Notary Public

A Notary Public is a public official whose powers and duties are defined by statute. A Notary has the power to acknowledge signatures upon personal knowledge or satisfactory proof, administer oaths, record and/or transcribe depositions, and confirm the authenticity of signatures on affidavits. A Notary’s powers and duties can be exercised in all counties in the State of Tennessee.

REQUIREMENTS TENN. CODE ANN. 8-16-101                                            

  • Must be at least 18 years of age
  • United States Citizen
  • Legal Permanent Resident
  • Resident of a county in Tennessee (Sevier) or have principal place of business in the county (Sevier). If applicant’s principal place of business is in a county of Tennessee (Sevier), the applicant may reside in another state
  • Applicant has never been removed from office of notary public for official misconduct
  • Applicant has never had a notarial commission revoked or suspended by this or any other state
  • Applicant has never been found by a court of this state or any other state to have engaged in the unauthorized practice of law
FEES
  • Commission with Self-Inking Stamp                         $40.00
  • Commission ONLY – No Stamp (Renewal)               $12.00

 If applicant does not purchase a stamp from the Sevier County Clerk’s office, the applicant is responsible for purchasing a stamp. All notaries in the State of Tennessee must use a seal prescribed by the State of Tennessee.

APPLY IN PERSON
Sevier County Courthouse                                      
125 Court Ave, Suite 202 E                                                                                                                        
Sevierville, TN 37862
(865) 453-5502
Monday – Friday 
8 am – arrive by 4 pm                                                                                        

APPLICANTS MAY ALSO COMPLETE THE APPLICATION ONLINE {https://secure.tncountyclerk.com/notary/notary.php?countylist=78}

Applicants will receive a confirmation email after the application has been received.

COMMISSION DATES
Monthly deadlines for applications vary from month to month based on the meeting schedule of the Sevier County Commission. The deadline will always be the Tuesday before the Commission meeting.  Following the commission meeting, the Clerk’s office forwards elected notary applications to the Secretary of State’s Office. The Secretary of State will assign commission dates and print Notary Certificates of Commission for each applicant. All applicates may call our office at (865) 453-5502 approximately two weeks after the County Commission meeting to receive their commission dates.

SURETY BOND AND OATH OF OFFICE
Once the commission dates are obtained, please contact any surety company authorized to do business as a surety in Tennessee, and purchase a Ten Thousand Dollar ($10,000) surety bond. The bond is payable to the state and conditioned on the faithful performance of the duties of a notary public.

After securing the bond, notaries must make a personal appearance at the main office at 125 Court Ave Ste 202E, Sevierville, TN 37862. At the office, the applicant will take the oath of office and file their surety bond.

NOTARY CERTIFICATIONS
The Sevier County Clerk’s Office authenticates and certifies notaries public for apostilles, applications for adoption, court action, and various other purposes. There is a $7.00 fee for each document needing authentication or certification.

Please note: the Sevier County Clerk’s office can only provide this service for notaries that are elected in Sevier County and printed documents must be presented at the time of authentication or certification.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS TENN. CODE ANN. 8-16-109
If a notary moves residence or principal place of business out of the county from which they are elected (Sevier County) and commissioned to another county in Tennessee, the notary will be required to notify this office and pay a fee of $7.00. The County Clerk’s office is required to forward the secretary of the State of Tennessee $2.00 of this fee received from the notary. Please see the change of address form below.

CHANGE OF NAME
If a notary’s last name changes, the insurance agent should be notified that issued the notary bond. They will issue a rider for the bond. The rider must then be submitted to this office along with a fee of $33.00. Additionally, documentation must be provided to the clerk's office that includes all legal documents concerning the name change. This could be a marriage certificate, a certified copy of the final divorce decree, or a certified copy of the court order changing your name. The current notary commission will need to be returned to the Sevier County Clerk when applying for a name change.

FORMS AND RESOURCES