Massachusetts Notary Journal Requirements — Permanently Bound, Numbered Pages
Yes. Massachusetts requires notaries to keep a journal of their notarial acts, and a paper journal must be a permanent bound register with numbered pages. Printed loose pages do not satisfy Massachusetts law.
The statute: Massachusetts General Laws chapter 222, § 22 requires the journal and fixes the format:
"If the journal is maintained on a tangible medium, it shall be a
permanent, bound register with numbered pages."
An electronic journal is permitted if kept in a permanent, tamper-evident electronic format complying with the state secretary's rules. Only one journal is active at a time.
Last updated: August 2026.
What each Massachusetts entry must include
The date and type of each act, a description of the document, the signature and printed name and address of each principal and witness, a notation of the identification document with its issuing agency, serial or identification number, and date of issuance or expiration, and the fee charged. Two numbers stay out: "A notary public shall not record a social security or credit card number in the journal." The signature requirement puts the journal at the table at every signing.
One wrinkle worth knowing: Massachusetts law carves out certain exemptions from the journal rule, notably for attorneys and their office staff. If you work in a law office, read § 22's exemption language before assuming the duty applies to you.
What Massachusetts notaries should buy
A permanently bound journal with numbered pages, from any notary supplier, or a compliant electronic journal. Nothing else satisfies § 22 for the journal itself.
One active journal at a time holds every act until it fills. Choose a register with numbered pages and enough entries for your pace of work.
Retention and custody
The journal and records are retained for 7 years after the date of expiration, resignation, or revocation of the commission (G.L. c. 222, § 24). The journal belongs to the notary: it may not be surrendered to an employer when a job ends. It may be examined without restriction by a law enforcement officer in the course of an official investigation, subpoenaed by court order, or surrendered at the direction of the state secretary.
Questions Massachusetts notaries ask
Can I keep an electronic journal in Massachusetts? Yes, in a permanent, tamper-evident format complying with the state secretary's rules. Loose printed pages qualify as neither a bound register nor a compliant electronic journal.
Do signers sign the Massachusetts journal? Yes. The signature, printed name, and address of each principal and witness are required entries under § 22.
Are attorneys exempt from the Massachusetts journal rule? Chapter 222 contains exemptions covering attorneys and employees of attorneys for certain acts. Read the current statute text if that describes you.
How many journals can I keep at once? One active journal at a time.
The honest note from us
Prep & Print Notary Journal sells a $19 app that prints filled-in journal pages, and printed pages do not comply with Massachusetts's bound-register rule. If you are commissioned in a state that leaves the journal format to you, the app is at prepandprintnotary.com. Massachusetts notaries: buy the bound book or a compliant electronic journal.
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.
Statutes: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 222, § 22 and § 24. General information, not legal advice.
