Every Tennessee notary must file a $10,000 surety bond with the county clerk before taking office, under TCA 8-16-104. Ours is $130 flat — set by our carrier's rate book — and it comes bundled with $25,000 of E&O coverage that protects you, not just the public. The bond issues the moment you pay — no credit review of any kind, not even a soft pull.
















Notary bonds are the simplest thing in surety. Here's the entire process:
Your name, the county where you reside and where you're appointed, and an effective date that matches your notary term. No financials, no credit section in the application.
Notary bonds are among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase. At most, 1–2 business days.
Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to present to the county clerk where you were elected. Wet-ink original mailed on request — many clerks want the original.
Under TCA 8-16-104, before you can act as a Tennessee notary you must give a $10,000 bond, payable to the state, conditioned on the faithful discharge of your duties. You present the executed bond to the county clerk in the county where you were elected, and the clerk files it once it complies with the statute.
The bond protects the public: if a notary's error or misconduct harms someone, they can recover against the $10,000. Importantly, the bond is not insurance for the notary — if the surety pays, the notary repays the surety.
That's why this package also bundles $25,000 of errors & omissions coverage, which does protect you. E&O covers your own legal costs and liability for an honest, unintentional notarial mistake — the gap the bond leaves open. Tennessee notary commissions run a four-year term, and your bond should match it.
These are the actual issuing fields — no credit section, because this bond's application doesn't collect one. Match the effective date to your notary term.
Start the application →$130 flat with $25,000 E&O bundled in, no credit review, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.