How many questions are on the notary exam?

The biggest exams side by side

These are the facts each state publishes on its own site, as of October 2026. Where a state doesn’t publish something, we say so rather than guess.

New York: what the state does say

The Department of State says the exam is multiple choice and you get 1 hour, starting once the instructions are done. It covers license law and the duties of a notary, as set out in the Notary Public License Law booklet.

You get your result by mail as pass or fail, with no numerical score. A pass is valid for two years, so apply for your commission within that time.

California: how the scoring works

California’s exam is run by CPS HR Consulting. Five of the 45 questions are unscored trial items, and you won’t know which ones, so answer them all.

The 70 you need is a scaled score from 0 to 100, not a percentage. Results arrive about 15 business days after the exam. If you fail, you can retake it, but not more than once in the same calendar month.

Pass rates

People search for California and Louisiana pass rates, but neither state publishes one on its notary pages. Figures you see elsewhere aren’t official.

States without an exam

Plenty of states don’t test at all. Florida, for example, asks first-time applicants to complete a 3-hour course, which the state offers free online. Check your own state’s notary page to see what you need.