Current as of 2026-07-01
The short answer
Yes. Texas requires every notary public to keep a record book of official acts. The core rule sits in Government Code chapter 406, with Texas Secretary of State guidance filling in the practical detail.
Unlike some states, Texas does not carve out an exception for notarizations where you charge no fee. If you perform the act, you log it. A common but outdated claim is that the record book is optional for a solo notary doing occasional favors; it is not.
What every entry must contain
Texas asks for the core facts of the act:
- The date and type of each official act.
- The document's date and the kind of document notarized.
- The signer's name and address.
- How you identified the signer.
- The fee you charged, including a "no fee" entry when you waived it.
What the record book cannot contain
Texas forbids recording a signer's identification number, whether that is a driver's license number, a state ID number, or a passport number. Some older templates and out-of-state journal formats include an ID-number column; in Texas, leave it blank or use a format that never asks for it. This is a privacy protection, not an oversight, so it is worth checking any paper book you buy before you start using it.
Paper or electronic
Texas authorizes electronic record-keeping alongside the traditional bound book. If you perform remote online notarization, the RON platform's electronic journal has its own 5-year retention rule. For paper, in-person acts, the statute does not set a specific retention length the way some other states do, so the safest practice is to keep the book for as long as you hold the commission and beyond, consistent with the general recommendation from the Secretary of State.
How Notary Journal handles all of this
Notary Journal builds the Texas entry to these rules. The form shows the fields chapter 406 asks for, hard-blocks the ID-number field so it can never be entered by mistake, and records a "no fee" entry when you waive the fee. Every entry is numbered and append-only, so the sequence holds up under review.
When you need a copy, it exports a PDF or CSV. The whole thing runs on your device, offline, with no account and no server. Your record stays yours.
A note on what this is
This page is a general reference, not legal advice. Texas notary law can change, and the rules differ for in-person and remote acts. Confirm the current requirements with the Texas Secretary of State before you rely on anything here.