California Notary Cheat Sheet.
The night-before summary, built like the exam.

Memorize the core numbers first: a 70 or better passes, and a commission lasts four years. Then lock in the two main notarial acts: an acknowledgment means the signer declares the signature is genuine and willing, with no oath and no need to sign in front of you; a jurat means the signer signs in your presence and swears the contents are true. Finally, know that you must positively identify every signer through personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence like a current government-issued ID.

The biggest trap is the absent signer: you may never notarize a signature unless the signer is physically present at the time of notarization, no matter how sympathetic the scenario sounds. Watch for questions where the notary has a stake in the document, since you must not notarize anything you are a party to or have a direct financial or beneficial interest in. Also remember that a non-attorney notary may never give legal advice, charge for it, or prepare legal documents for others.

Know the five journal entries by heart: the date and time of the act, the type of act, the type of document, the name and address of each signer, and the identification method used. For the seal, remember it shows your name, the words Notary Public, the commissioning state, and your commission expiration date. Both the seal and the journal must stay under your exclusive control — never let anyone else use them.

Skim the whole sheet once, then quiz yourself out loud on the acknowledgment-versus-jurat distinction and the situations that require you to refuse a notarization, such as a coerced signer, one who doesn't understand the transaction, or one you can't properly identify. Don't try to learn new material the night before; the sheet is for reinforcing what your practice sessions already built. Get sleep — recall beats last-minute cramming on a judgment-heavy exam.

Treat the cheat sheet as a summary, not a substitute. It condenses the rules, but the exam tests how you apply them — remembering that a notary is an impartial witness commissioned to deter fraud is easy, while spotting a conflict of interest buried in a scenario takes practice. Pair the sheet with the state's official handbook and repeated rounds of practice questions, then use the sheet for final review.