Illinois Notary Journal Requirements — Required Since 2023, Paper or Electronic
Yes, since mid-2023. Illinois requires every notary, traditional and electronic alike, to record each notarial act in a journal. The choice of paper or electronic is yours, and a notary may keep more than one journal. The Secretary of State's rules say what a paper journal must look like, so the choice is not as open as it sounds.
The statute: 5 ILCS 312/3-107, as amended effective July 1, 2023, requires notaries to keep a journal of their notarial acts, recorded at the time of notarization. The Secretary of State's administrative rules (14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.900) spell out the required contents of each entry.
Last updated: August 2026.
What each Illinois entry must include
The date and time of the act, the type of act, the type of document, the name and address of each signer, how the signer was identified, the fee charged, whether the act was performed in person, remotely, or electronically, and the physical location of the notary and the signer. Two rules to know: Illinois prohibits recording biometric identifiers in the journal, so no thumbprints, and it also prohibits recording the ID number from the credential a signer presents, or any other number that could be used to identify them (14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.910).
Timing and retention
Entries are made at the time of notarization, not filled in later. Journals are retained for at least seven years. Treat the journal as a long-term record even after a commission ends.
What format works in Illinois
Paper or electronic, your choice, and multiple journals are allowed. The Secretary of State's rules set the form for a paper journal: the cover and pages bound together in a way designed to prevent inserting, removing, or substituting a page, with consecutively numbered, preprinted page and entry numbers (14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.920). A standard bound notary journal qualifies. Loose printed pages kept in a binder do not. An electronic journal is also allowed under the rules.
Questions Illinois notaries ask
I've been a notary since before 2023. Does this apply to me? Yes, for acts performed on or after July 1, 2023, with exemptions the rules carve out: a notary employed by an attorney or law firm does not need a journal for acts in that employment when the employer keeps copies of the notarized documents, and notarizations on candidates' nomination papers are also exempt (14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.900).
Can signers thumbprint my Illinois journal? No. Illinois prohibits biometric identifiers in the journal, which sets it apart from California, where thumbprints are required for some documents.
Can I keep separate journals for different kinds of work? Yes. Illinois expressly allows more than one journal. Keep each one orderly so any act can be found later.
The honest note from us
Prep & Print Notary Journal sells a $19 app that prints filled-in journal pages, and loose printed pages do not meet Illinois's bound-journal rule. If you are commissioned in a state that leaves the journal format to you, the app is at prepandprintnotary.com. Illinois notaries: buy a bound journal with preprinted page numbers, or an electronic journal that meets the Secretary of State's rules.
Update, September 2026: we make a bound edition now. The Prep & Print bound journal is on Amazon — permanently bound, one signing per two-page spread, preprinted page and entry numbers, signature and thumbprint boxes, in five cover colors.
Every state's rule is on one page: Notary Journal Requirements by State.
Sources: 5 ILCS 312/3-107; 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.900, 176.910, and 176.920. General information, not legal advice.
