WI Notary Practice Test

If you are applying for a Wisconsin notary commission or renewing one, you will need to pass the online exam from the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI). This page sets out the verified exam rules: 30 questions, a passing score of 90% or better, and results shown as soon as you finish. It also has free practice sets by topic and worked examples that explain each answer.

WI Notary Exam at a Glance

What the WI Notary is and how it works

According to Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Division of Corporate and Consumer Services – Notary Public Sectio, “There are 30 questions related to the information from the notary public tutorial.”^[1]

The WI Notary exam checks that you understand the material in the DFI notary public tutorial before you are commissioned. DFI states that the exam applies to new and renewing applicants. You must pass it with a score of 90% or better within 1 year before the date of your notary commission or renewal. To confirm whether it applies to your commission type, check the DFI tutorial introduction page.

How the exam is delivered

• The tutorial and exam are online through DFI.
• The exam has 30 questions, all based on the tutorial.
• You must finish it in one sitting. You cannot save your progress and come back later.
• It is scored as soon as you finish.

Scoring and retakes

You need 90% or better to pass. If you score lower, DFI shows you the questions you got wrong and the tutorial chapter each one came from. DFI asks you to review those chapters before you retake the exam. The instructions do not list a waiting period or a retake limit, so read the current DFI exam instructions before you start.

Fee

Under the Wisconsin notary statute, applicants who are not attorneys pay a $20 application fee when they file with the department. Attorneys should check DFI for the rules that apply to them. Fees and procedures can change, so the official DFI and statute pages are the final word.

Worked examples: how to reason through WI Notary questions

These are practice questions written for this site, not questions from the real exam. Each explanation shows why the right answer is right and why the others are wrong.

Example 1

Question: A Wisconsin notary is asked to notarize a document that the notary knows contains false information. What should the notary do?

1. Notarize the document and let the signer take responsibility for the content.
2. Notarize the document only if the signer acknowledges the false information.
3. Refuse to notarize the document to avoid participating in fraud.
4. Notarize the document but report the false information to the authorities.

Answer: C. Refuse to notarize the document to avoid participating in fraud.

Explanation:

C is correct. A notary is an impartial witness to a signature and does not certify that a document's content is true. But if you know a document is false, notarizing it means taking part in a possible fraud, so you must refuse.

• A is wrong: the signer is responsible for the content, but that does not excuse a notary who knowingly helps a false document along.
• B is wrong: if the signer admits the information is false, the problem gets worse, not better.
• D is wrong: reporting the document afterwards does not undo your part in notarizing it.

Rule to remember: you do not have to check whether the content is true, but you must never knowingly notarize something false.

Example 2

Question: Can a Wisconsin-commissioned notary perform a remote online notarization for a signer located in another state?

1. Yes, as long as the notary follows Wisconsin law and the act is valid in the destination state
2. No, the notary must be commissioned in the signer's state
3. Only if both states have reciprocal agreements
4. No, cross-state remote notarization is federally prohibited

Answer: A. Yes, as long as the notary follows Wisconsin law and the act is valid in the destination state

Explanation:

A is correct. A Wisconsin notary authorized for remote notarization can serve a signer who is in another state. The notary must follow Wisconsin law, and the act must be recognized where the document will be used.

• B is wrong: what matters is the notary's own commission and authorization, not a commission in the signer's state.
• C is wrong: the answer does not depend on a reciprocal agreement between the states.
• D is wrong: no federal ban stops cross-state remote notarization.

Rule to remember: for remote work, think "my state's law, and a document the destination will accept." Check that the document will be accepted where it is going before you start.

Example 3

Question: When only ONE credible witness is used to identify a signer in Wisconsin, that witness must be:

1. Known only to the document signer
2. Personally known to the notary
3. A licensed attorney or notary public
4. A family member of the document signer

Answer: B. Personally known to the notary

Explanation:

B is correct. If you rely on a single credible witness to identify a signer, that witness must be personally known to you, the notary. Your trust in the witness is what makes the identification reliable.

• A is wrong: a witness known only to the signer gives you no independent link, so it defeats the purpose.
• C is wrong: the witness does not need to be an attorney or a notary. What counts is that you know them.
• D is wrong: being related to the signer does not qualify someone, and it does nothing to connect the witness to you.

Rule to remember: with one credible witness, the chain runs from the notary to the witness to the signer, and you must personally know the witness.

How to use these practice tests

Treat the DFI tutorial as your main source, since every exam question comes from it. Use our practice sets to check that the material has stuck.

1. Read the tutorial chapter by chapter. After each chapter, take the matching practice set. For example, do Duties and Responsibilities and Eligibility Requirements early on.
2. Work through the practical topics. Cover Acknowledgments and Jurats, Notarial Acts and Certificates, Signer Identification and Seal and Stamp Requirements.
3. Cover the rules that are easy to mix up. These are Prohibited Acts, Ethical Considerations, Journal and Record Keeping and Electronic and Remote Notarization.
4. Fix your mistakes in the tutorial. For every question you miss, find the passage that answers it and reread it, rather than just memorizing our answer.
5. Plan your exam session. The exam has to be done in one sitting, so set aside quiet, uninterrupted time with a stable connection. If you do not pass, use the chapter list DFI gives you to decide what to review before you retake.

Sources & last verified

1. Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Division of Corporate and Consumer Services – Notary Public Sectio — number of questions, passing score, retake policy, delivery (official source). “There are 30 questions related to the information from the notary public tutorial.” Verified Oct 22, 2026.
2. docs.legis.wisconsin.gov — exam fee (official source). “Applicants who are not attorneys shall file an application with the department and pay a $20 fee.” Verified Oct 22, 2026.
3. Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Division of Corporate and Consumer Services – Notary Public Sectio — validity (official source). “The exam is required for all 4 year applicants that are new or renewing their applications and must be passed with a score of 90%…” Verified Oct 22, 2026.

How we verify: editorial & fact-checking policy. Report an error: contact us.