How to Address a Rejected Notary Commission

When submitting a commission as a signing agent it could get rejected for the following reasons. Locate the rejection reason you received (or the closest approximation to it) below, to find out how you can resolve the issue and then re-submit your commission via your Credentials page.

Important Note: For your security, Snapdocs does not accept documents via email, fax, or mail. Learn more here.  

Common Reasons for a Rejected Commission

The uploaded document is not a commission. Please upload the full commission certificate.

Explanation: The uploaded document was probably not the commission certificate that you received when you became a notary. Instead of submitting your commission certificate, you may have uploaded a document that is not a commission certificate. 

Please note that the following documents are NOT the same as a commission certificate:

  • Your NNA certificate
  • Your NNA membership card
  • Your notary stamp
  • A screenshot of your name/commission listed in your state's online notary database
  • A "Notary Public Oath Notification"
  • A "Certificate of Appointment as a Notary Public"
  • A "Certificate of Authorization"

How to solve it: The commission certificate usually has a seal and is signed by a judge or the Secretary of State. It will also usually have the term of your commission and your commission number (if your state issues one). Please upload your state-issued commission certificate and ensure that the entire certificate is visible with nothing cut off or blurry. 

This is an NNA certificate. Please upload your state-issued notary commission certificate instead.

Explanation: An NNA certificate is different from the commission certificate that you are issued when you become a notary.

How to solve it: When you were commissioned by the state, you should have received a commission certificate, which usually has a seal and is signed by a judge or the Secretary of State. Please upload the state-issued commission certificate so the verification system can take a look.

This is a notary stamp. Please upload your full commission certificate instead.

Explanation: We are unable to verify notary stamps, as our system looks for notary commission certificates.

How to solve it: Please upload the full commission certificate that was issued to you by your state when you became a notary. 

The name on this document doesn't match [name].

Explanation: The verification system looks for a match between the name on your Snapdocs profile and the name on your credentials. While we take into account possible nicknames and abbreviations, if there's not a likely match, we're unable to verify your commission.

How to solve it: We recommend using the name on your documents as the name on your Snapdocs profile to ensure that your documents can be easily verified by our system. You can change the name on your Snapdocs profile by logging in and navigating to "My Profile" or by going to https://app.snapdocs.com/profile/edit. Once you've updated the name on your profile to match the name on your documents, just re-upload your commission so our system can take another look.

Important Note: If you have changed your name, please scan legal proof of the name change and upload it with the document. 

Illegible document. Please upload a clearer copy.

Explanation: The uploaded document could not be read by the system, so it could not be verified.

How to solve it: Please take another picture or scan of your commission and ensure that the information on it (your name, commission number, expiration date, etc.) can be read. Please also make sure that the entire commission is visible and that nothing is cut off. Then, upload your commission again to have it verified.

State-Specific Common Rejection Reasons

Indiana Commissions

Indiana Commissions have an extended learning requirement every 2 years. Snapdocs does not use the expiration date on the certificate but checks the IN state database and uses 2 years from the issue date as the expiration date to ensure the commission is still valid. 

Once you have completed the requirements, please resubmit your commission documents. 

Texas Commissions

Texas commission certificates should have an Oath of Office section that will need to be filled in by you and then notarized by another Texas-commissioned notary. If your commission couldn't be verified, please locate the closest approximation of the rejection reason you received to see how to resolve it.

Please upload the full commission certificate, which includes the Oath of Office.

Explanation: You may have uploaded the green slip of paper that says "In the name and by the authority of the state of Texas" at the top. This slip of paper does not include the Oath of Office, which we must see to verify Texas commissions

How to solve it: Please locate your full commission certificate, which is one full page and has an Oath of Office section at the bottom of the page. Once located, just upload your commission certificate with a correctly filled out and completed Oath of Office to have it verified.

Incomplete document. Oath of Office is not completed.

Explanation: The uploaded commission was considered incomplete because the Oath of Office section (located at the bottom of your commission) was not filled out.

How to solve it: Please fill out the Oath of Office and then have it notarized by another Texas-commissioned notary. The notary should put their stamp and signature on the Oath of Office. Once the Oath of Office has been completed, just upload the updated version of your commission to submit it for verification. 

Incomplete document. Oath of Office does not have a notary seal.

Explanation: The Oath of Office on the uploaded commission was missing the stamp of the notary who notarized your Oath of Office. To verify Texas commissions, the Oath of Office must have both the stamp and signature of another Texas-commissioned notary.

How to solve it: Please have the notary who notarized your commission add their notary stamp to your certificate. Once the Oath of Office section has both another notary's signature and stamp, just upload your updated commission and our system can take another look at it.

Oath of Office must be notarized by another notary, not by the certificate holder. 

Explanation: The Oath of Office on your commission certificate was filled out, but filled out incorrectly. Instead of notarizing your own Oath of Office, the Oath of Office must be filled out by you and then notarized by another Texas-commissioned notary.

How to solve it: Please contact the office that issued you your commission to see if you can obtain a new certificate with a blank of Oath of Office. When you receive a new certificate, fill out the top part of the Oath of Office with your name and information. Then, have another Texas-commissioned notary notarize the bottom of the Oath of Office with their stamp and signature. Upload your updated commission certificate to submit it for verification.

Oath of Office is cut off.

Explanation: The Oath of Office was not visible in the uploaded document. Without seeing a correctly completed Oath of Office, we are unable to verify your commission.

How to solve it: First, make sure that the Oath of Office section has been correctly completed. You should fill out the top half of the Oath of Office with your name and information, and then have another Texas-commissioned notary notarize the bottom half of the Oath of Office. If the Oath of Office has been filled out, just take a new picture or scan of your commission and upload it to your account.