Office of the Secretary of State

If your name or address has changed since you were last commissioned, you should notify the Notary Division of the change. Please complete the Notary Name & Address Change Form and submit the form along with your old commission to the Division. The form can be mailed to Notary Division, Office of the Secretary of State, 16 Francis Street, Annapolis MD 21401.

Name Change: If your name has changed since you were last commissioned, you may continue to perform official acts under the name in which you were commissioned until the expiration of the commission. You should, however, indicate the change of name on the document being notarized. The proper form for indicating the name change is:

If you wish to be commissioned under your new name, you should complete the Notary Name & Address Change Form and submit the form to the Notary Division. Upon receipt of the form, the Division will issue a new commission reflecting your new name and will forward your commission to the Clerk of the Court in the county in which you reside (for Maryland residents) or county in which you wish to be commissioned (for non-residents). You will receive a postcard instructing you to go to the Clerk of the Circuit Court to take the oath of office under your new name. The Clerk of the Court will collect an $11.00 fee when you are sworn in under your new name. Once the new commission is issued, the commission with your former name is revoked, and you must obtain a new seal reflecting your new name.

You must be commissioned at the Clerk’s Office within 30 days of being notified. If you are not commissioned within the 30 day period, your commission is revoked. If you do not receive a postcard within 2 weeks of submitting your name change form, please contact the Clerk of the Circuit Court in your county of residence or, for non-Maryland residents, the county in which you selected to be commissioned to determine if your commission is at the Clerk’s Office. If within the 30 day period, your commission is likely to be at the Clerk’s Office.

Address Change: If you have moved since you were last commissioned as a notary public, you should complete the Notary Name & Address Change Form and submit the form to the Division. Since the Notary Division sends renewal and other notices to the address on file, failure to provide the Division with an updated renewal may result in a delay in receiving important mail concerning your notary commission.

To complete the change of address form, Maryland residents will need to have your new legislative district, new election district, new precinct number, and the name of your new State Senator. You can find your legislative district and name of your State Senator by using the look-up link provided by the Maryland State Archives. The remaining information can be obtained by contacting the Local Elections Office in your county or the City of Baltimore. Non-Maryland residents should select the county or City of Baltimore in which you would like to be commissioned, i.e., generally the county in which you work.