Does South Carolina Require a Notary Journal? No — What to Keep Anyway (2026)
No. South Carolina law does not require notaries to keep a journal for traditional, in-person notarizations. The Secretary of State's Notary Public Reference Manual says keeping one is strongly encouraged, and even includes a sample journal entry, with a line for the signer's signature. The decision stays the notary's own.
Last updated: August 2026.
What South Carolina law covers
South Carolina's notary statutes (South Carolina Code title 26) govern commissions, conduct, fees, and notarial acts, with the Secretary of State administering the program. They do not tell notaries to keep a record of their in-person acts; electronic and remote notarization provisions carry their own record duties for those acts.
The case for keeping one anyway
A journal answers the question that arrives years after a signing: did this person appear before you, and how did you know who they were? An entry with the date, the document, the ID checked, and the signer's own signature answers it with evidence rather than memory. The journal is your own record; South Carolina sets no rules for who may see a voluntary record, and in a dispute it can be subpoenaed like any business record.
What format works in South Carolina
Any consistent format: a bound book, printed pages kept in order, or an electronic record. Capture each act with the date, time, document, signer, identification, and fee, in the order the acts happen.
Questions South Carolina notaries ask
Do South Carolina signing agents need a journal for loan signings? Not by statute. Real estate documents are also the ones most likely to be questioned later, which makes loan signings the acts most worth recording.
Does electronic notarization change anything? Electronic and remote acts have their own record rules under South Carolina's provisions for those acts. For in-person work, keeping a record remains your choice.
Should signers sign my South Carolina journal? Nothing requires it. A signature in your record is direct evidence the person appeared before you.
The record without the handwriting
Prep & Print Notary Journal fills in the entry on screen before the signing, prints it for ink signatures at the table, and keeps the saved entry in your browser on your own computer. It costs $19 once, at prepandprintnotary.com.
Every state's rule is on one page: Notary Journal Requirements by State.
Sources: S.C. Code title 26 (notaries public and acknowledgments); South Carolina Notary Public Reference Manual, via the Secretary of State's notary page. General information, not legal advice.
