register — State Notary Agent — is a free searchable copy compiled from the Department's own published Notaries Public journals, showing name, commission series and number, issue and expiration dates, bonding agency, city, county, and ZIP. It is faster to search by name or city, and it is free. It is not the official record; when it matters legally, confirm against the Department.

One thing you will notice: neither source publishes a phone number or street address. Florida law protects those, and records flagged with an address restriction under Fla. Stat. §119.071(4)(d) — which covers judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement, among others — are withheld entirely.

What a mismatch means

• Name differs slightly. Often a legal name change that has not propagated. Ask. A notary must notarize under the exact commissioned name, so a seal that does not match the commission is a genuine problem.
• Commission number not found. Verify you read the seal correctly, then treat it seriously. There is no reason a valid commission number should be absent from the state record.
• Expired. The notarization is void. If a document has already been recorded, contact the title company or closing agent immediately — a corrective instrument early is inexpensive; a title claim later is not.
• Not found at all. Do not proceed. Anyone can buy a rubber stamp.

If you are a title company or lender verifying a bench of notaries rather than one, run the check on a schedule. Expirations arrive on a rolling four-year cycle, so there is no single date to watch.

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