RULONA — The Complete Guide | PA Notary Education

RULONA is the sixty-page rulebook every Pennsylvania notary works under, and almost every mistake that ends a commission is a failure to follow one of its numbered sections. This guide walks the statute from § 301 to § 331 in plain English — what each provision requires, how the March 28, 2026 final regulations (56 Pa.B. 1672) put meat on its bones, and how to actually use the text when you hit a gray area.

TL;DR — what RULONA is in one minute

Full name: The Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, codified at 57 Pa.C.S. §§ 301–331.
Enacted: Act 73 of 2013. Most provisions took effect October 26, 2017. Amended by Act 97 of 2020 (permanent remote notarization) and Act 154 of 2022.
Who it governs: Every notarial act performed in Pennsylvania, every PA-commissioned notary public, every approved e-notary and remote notary, every education provider, and every recorder of deeds handling a notary bond or journal.
What it does: Defines the six permitted notarial acts, requires personal appearance, creates the RON framework, mandates the stamp and journal, sets the commissioning and education pipeline, and gives the Department of State (DOS) a complete disciplinary toolkit.
Where to read the regulations: 4 Pa. Code Chapters 161, 163, and 167 — replaced wholesale by the March 28, 2026 final rule.

If you only remember three RULONA sections, make them § 306 (personal appearance), § 319 (journal), and § 323 (sanctions). Every other section flows from those three.

Why RULONA exists

Before 2013, Pennsylvania notary law was the Notary Public Law of 1953 — a patchwork of statute, case law, and inconsistent county practice. Two problems drove reform. First, interstate commerce outran the old statute: nothing in 1953 law spoke to electronic records, tamper-evident technology, or remote signers. Second, Pennsylvania was out of step with the Uniform Law Commission’s 2010 Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, which by 2013 was being adopted across the country to give notarial acts a consistent legal footprint state to state.

Act 73 of 2013 adopted RULONA on October 9, 2013 but delayed most operative provisions until October 26, 2017 to let DOS build the commissioning infrastructure and finalize exam and education rules. The Department issued the § 322 course-approval notice at 47 Pa.B. 2518 on April 29, 2017, Pearson VUE was onboarded as the exam vendor, and most of Chapter 3 went live that fall.

Three waves of amendments followed:

Act 119 of 2014 (July 9, 2014) — technical cleanup.
Act 15 of 2020 (April 20, 2020) — temporary remote notarization during the COVID-19 emergency.
Act 97 of 2020 (October 29, 2020) — made remote online notarization permanent by adding § 306.1.
Act 154 of 2022 (November 3, 2022) — clarifying amendments, including the updated authority in § 304 to certify a tangible copy of an electronic record.

The statutory text has been stable since November 2022. What changed in 2026 is the regulations. DOS’s final rulemaking was published on March 28, 2026 at 56 Pa.B. 1672 (Doc. No. 26-438) and took effect the same day. That rulemaking raised the bond, rewrote the journal rules, added the seven-digit commission identification number, and created § 167.88’s wind-down duties for RON and e-notary platforms. The 2026 final rule news post covers the changes in detail; this guide flags them inline as they come up section by section.

The structure of the statute

RULONA is organized in a logical arc. Sections 301–303 lay the foundation (name, definitions, applicability). Sections 304–306 describe who can perform notarial acts, the task-specific duties for each type of act, and the core rule that every signer appears in person. Section 306.1 carves out remote online notarization as a statutory exception to personal appearance. Sections 307–314 handle identity determinations and cross-jurisdictional recognition — PA notaries, non-notary officers, out-of-state notaries, tribal, federal, and foreign notarizations. Sections 315–316 govern certificates of notarial act and supply six statutory short-form templates. Sections 317–318 regulate the official stamp and the stamping device. Section 319 is the journal. Section 320 is the e-notary notification. Section 321 is the commissioning pipeline. Section 322 is examination and education. Section 323 is the disciplinary and criminal-penalty framework. Sections 324–331 handle procedural cleanup — the public database, prohibited acts, validity rules, DOS rulemaking authority, grandfather and savings clauses, fees, uniformity of construction, and E-SIGN preemption.

Read together, the statute has three concentric rings: an inner core of substantive duties (§§ 304–319), a middle ring of commissioning and oversight (§§ 320–323), and an outer ring of procedural and inter-jurisdictional plumbing (§§ 301–303 and 324–331).

Section-by-section breakdown

Foundations (§§ 301–303)

§ 301 — Short title. Names the chapter and tells you what to cite: “the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts,” or RULONA.

§ 302 — Definitions. The master dictionary. Six definitions carry most of the weight: “notarial act,” “notarial officer,” “notary public,” “record,” “signature,” and “official stamp.” The statute is deliberately media-neutral — a “record” can be tangible or electronic, a “signature” can be a tangible symbol or an electronic signature, and an “official stamp” can be physical or digital. Confusion on these terms is the root cause of most interpretation errors.

“‘Notarial act.’ An act, whether performed with respect to a tangible or electronic record, that a notarial officer may perform under the laws of this Commonwealth. The term includes: (1) taking an acknowledgment; (2) administering an oath or affirmation; (3) taking a verification on oath or affirmation; (4) witnessing or attesting a signature; (5) certifying or attesting a copy or deposition; and (6) noting a protest of a negotiable instrument.” — 57 Pa.C.S. § 302

§ 303 — Applicability. RULONA governs every notarial act performed on or after its effective date. In practice, that means every PA notarization you will ever do is a RULONA act. Pre-October-26-2017 acts are not reopened by RULONA and remain governed by the law in effect when performed — but after nearly a decade, that doctrine matters only for litigation over old records.

The permitted notarial acts and authority to act (§§ 304–306)

§ 304 — Authority to perform notarial act. A notarial officer may perform any notarial act authorized by RULONA or by other Pennsylvania statute. The important part is subsection (b), which is the statute’s conflict-of-interest rule: a notary may not act on a record in which the notary or the notary’s spouse has a direct or pecuniary interest. RULONA then carves back three things that do not count as a direct or pecuniary interest: (1) being a shareholder in a publicly traded company that is a party to the transaction, (2) being an officer, director, or employee of a party absent personal benefit, and (3) receiving a flat, non-contingent fee. An act performed in violation of § 304(b) is voidable, not automatically void — the signer or another aggrieved party has to move to set it aside.

Subsection (c), added by Act 154 of 2022, gives notaries an explicit “papering-out” power: a notarial officer may certify that a tangible copy of an electronic record is a true and correct copy of the electronic record. Recorders of deeds may accept those tangible copies even where a statute demands an “original.”

The practical line: you can notarize for your employer’s customer even if you work on commission, as long as your commission isn’t contingent on the deal closing. But you cannot notarize your own document, your spouse’s interested document, or a document you personally benefit from beyond normal wages.

§ 305 — Requirements for certain notarial acts. The task-specific duties. For acknowledgments, verifications, and signature witnessings, the notary must determine from personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence that the individual appearing has the claimed identity and that the signature is that individual’s signature. For certified copies, the notary must determine that the copy is a complete and accurate transcription. For negotiable-instrument protests, the notary must determine the matters set out in 13 Pa.C.S. § 3505(b).

The subtle distinction: acknowledgments, witnessings, and verifications all involve a signature and an identity determination, but only verifications involve swearing that a statement is true. Mixing up acknowledgment and verification language is the most common § 316 certificate error.

§ 306 — Personal appearance required.

“If a notarial act relates to a statement made in or a signature executed on a record, the individual making the statement or executing the signature shall appear personally before the notarial officer.” — 57 Pa.C.S. § 306

This is the sentence that anchors the entire statute. No pre-signing, no post-signing, no “I know them by voice,” no mail-in. The only lawful substitute is § 306.1. Violation of § 306 is a disciplinary trigger under § 323 and is specifically enumerated in the final regulations at 4 Pa. Code § 167.121(15).

The six permitted notarial acts

The exclusive list from § 302 — these are the only functions a PA notary may perform as notarial acts.

#	Notarial Act	Core Requirement	Primary Section
1	Taking an acknowledgment	Signer declares he or she signed the record	§§ 302, 305(a)
2	Administering an oath or affirmation	Signer swears or affirms truth	§§ 302, 305(b)
3	Taking a verification on oath or affirmation (jurat/affidavit)	Signer swears a statement in the record is true	§§ 302, 305(b)
4	Witnessing or attesting a signature	Notary attests the signer signed	§§ 302, 305(c)
5	Certifying or attesting a copy or deposition	Notary confirms complete and accurate reproduction	§§ 302, 305(d)
6	Noting a protest of a negotiable instrument	Notary certifies dishonor per 13 Pa.C.S. § 3505(b)	§§ 302, 305(e)

Anything outside this list — explaining documents, giving advice, preparing legal records — is not a notarial act and may constitute the unauthorized practice of law under § 325.

Remote Online Notarization (§ 306.1)

Added by Act 15 of 2020 (temporary) and made permanent by Act 97 of 2020, § 306.1 is the statutory basis for remote online notarization. The section is long, but it rests on three pillars:

Robust identity proofing. The notary must either personally know the remote signer, take the oath of a personally-known credible witness, or use at least two different types of identity-proofing processes or services. In practice, approved RON platforms satisfy this with credential analysis plus dynamic knowledge-based authentication (KBA).
Audio-visual recording. The notary (or someone acting on the notary’s behalf) must create an AV recording of the entire performance, including all interactions. The recording must be retained at least 10 years — § 306.1(e) and 4 Pa. Code § 167.86(6).
Advance notification and approved technology. Before performing a first remote act, the notary must notify DOS at notaries.pa.gov and identify every communication-technology platform to be used. The technology must be approved under § 167.85–167.86.

The certificate must indicate that the act was performed by means of communication technology — a short-form add-on is sufficient (“This notarial act involved the use of communication technology”).

“A remotely located individual may comply with section 306 by using communication technology to appear before a notary public.” — 57 Pa.C.S. § 306.1(a)

A cross-border nuance: when the remote signer is outside the United States, § 306.1(b)(4) limits RON to records filed with or related to a U.S. court or government entity, or to property or transactions in the United States — and the act must not be prohibited by the foreign state’s law.

2026 change. The final regulations added § 167.88, which imposes wind-down duties on RON and e-notary platforms that cease operations: at least 60 days’ advance notice to every notary who used the platform in the prior 10 years, plus a list delivered to DOS. The trigger for this rule was real — Pavaso closed January 1, 2026, stranding notaries who hadn’t exported their AV recordings. Do not select a RON platform today without verifying it has an export path for journals and recordings.

Identity and jurisdictional recognition (§§ 307–314)

§ 307 — Identification of individual. The statute recognizes two identification paths. Personal knowledge is established by past dealings sufficient for reasonable certainty of identity. Satisfactory evidence is established by either (a) a current, unexpired passport, driver’s license, or government-issued non-driver ID, (b) another current government ID containing signature or photograph satisfactory to the notary, or (c) the oath of a credible witness who is personally known to the notary. Expired IDs — even by one day — do not qualify. The final regulation’s § 167.43 expanded the acceptable list to include electronic equivalent IDs, PA state-related university cards, Department of Corrections inmate ID, DHS ID cards, PA medical marijuana ID cards, and consular ID (in a language readable by the notary).

§ 308 — Authority to refuse to perform notarial act. A notary may refuse if not satisfied about competence or capacity, voluntariness, signature conformity, or appearance conformity, and may refuse generally unless another law requires performance. The final regulation at 4 Pa. Code § 167.113 caps this discretion: refusal may not be based on race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, sex, gender, pregnancy, gender identity, gender expression, disability, or marital status. This is an affirmative civil-rights floor.

§ 309 — Signature if individual unable to sign. Reserved. Pennsylvania does not codify a “signature by mark” procedure under RULONA. A notary encountering a signer who cannot sign should decline or consult counsel rather than improvise.

§ 310 — Notarial act in this Commonwealth. Lists who may perform a notarial act in PA: judges of courts of record, clerks and prothonotaries with seals, recorders of deeds in certain counties, notaries public, members of the minor judiciary, and individuals specifically authorized by other law. A notary public is one of six categories of notarial officer.

§§ 311–314 — Out-of-state, tribal, federal, and foreign recognition. PA recognizes notarial acts performed under another state’s authority (§ 311), under the authority of a federally recognized Indian tribe (§ 312), under federal authority including military and U.S. State Department consular officers abroad (§ 313), and under the authority of a foreign state (§ 314). Section 314(e) gives a Hague Convention apostille conclusive effect on signature genuineness and office; § 314(f) gives U.S. consular authentication the same conclusive effect.

The most common practical question this block answers: can a PA notary act in New Jersey? Only if New Jersey law authorizes it. The PA commission does not travel — confirmed at 4 Pa. Code § 167.41(b) and § 167.121(10).

Certificate of notarial act (§§ 315–316)

§ 315 — Certificate of notarial act. Every notarial act must be evidenced by a certificate. The certificate must be executed contemporaneously with performance, signed and dated by the officer, identify the county and state where performed, state the title of office, and — for a notary public — include the commission expiration date and a stamp capable of photographic reproduction. A notary must sign exactly and only as the name appears on the commission (§ 315(a)(3)(i)(A)) and must never affix signature or stamp to a certificate before the act has been performed (§ 315(e)).

“A notary public may not affix the notary public’s signature to, or logically associate the signature with, a certificate until the notarial act has been performed.” — 57 Pa.C.S. § 315(e)

Pre-stamping blank certificates is a top-three discipline trigger and is specifically enumerated at 4 Pa. Code § 167.121(3). Executing the certificate also certifies compliance with §§ 304, 305, and 306 — meaning a false certificate is a false statement under 18 Pa.C.S. § 4904.

§ 316 — Short form certificates. RULONA supplies six statutory safe-harbor templates: acknowledgment in individual capacity, acknowledgment in representative capacity, acknowledgment by an attorney at law under 42 Pa.C.S. § 327, verification on oath or affirmation, witnessing or attesting a signature, and certifying a copy. Use the form that matches the act. The most common student error is using acknowledgment language on a document that requires a jurat, or vice versa — the statutory language is different and legally consequential.

Official stamp and stamping device (§§ 317–318)

§ 317 — Official stamp. A PA notary must provide and maintain an official stamp — a rubber stamp, rectangular, maximum 1 inch by 3.5 inches, with a plain border, showing (in order): “Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” “Notary Seal,” the notary’s name as commissioned and “Notary Public,” the county of office, the commission expiration date, and any other information DOS requires. The stamp must be capable of being copied together with the record.

2026 change. 4 Pa. Code § 167.21(b)(5) adds a mandatory seven-digit commission identification number assigned by the Department. Existing notaries may continue using their pre-2026 stamps until their current commission expires; every new appointment or reappointment on or after March 28, 2026 must order a compliant stamp.

§ 318 — Stamping device. The notary is personally responsible for device security; no one else may use it. On resignation or expiration, the device must be disabled — destroyed, defaced, damaged, erased, or secured against use. On suspension or revocation, the device must be surrendered to DOS. On death or incompetency, the personal representative or guardian must render it unusable. Loss or theft must be reported promptly; 4 Pa. Code § 167.22(e) sets the deadline at 15 days.

Journal (§ 319)

The journal is the notary’s living ledger of every notarial act. § 319(a) requires a notary public to maintain a journal recording all notarial acts in chronological order. It may be tangible (bound register with numbered pages) or electronic (tamper-evident). Each entry must record the date and time, a description of the record and act type, the full name and address of each individual, a statement of the identification method, and the fee charged. Waived fees are recorded as “n/c,” “0,” or ”—.”

“A notary public shall maintain a journal in which the notary public records in chronological order all notarial acts that the notary public performs.” — 57 Pa.C.S. § 319(a)

The statute is explicit on two ownership points that matter in employment disputes. The journal is the exclusive property of the notary and is exempt from execution — and it may not be surrendered to an employer on termination of employment (§ 319(h)(3)(ii)). This protects notaries from being pressured to hand over records when they leave a job.

On termination of office — expiration, resignation, or revocation — the notary delivers the journal to the recorder of deeds in the county where the notary last maintained an office within 30 days. On death or incompetency, the representative has the same duty.

2026 change — PII rules tightened. 4 Pa. Code § 167.32(d) now prohibits recording in the journal any part of a Social Security number (the 2016 proposal allowed terminal digits), full driver’s license numbers, full government ID numbers, date and place of birth, mother’s maiden name, biometric records, or medical, educational, financial, or employment information. Terminal numbers from a driver’s license or passport — last four digits only, and not SSN — are permitted as optional entries under § 167.32(e).

E-notary notification (§ 320)

Section 320 is the e-notarization gateway. A notary may select one or more tamper-evident technologies for notarizing electronic records; no person may require a notary to use a technology the notary has not selected. Before the first electronic notarial act, the notary must notify DOS and identify each technology. Technology must conform to DOS standards (§ 327 rulemaking authority, implemented at 4 Pa. Code §§ 167.83–167.84).

Subsection (c) is the “papering-out” companion to § 304(c): a recorder of deeds may accept for recording a tangible copy of an electronic record bearing a notarial certificate where the notarial officer certifies the tangible copy is accurate. This lets electronic closings produce recordable paper.

Commission and renewal (§ 321) + Education (§ 322)

§ 321 — Appointment and commission. The commissioning pipeline in a single section. An applicant must be 18 or older, a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident, a PA resident or maintain a PA office of employment or practice, able to read and write English, not disqualified under § 323, pass the § 322 exam, and comply with DOS regulations. Application is on a DOS form with a nonrefundable $42 fee. The applicant must take an oath of office and obtain a surety bond (statutory floor $10,000 or the amount set by regulation). Within 45 days of appointment, the notary must record the bond, oath, and commission with the recorder of deeds and register the official signature in the proper county office. The Department issues a commission for a four-year term.

Missing the 45-day deadline is fatal. Under § 321(f)(1), the commission is null and void, and 4 Pa. Code § 167.18 requires the appointee to restart as a new applicant — basic education, exam, and fee included.

2026 change — bond increased. 4 Pa. Code § 167.16(b) raises the bond from the $10,000 statutory floor to $25,000 for new appointments and reappointments. Notaries holding a commission on March 28, 2026 may continue using their existing bond until that commission expires.

§ 322 — Examination, basic education, and continuing education.

“An applicant for appointment and commission as a notary public must, within the six-month period immediately preceding the submission of the application, complete a course of at least three hours of approved notary public basic education.” — 57 Pa.C.S. § 322(b)

Three rules define the education market. New applicants must complete a DOS-approved basic education course of at least three hours within the six months before application, and must pass the § 322(a) examination. Renewing applicants must complete a DOS-approved continuing education course of at least three hours in the same six-month window. All courses must be preapproved by DOS (§ 322(d)). The 2026 final rule makes explicit at 4 Pa. Code § 167.91 that “interactive education” includes asynchronous online courses where the learner is “actively and reciprocally engaged” — this is the statutory authorization for modern self-paced online programs.

Course-level details live in 4 Pa. Code §§ 167.91–167.98: three-year certificates of approval, a student certificate of education valid for six months, five-year attendance record retention, DOS audit rights, and termination grounds if aggregate student scaled scores fall below 60%.

Discipline and grounds for denial (§ 323)

§ 323 — Sanctions. DOS’s disciplinary toolkit in one section: deny, refuse to renew, revoke, suspend, reprimand, or impose a condition on a commission for acts or omissions demonstrating lack of “the honesty, integrity, competence or reliability to act as a notary public.” Nine enumerated triggers include failure to comply with the chapter, fraudulent application misstatements, conviction or ARD acceptance for a felony or offense involving fraud or dishonesty, adverse findings in civil or administrative proceedings involving fraud, false or misleading advertising, violation of a DOS regulation, discipline in another state, and failure to maintain the bond. ARD counts as conviction for § 323 purposes.

Subsection (a.1) adds a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per act or omission — on a notary, or on anyone performing notarial acts without being properly commissioned. Subsection (f) adds criminal teeth: falsely pretending to be a notary public is an offense under 18 Pa.C.S. § 4913, use of an official stamp by a non-notary violates § 4913, and other violations are summary offenses punishable by a fine up to $1,000.

4 Pa. Code § 167.121 enumerates 26 specific acts or omissions that provide a basis for sanctions, and § 167.122 lists the specific Crimes Code offenses involving fraud, dishonesty, or deceit. Every item on those lists is directly testable.

Procedural cleanup (§§ 324–331)

§ 324 — Database of notaries public. DOS maintains the public database at notaries.pa.gov, flagging which notaries have notified the Department that they perform e-notarizations. Any PA notary’s commission status can be verified here.

§ 325 — Prohibited acts. Four hard prohibitions: (1) a commission does not authorize a notary to assist in drafting legal records, give legal advice, or otherwise practice law — and specifically does not authorize immigration consulting or representing anyone in an immigration proceeding; (2) false or deceptive advertising is prohibited; (3) except for attorneys, a notary may not use “notario” or “notario publico” in any form; and (4) a notary may not withhold possession of an original record provided by a person seeking a notarial act.

“A notary public may not engage in false or deceptive advertising.” — 57 Pa.C.S. § 325(b)

If a non-attorney notary advertises notarial services in any medium, the advertisement must include, prominently and in each language used, the statement:

“I am not an attorney licensed to practice law in this Commonwealth. I am not allowed to draft legal records, give advice on legal matters, including immigration, or charge a fee for those activities.” — 57 Pa.C.S. § 325(d)(1)(ii)

The “notario” prohibition addresses documented fraud in Spanish-speaking communities, where “notario público” in civil-law jurisdictions denotes a highly-trained attorney. UPL determinations are evaluated under Pennsylvania Bar Association UPL Committee Formal Opinion 2006-01 per 4 Pa. Code § 167.124.

§ 326 — Validity of notarial acts. A technical defect — a missing date, an imperfect stamp — does not invalidate a notarial act, except for § 304(b) conflict-of-interest violations, which are voidable. But an act performed by someone without authority to perform notarial acts is never validated. Aggrieved parties may still sue to invalidate the underlying record.

§ 327 — Regulations. DOS’s rulemaking authority — the hook under which Chapter 167 is promulgated. DOS may prescribe the manner of performing notarial acts, ensure self-evident tampering, set technology standards, establish the commissioning process, require criminal history checks, and administer the § 322 examination and courses. Fees are not set under this section (see § 329.1).

§ 328 — Notary public commission in effect. Grandfather clause. A pre-RULONA commission remains valid until expiration. Renewals and all post-effective-date acts fall under RULONA.

§ 329 — Savings clause. RULONA does not affect the validity of notarial acts performed before its effective date.

§ 329.1 — Fees of notaries public. DOS sets the maximum fees by regulation. A notary may not charge or receive more. Fees must be separately stated, may be waived, and must be displayed conspicuously or provided on request. Fees belong to the notary, not the employer, absent agreement. The actual fee schedule is at 4 Pa. Code § 167.3 (see the fee schedule guide).

§ 330 — Uniformity of application and construction. Courts and DOS must construe RULONA consistently with how other states interpret their RULONA enactments — a uniform-law instruction that makes case law from other RULONA states (roughly 28 jurisdictions) persuasive authority in Pennsylvania.

§ 331 — Relation to E-SIGN. RULONA reserves the right, to the extent permitted by section 102 of the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (15 U.S.C. § 7002), to modify or supersede that statute. This matters only for boundary cases where federal e-signature preemption might conflict with PA e-notary rules.

How 4 Pa. Code Chapter 167 implements RULONA

RULONA sets the skeleton; 4 Pa. Code Chapter 167 adds the muscle. The regulations were replaced wholesale by the March 28, 2026 final rule (56 Pa.B. 1672) and are now organized into 11 subchapters. The sections most worth knowing by number:

§ 167.3 — Fees. Maximum fees a notary may charge the public: $5 per acknowledgment name (first), $2 per additional name, $5 per oath, $5 per verification, $5 per signature witnessed, $5 per certified copy, $3 per protest page. E-notary and remote notary may add up to $20 per act. Itemized receipts are mandatory.
§ 167.16 — Bond. $25,000 for new and reappointed commissions.
§ 167.18 — 45-day failure. Appointments not recorded within 45 days become null and void; the appointee must reapply as a new applicant.
§ 167.21 — Stamp. Adds the seven-digit commission ID.
§ 167.32 — Journal entries. PII restrictions (no SSN digits, no full ID numbers, no medical or financial information). Terminal four digits of driver’s license or passport permitted.
§ 167.43 — Identification. Expanded acceptable ID list (electronic equivalents, PA state-related university cards, medical marijuana card, consular ID, DOC inmate ID, DHS ID).
§ 167.61 — Acknowledgments. Pre-signed records are acceptable for acknowledgments, but the record presented may not be a photocopy.
§ 167.63 — Verifications. Unlike acknowledgments, verifications must be signed in the notary’s presence — no pre-signed jurats.
§ 167.88 — Tech-provider wind-downs. 60-day advance notice to notaries; list to DOS. Protects notaries from stranded journals and AV recordings.
§ 167.91 — Interactive education. Explicit definition authorizing asynchronous online courses.
§ 167.95 — Education completion records. Six-month validity on the student certificate of education, mirroring § 322(b)‘s statutory window.
§ 167.113 — Refusal limits. Anti-discrimination floor on § 308’s refusal authority.
§ 167.121 — 26-item enumerated “do not do this” list. The definitive sanctions catalog.
§ 167.125 — Reporting duties. 30-day windows for reporting convictions, out-of-state discipline, liability findings, UPL findings, and bond payments.

If the statute answers “what is required,” Chapter 167 answers “how, how much, and by when.”

The 2026 final rule changes in context

The March 28, 2026 final rulemaking (56 Pa.B. 1672, Doc. No. 26-438) is the most significant regulatory event in PA notary practice since RULONA’s enactment. The highlights for day-to-day practice:

Bond raised to $25,000 at § 167.16(b). Existing commissions can keep their $10,000 bond until the commission expires; new and reappointed notaries must obtain the higher amount.
Seven-digit commission ID mandatory on the stamp at § 167.21(b)(5). Existing notaries can continue using the old stamp until expiration; new appointments order compliant stamps immediately.
SSN digits prohibited in the journal at § 167.32(d). The 2016 proposed rule had permitted terminal SSN digits; the final rule removes them entirely. Terminal four digits of driver’s license or passport are permitted as optional entries.
§ 167.88 wind-down duties for RON and e-notary platforms — a direct response to the Pavaso closure on January 1, 2026.
Pre-signed acknowledgment records cannot be photocopies at § 167.61(3). A new protection against photocopied-fraud schemes.
$5 per-signature fee for witnessing as a standalone act at § 167.3, and a $20 per-act surcharge cap for electronic and remote notarizations.

The 2026 final rule blog post walks through every change in detail. Every piece of content on this site has been updated to reflect the final rule — if you read older guidance elsewhere that cites a $10,000 bond or allows SSN digits in the journal, it is outdated.

Pre-RULONA vs. post-RULONA — what actually changed for notaries

Aspect	Pre-RULONA (1953 Notary Public Law)	Post-RULONA (Act 73 of 2013, as amended)
Governing statute	1953 Notary Public Law — patchwork provisions	57 Pa.C.S. Chapter 3 — unified uniform-law enactment
Electronic and remote notarization	No statutory framework	§ 320 (e-records) and § 306.1 (RON) — full framework, 10-year AV retention
Personal appearance	Case-law and custom	Codified at § 306; remote substitute at § 306.1
Enumerated notarial acts	Piecemeal	Six acts defined in § 302
Short-form certificates	No statutory safe-harbor forms	Six statutory short-form templates at § 316
Journal duty	Not statutorily mandated in detail	§ 319 mandates contemporaneous chronological entries; journal is notary’s exclusive property
Education	Not required	§ 322 requires 3-hour basic and continuing education
Exam	Varied	§ 322(a) requires DOS-administered or -approved exam (Pearson VUE)
Disciplinary toolkit	Limited	§ 323 — deny/refuse/revoke/suspend/reprimand/condition + $1,000/act civil penalty
Uniform construction	State-specific	§ 330 — uniform construction with other RULONA states

Using RULONA in practice

Three habits turn RULONA from a statute you read once into a tool you use.

First, read the definitions before the substantive section. Almost every interpretive dispute turns on how § 302 defines a term. If a question asks whether a DocuSign counts as a signature, the answer is in § 302’s definition of “electronic signature.” If a question asks whether a document fits under a notarial act, the answer is in § 302’s six-item enumeration.

Second, remember that § 323’s disciplinary authority overlays every other section. Whenever you face a gray-area situation — a pre-signed document, an unverifiable ID, a pushy employer — run it against § 323(a)‘s nine triggers and § 167.121’s 26 enumerated acts. If your proposed action shows up on either list, stop. A commission is worth more than a single notarization.

Third, use § 304(b) and § 319 together. The interaction between the conflict-of-interest rule and the journal requirement is how notaries get caught. If you would be uncomfortable writing the full details of an act in your journal — the signer’s name, the record description, your identification method, the fee — that discomfort is a signal to refuse under § 304(b). A journal is both a record and a mirror.

And when you’re stuck on a specific scenario — notarizing for family, out-of-state work, refusing a customer — the rest of this site has dedicated guides. Start with the links below.

RULONA — The Complete Guide