Commencement Date (30-Day Filing Deadline)

After a commission is issued, the notary has 30 calendar days from the commencement date printed on the commission to file a signed oath of office and a $15,000 surety bond with the county clerk in their county of principal business. The commission does not take effect — and no official notarial acts may be performed — until that filing is complete (Government Code §8213).

The key distinction: the clock starts from the date on the face of the commission, not the date the packet arrives by mail. If a notary receives their commission late and files "within 30 days of receipt," they may still have violated the law if the commencement date passed earlier.

Missing this deadline for any reason — mail delays, county processing times, illness — renders the commission void. The applicant must begin the process again from scratch: new application, new examination fee, new Live Scan, new bond.

Exam Tip: The handbook is explicit that no exceptions are made, for any reason. A common exam scenario describes a notary who filed on day 31 due to a holiday — the commission is void. If the question asks what the notary should do, the answer is reapply, not file late.