Massachusetts Notary BondNone Required — Governor Appoints Instead
Massachusetts does not require a notary surety bond. No section of M.G.L. Chapter 222 conditions a commission on posting a bond. What Massachusetts requires instead is stranger than most states' process: your application goes to the Governor and the Governor's Council for appointment, not a Secretary of State licensing desk — the same body that confirms judges and pardons. That single structural difference explains most of what makes this state's notary system look nothing like its neighbors'.
Statutes verified against malegislature.gov and mass.gov as of August 2026.
The Application Goes to the State House, Not a Licensing Board
Every state commissions notaries somehow, but most route the paperwork through a Secretary of State business-filings unit — pay a fee, pass an automated check, get a certificate. Massachusetts instead treats the notary commission as an executive appointment, on the same constitutional track as judges and other officers confirmed by the Governor's Council. There is no bond step anywhere in this process; the check on unqualified applicants is character references and the Council's discretion, not a surety underwriter.
Confirm eligibility
At least 18 years old and living or working in Massachusetts. No exam, no pre-licensing course, no bond quote to shop.
Assemble the packet
A current resume plus four signatures from "known and respected members of your community" — character references, not a surety application. Mailed to the Notary Public Office, State House, 24 Beacon St, Room 184, Boston, MA 02133-1058.
Governor and Council review
The Governor's Council — an eight-member elected body that also confirms judicial nominees — reviews the application. Under §13(b), the Governor may deny it for material misstatements, disqualifying convictions, a prior commission revocation in any jurisdiction, or other conduct making the applicant unsuitable.
Pay the $60 fee — only after approval
Unlike most states, you don't pay upfront. Mass.gov is explicit that the fee is due only once you're notified the application was approved — there's nothing to lose by applying and being denied.
Swear in and receive your seal
Approval notification includes swearing-in instructions. Once sworn, you hold a commission valid statewide for 7 years under §14, and you order your own notarial seal or stamp meeting the §8 specifications — there is no state-issued seal.
Processing runs roughly two weeks from mailing to written notification, per mass.gov's published guidance. Renewals and any name or address changes after appointment go through the Public Records Division, not the Governor's Council.
Official Massachusetts Requirements
"Justices of the peace and notaries public shall be appointed and their commissions shall be issued for the commonwealth... and shall have jurisdiction throughout the commonwealth when acting under the sole authority of such a commission."Massachusetts General Laws • M.G.L. c.222 §1A
Official Massachusetts Requirements
"A person qualified for a notary public commission shall be at least 18 years of age and reside or have a regular place of work or business within the commonwealth."Massachusetts General Laws • M.G.L. c.222 §13
No bond to shop for — but title companies still ask for proof of E&O.
Check Your E&O OptionsBefore Chapter 289, an Executive Order Ran the Whole System
The detail most notary guides miss for Massachusetts: until January 4, 2017, notary conduct wasn't governed by a comprehensive statute at all. It ran on Executive Order 455 — rules a sitting governor could rewrite without legislative involvement. Governor Charlie Baker signed Chapter 289 of the Acts of 2016 on October 6, 2016, and the resulting version of M.G.L. c.222 took effect that January — giving Massachusetts notaries their first real statutory framework. It still didn't add a bond. It added conduct rules, most of which turn on whether the notary is also an attorney.
What Chapter 289 Changed for Massachusetts Notaries (Effective Jan. 4, 2017)
Pre-Chapter 289 rules ran on Executive Order 455; nothing below involves a bond
| Area | Before Chapter 289 | After Chapter 289 (Current Law) |
|---|---|---|
| Governing authority | Executive Order 455 — rules set by gubernatorial order | Codified in M.G.L. c.222, enacted by the Legislature |
| Real estate closings | Non-attorney "witness-only" closings challenged in court, not barred by statute | Barred outright — only licensed attorneys may conduct closings, §17 |
| Notarial journal | No statutory journal requirement | Required for most notaries, §22 — attorneys and staff exempt (§12, §22(f)); government employees exempt (§22(f)) |
| Acknowledgment forms for POA signers | Ambiguous forms; omissions invalidated some mortgages in bankruptcy proceedings | Standard forms set by statute, §15, with curative language at §20(b)(iii) protecting attorney-in-fact signings |
| Family-member notarizations | No statutory carve-out | Attorneys exempted from the family-member notarization restriction |
Bond requirement: unchanged — none, before or after.
Acts of 2016, c.289; M.G.L. c.222 §§12, 15, 17, 20, 22
The real estate closing restriction matters most for anyone comparing Massachusetts to a state like California or Florida: those states have large loan-signing-agent economies built around non-attorney notaries. Massachusetts statutorily foreclosed that model in 2017 — which is also why the E&O conversation below looks different here.
No Bond Means No Public Backstop — Here's Who Actually Needs E&O
In a bond-required state, an injured party has a fund to draw against even if the notary carries nothing else — then the notary has to repay it. Massachusetts skips that layer entirely. If a Massachusetts notary makes a costly error, the only money on the table is whatever the notary (or their employer) has chosen to carry. Because the state also restricts who can run a real estate closing, the E&O calculus splits along a line most guides don't draw:
Attorneys & Firm Staff
Exempt from the journal requirement (§12) and the only ones who can legally run a closing (§17). Notarial acts performed as part of practicing law are typically swept into the firm's legal malpractice policy, which is why the standalone notary E&O market skews smaller here than in states with more freestanding notaries.
Check with your carrier — malpractice policies vary on whether notarial acts are explicitly covered.
Title & Settlement Staff
Can witness signatures and notarize affidavits and ancillary closing documents, but cannot run the closing itself. This is exactly the population title companies most often require proof of E&O from before assigning any signature-witnessing work — a contractual requirement, not a legal one.
Most-requested coverage tier: $25,000–$50,000.
General-Public Notaries
Powers of attorney, business documents, wills, consent forms. No employer backstop, no bond fund, and no closing work to worry about. Carries the fullest personal exposure of the three groups — and the fewest people in this group carry any coverage at all.
Most exposed group with the lowest coverage rate.
E&O is never required by Massachusetts law for any of the three groups above — but it is frequently required by contract. If a title company, lender, or employer asks for proof of coverage, that requirement comes from them, not the Commonwealth, and the amount they want is theirs to set.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Massachusetts require notaries to file a surety bond?
No. Neither M.G.L. c.222 nor any Secretary of the Commonwealth regulation conditions a Massachusetts notary commission on posting a bond. The application, reviewed by the Governor and Governor's Council, asks for a resume and four character references — there is no bond, insurance certificate, or financial instrument in the packet. This differs from the 28 states plus D.C. that make a bond filing a precondition of commissioning.
Why does the Governor appoint notaries in Massachusetts instead of the Secretary of State?
Massachusetts treats the notary commission the same way it treats justice-of-the-peace and other constitutional-officer-adjacent appointments: as a gubernatorial act requiring the advice and consent of the Governor's Council, under M.G.L. c.222 §1A and §13. The Secretary of the Commonwealth administers the oath and keeps public records of who holds a commission, but does not decide who gets one — that authority, including the power to deny an application under §13(b), sits with the Governor. Most states route this through a Secretary of State's business-filings office; Massachusetts routes it through the executive appointment process instead, which is why applications go to the State House and processing runs through the Governor's Council office rather than a licensing board.
What did the 2017 notary law (Chapter 289 of the Acts of 2016) actually change?
Before January 4, 2017, Massachusetts notary conduct was governed by Executive Order 455, not a statute — meaning the rules could be rewritten by whichever governor held office, with no legislative process. Chapter 289 replaced that order with the current version of M.G.L. c.222, giving notaries their first comprehensive statutory framework: a journal requirement for most notaries (§22, with attorneys and their staff exempted at §12 and again at §22(f), and government employees exempted at §22(f)), standardized acknowledgment and jurat forms (§15), an explicit bar on non-attorneys conducting real estate closings (§17), and curative language at §20(b)(iii) protecting documents signed by an attorney-in-fact from being invalidated when the acknowledgment omits confirmation that the signing was also the principal's voluntary act. None of it created a bond requirement — the rewrite added conduct rules, not a financial-responsibility instrument.
Do Massachusetts attorneys who notarize have to keep a notarial journal?
No. M.G.L. c.222 §12 (restated at §22(f)) exempts attorneys and their office staff from the chronological journal requirement that applies to every other notary under §22, and §22(f) separately exempts government employees notarizing in the course of their job. This is a genuine outlier — most RULONA and RULONA-adjacent states that require journals apply the rule to attorney-notaries too. It reflects how much of Massachusetts's notary population works inside law firms rather than as freestanding walk-in notaries.
Can a Massachusetts notary who is not an attorney handle my real estate closing?
No, and this is the detail every general "notary bond" guide skips for Massachusetts. M.G.L. c.222 §17 bars notaries public from offering legal advice or holding themselves out as qualified to practice law, and it codifies a rule Massachusetts courts had already been enforcing since a 2011 SJC-adjacent ruling: only a licensed Massachusetts attorney may conduct a real estate closing. A title company can employ a non-attorney notary to notarize a signature on an affidavit or a HUD-1-adjacent form, but the closing itself — reviewing the title, disbursing funds, explaining the documents — has to be run by counsel. This narrows what E&O exposure actually looks like for a Massachusetts notary compared to a loan-signing-agent-heavy state like California or Florida.
If there's no bond, do I still need notary E&O insurance in Massachusetts?
It depends on what you notarize, not on what the state requires — the state requires neither a bond nor E&O. If you're a freestanding notary handling powers of attorney, business documents, or affidavits for the general public, you carry 100% of your own errors-and-omissions exposure with nothing behind you unless you buy a policy. If you're an attorney or work under one, your firm's legal malpractice policy typically extends to notarial acts performed in that capacity, which is a meaningful reason the standalone E&O market looks different here than in bond-required states. Title and settlement companies frequently require proof of E&O from any notary they engage for signature-witnessing work, bond or no bond.
No Bond to Buy — But Your Coverage Question Isn't Answered Yet
If a title company, lender, or employer has asked for proof of E&O, or you just want the personal exposure covered, we quote Massachusetts notary E&O policies from carriers who understand the attorney-closing restriction and price around it.
Get My Massachusetts QuoteNotary Bond Resources
- Notary Bond by State — see the 28 states plus D.C. that do require one, with exact amounts.
- Notary Bond Requirements: 51-State Finder — full state-by-state comparison including every non-bond state.
- Where to Get a Surety Bond for Notary — state-by-state sourcing guide.
Other Massachusetts Bonds
- Massachusetts Contractor Bond — the DOR nonresident guarantee bond (6.25% of contract value) and HIC Guaranty Fund.
- Massachusetts Auto Dealer Bond — municipal-level dealer licensing bonds.
- Massachusetts Mortgage Broker Bond
- Massachusetts Probate Bond — for personal representatives and fiduciaries.
- Surety Bond Cost Guide — how premiums are set across bond types.
All content is researched from official state and federal sources (.gov) and verified before publication. BuySuretyBonds.com works with Treasury-certified, A-minimum rated surety carriers serving all 50 states.