Securing Your Notary Journal: What California Law Requires

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Government Code 8206 says your notary journal must be kept in a “locked and secured area, under the direct and exclusive control of the notary.” That is the law. What it means in practice depends on whether you work from an office, operate as a mobile notary, or do a combination of both.

Failure to secure your journal is grounds for the Secretary of State to take administrative action against your commission. Willful failure to maintain control of your journal or seal is a misdemeanor under California law.

What “locked and secured” means

The statute does not specify a particular type of container. The standard is functional: the journal must be in a location that is locked and that only you can access. Some examples of what qualifies and what does not.

Acceptable storage

• A locked desk drawer or file cabinet where only you have the key
• A personal safe or lockbox that is bolted down or too heavy to carry away easily
• A locked briefcase or lockbox inside a locked vehicle (for mobile notaries between appointments, not as permanent storage)
• A locked cabinet or closet in your home office, as long as other household members do not have the key or combination

Not acceptable

• An unlocked desk drawer in a shared office
• A bookshelf or desktop where the journal is visible and accessible
• A vehicle, even locked, as permanent overnight storage
• A safe or lockbox where someone else knows the combination or has a key
• A portable lockbox that can be picked up and carried away (unless it is bolted or chained down)

The “direct and exclusive control” requirement

“Direct and exclusive control” means you are the only person who can access the journal. If your spouse, roommate, or coworker has the key to the drawer where you keep it, you do not have exclusive control. If your employer keeps a master key that opens your locked cabinet, you do not have exclusive control.

The journal is your personal property (Government Code 8206(d)). Your employer cannot require you to store it in a location they can access, even if they paid for it. This is one of the most common areas of conflict between employed notaries and their employers. The employer can request copies of journal entries related to their business, but they must do so through you, with you present.

Security for mobile notaries

Mobile notaries face the hardest security challenge. You carry your journal and seal to appointments, which means they are exposed during transport.

The practical approach most mobile notaries use:

• During appointments: Keep your journal and seal in your immediate possession or within your line of sight. Do not set them down on a kitchen counter while you step into another room.
• Between appointments: Store your journal and seal in a locked container inside your locked vehicle. A lockbox that bolts to the floor or fits inside a locked glove compartment works.
• After appointments: Take your journal and seal inside your home and store them in your locked cabinet or safe. Do not leave them in the car overnight.
• Running errands: If you have an appointment across town and need to stop at the grocery store on the way home, your journal and seal should be in a locked container inside your locked car. This is not ideal, but it is the reality of the job. Go home first and secure your equipment if possible.

The key question to ask yourself: if someone broke into your car or your office right now, could they walk away with your journal? If the answer is yes, your storage is not secure enough.

Can you use a digital or electronic journal?

California requires a physical, sequential journal. You can maintain a backup copy electronically if you want, but the official journal must be a tangible book with handwritten entries in chronological order. A spreadsheet on your laptop, a database on your phone, or a cloud-based app does not satisfy the legal requirement.

If you keep photocopies or scans of your journal entries on a flash drive, that flash drive should be stored in the same locked location as your physical journal. Digital copies of journal entries contain the same sensitive personal information as the physical journal.

What to do if your journal is lost or stolen

Government Code 8206(b) is specific about what you must do. If your journal is stolen, lost, misplaced, destroyed, damaged, or otherwise unusable:

• Notify the Secretary of State immediately by certified mail or any other physical delivery method that provides a receipt.
• Include the period covered by the journal entries, your commission number, and your commission expiration date.
• If stolen, include a photocopy of the police report.

After reporting the loss, obtain a new sequential journal. You cannot continue using your old journal entries (if the journal is later recovered) alongside new entries in the new journal. If the old journal comes back, keep it for records but do not make new entries in it.

You can still be held civilly liable for any fraud committed using a stolen journal, even if you reported the theft. The report protects you by establishing that you took action as soon as you discovered the loss. It does not create a shield against all liability, but it demonstrates compliance with the reporting requirement.

Employer access to your journal

If you are an employed notary, Government Code 8206(d) allows your employer to inspect and copy journal entries that are directly related to the employer’s business. But there are conditions:

• The inspection and copying must happen in your presence
• The employer can only see entries related to their business
• The employer is responsible for keeping any copies confidential
• You are not required to provide copies of entries unrelated to the employer’s business

When you leave the job, you take your journal with you. The employer does not keep it, regardless of who paid for it.

When you must surrender your journal

You must give up your journal in only a few situations:

• County clerk: When you stop being a notary (resignation, non-renewal, or revocation), you must deliver your journal to the county clerk within 30 days.
• Peace officer: A peace officer investigating a criminal offense who has reasonable suspicion that your journal contains evidence can demand it. You must obtain a receipt and notify the Secretary of State within 10 days.
• Court order or subpoena: You must provide the journal for examination and copying, in your presence.

In all other cases, you keep possession of your journal.

Frequently asked questions

Is a locked folder or briefcase sufficient for journal storage?

A locked folder or briefcase is better than no lock at all, but it may not meet the standard if it can be easily carried away. The journal should be stored in something that is either too heavy to move or bolted down. For transport between appointments, a locked container inside a locked car is a reasonable temporary measure.

Can someone else know the combination to my safe?

No. “Exclusive control” means you are the only person with access. If your spouse or roommate knows the combination, change it or use a different container.

Do I need to lock my journal in a safe, or is a locked drawer enough?

A locked drawer is sufficient as long as only you have the key. A safe is better but not required. The test is whether someone else can access it without your permission.

Can I leave my journal at the office overnight?

Only if it is in a locked drawer, cabinet, or safe that only you can open. If your office has a cleaning crew with master keys or an employer with access to all drawers, that does not satisfy the “exclusive control” requirement.

What if my journal and seal are stolen together?

Report both to the Secretary of State immediately by certified mail. File a police report. Include the commission details, the period covered by the journal, and a copy of the police report. You cannot notarize until you obtain a replacement seal (which requires a new certificate of authorization from the SOS).

Can my employer keep my journal when I leave?

No. Government Code 8206(d) states that the journal is the exclusive property of the notary. Your employer cannot keep it, regardless of who paid for it. Take it with you and store it securely.

Do I need to keep my completed journals after my commission ends?

You must deliver your journals to the county clerk within 30 days of your commission ending if you are not renewing. The county clerk stores them as public records.