Oregon Notary Journals

Does Oregon require a notary journal?

Yes. Oregon requires all notaries keep a notary stamp, a notary journal, and an Oregon notary fee schedule. 

Source: Oregon Notary Public Guide.

The two notarial acts that are required to be recorded in the notarial journal are witnessing a signature and acknowledgment (individual and representative capacity). However, please remember, the Secretary of State strongly recommends that all notarial acts be recorded in the journal. A notary public may record in a notarial journal any information about the notarial acts performed by the notary public or those refused to be performed. Most of the time, a journal entry can prevent a notary from being named in a lawsuit or can clear a complaint against a notary the Secretary of State is investigating. If anyone wishes to make inquiries about a notarization, few people can trust their memory to perfectly recall the incident, and fewer still would accept something that wasn’t written down.

The journal must be filled out at the same time as the rest of the notarial act. You may not “prefill” a journal entry or finish it after the signer is gone. Best practice is to completely fill out the journal, along with the customer’s signature, before completing the notarization. (ORS 194.300(3))