Alberta - Registering as a Notary Public

Who can be appointed as a notary public in Alberta?

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There are two different ways to get appointed as a notary public in Alberta. The professional stream and the general stream. The professional stream grants the right to be a notary to specific professions. The list of professions who are considered to be notaries is as follows:

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1. Judges

2. Lawyers

3. Articling Students/Students at law

4. Members of the Alberta legislature

5. Members of Parliament from Alberta

6. Canadian Senators who were residents of Alberta when they were appointed

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These professions still need to fill out an application and pay a fee, however, their appointment is automatic once registered with the provincial body.

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If you are not one of the above listed professions, you can still formally apply to be appointed as a notary. Generally speaking, you will not be appointed as a notary where the services of a lawyer notary is available. However, if you speak a second or third language and the lawyer notaries in your area do not provide services in those languages, the Notaries Public Review Committee will take this into consideration when reviewing your application. The required qualifications are as follows:

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1. 18 years of age or older

2. Must be a resident of Alberta

3. No criminal record

4. Permanent Resident or Citizen of Canada

5. Other considerations established by the Notaries Public Review Committee

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The following are the steps to become a Notary Public in Alberta for non-lawyers:

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1. You must email official.documents@gov.ab.ca to get the Notary application form.

2. You should order a Criminal Record Check from the RCMP, which you will need to submit with your application.

3. Prepare a letter of support from either the business or public group you will be notarizing documents for

   • Letter must be on letterhead and signed by the community group or business​

   • The letter should contain reasons why you should be appointed as a notary 

     • Trustworthy individual​

     • Needed language services

     • No one in the area

     • Business letter should indicate the volume of expected notarized documents, ensure that the notary is only notarizing documents for that particular business

4. You must either prepare a list of documents which you expect to notarize (passports, driver's licence, statutory declarations, invitation letters etc). If you are renewing your Notary appointment, you must provide a list of documents you have been notarizing.

 

Notaries who are not lawyers are appointed for terms ranging from 2 to 3 years. For lawyer appointments, only one lawyer should register as a notary per office. The Notaries Public Review Committee reserves the right to appoint or deny anyone based on what it feels to be a sufficient number of notaries in a given area. ​

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It usually takes a few weeks for your appointment to be considered and accepted or rejected. Once accepted, you will be directed to pay the fee and register your signature/seal with Official Documents and Appointments. You will receive your Certificate of Appointment.

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We recommend you take the Notary Public Course, which you can purchase using the above. The course contains many additional pieces of information not publicly available and is a good resource for new notaries. The course is not mandatory for notary public appointments in Alberta.

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