Missouri Notary Journal Requirements — Permanently Bound Book, Ten-Year Retention
Yes, and Missouri is blunt about the format. Every Missouri notary must keep a chronological journal of notarial acts in a permanently bound book with numbered pages. Printed loose pages do not satisfy Missouri law.
The statute: Revised Statutes of Missouri § 486.700:
"A notary shall keep, maintain, protect, and provide for lawful
inspection a chronological journal of notarial acts that is a
permanently bound book with numbered pages."
The same section sets retention: the journal is kept
"for a period of no less than ten years from the date of the last
entry."
Last updated: August 2026.
What each Missouri entry must include
Section 486.705 lists the contents: the date and time of day of the act, the type of act, the type, title, or a description of the document, the signature, printed name, and address of each principal, the printed name and address of any requester of fact, how identity was established, and the fee, if any. When an identification document is used, the entry notes its type, issuing agency, serial or identification number, and date of issuance or expiration. The address where the act was performed is added when it is not the notary's regular place of business.
Two numbers stay out of the book entirely: "A notary shall not record a Social Security number or credit card number in the journal." And the signature requirement means the journal is at the table, at every signing.
What Missouri notaries should buy
A permanently bound journal with numbered pages, from any notary supplier. Missouri's statute names that exact format, so there is no other option to weigh.
When the book fills, start the next one. The completed journal stays protected and available for lawful inspection for at least ten years from its last entry, exactly as the statute reads.
Questions Missouri notaries ask
Can I keep my Missouri journal electronically? For traditional paper notarizations, § 486.700 calls for a permanently bound book. Missouri's separate electronic and remote notarization provisions carry their own record rules for those acts.
How long do I keep my Missouri journal? At least ten years from the date of the last entry, and the duty to protect it and provide for lawful inspection continues with it.
Do signers sign the Missouri journal? Yes. The signature, printed name, and address of each principal are required entries under § 486.705.
Who can look at my Missouri journal? Section 486.710 spells it out: the journal may be examined and copied without restriction by a law enforcement officer in the course of an official investigation, under a subpoena or court order, or at the direction of the Secretary of State. For copies, the notary charges no more than one dollar per copy, and the Secretary of State receives certified copies free on written request.
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 Missouri's permanently-bound-book rule. If you are commissioned in a state that leaves the journal format to you, the app is at prepandprintnotary.com. Missouri notaries: buy the bound book.
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: RSMo § 486.700, § 486.705, and § 486.710. General information, not legal advice.
