NYS Notary Public Association Review: What $77 Actually Buys
If you have searched for a New York notary class, you have already met the NYS Notary Public Association. It is the incumbent of this market: operating since 2001, priced at $77, and present at or near the top of most “NY notary class” searches. This review is a close look at what that $77 actually buys: what’s published, what checks out, and the inconsistencies a buyer should settle before paying.
One thing first, in plain terms: we publish a competing New York notary exam-prep course. That is exactly why this review sticks to verifiable facts. Every detail below comes from the association’s own websites and course pages as of September 2026, and where their pages disagree with each other, we describe it as a documented inconsistency, not an accusation.
Who you are actually buying from
The association is a family of websites, not one site: howtobecomeanotaryinny.com, notaryclassny.com, notarynys.org, mynotarygig.com, and a hosted course page on Thinkific. All of them share one phone number, (347) 427-9091, and one identity: instructor Mike Brown, teaching New York notary classes since 2001.
Why that matters to you as a buyer: search results for NY notary classes can look like five different schools independently recommending the same $77 course. It is one provider occupying multiple slots. That is a marketing footprint, not a hidden scandal. But knowing it is the difference between comparison-shopping and comparing one seller with itself.
What the $77 course includes
As of September 2026, the published package:
- The core course: a recorded 5-hour seminar, filmed at a hotel, broken into 7 on-demand sessions
- A 253-question practice bank in 5 parts, with retakes until you score 100%
- A random 40-question exam generator: this matters, because the real exam is 40 questions in one hour
- A free full-length 40-question sample exam on their site, with no signup required
- A free-repeat guarantee: if you don’t pass, you repeat the course at no charge
- Free lifetime association membership, a monthly newsletter, and a licensing hotline
- An access period their sites describe as 4 months, with 4 more available on request, but see the next section
Where they are strong
Tenure. Since 2001. Only Notary Public Central, dating to 1998, has been at it longer among the providers we verified. A quarter-century in a niche market is a real signal, and it comes with infrastructure younger providers don’t have: a hotline, a membership, a newsletter.
The free sample exam. It is a full 40-question exam, and it requires no email address. Most “free” practice tests in this market are short teasers behind a signup form; theirs is the length of the real exam with no gate. (For comparison: our free diagnostic is 20 questions with topic-level scoring. The association’s free sample is 40 questions. Take both. They cost nothing.)
The guarantee. A free repeat if you don’t pass. Several competitors at both lower and higher prices offer no guarantee at all, so the free repeat sets them apart rather than being table stakes.
The question bank. 253 questions plus a random generator is the largest published bank in the New York field: larger than Notary Public Central’s 200-question prep test, NNA’s 120-question bank, or our own 222 questions. For a closed-book exam that tests exact dollar amounts and one-word-apart definitions, bank depth is what builds exactness.
The free funnel. Their flagship seminar video on YouTube, posted in 2014, has roughly 198,000 views. You can watch a substantial sample of the actual teaching, free, before paying anything. Add the hotline and the lifetime membership, and it is clear why the operation has lasted 25 years: it is generous at the top of the funnel.
Three inconsistencies to settle before you buy
We flag these because they are inconsistencies between the association’s own published pages, documented, not alleged:
1. The access period contradicts itself. Their websites describe 4 months of access, extendable by 4 more months on request. Their Thinkific course page states 30 days. Both cannot be right, and the difference is large: a study plan that fits 4 months does not fit 30 days. Before paying, get the access period confirmed in writing.
2. The “students trained” count varies by site. Across the association’s properties, the claimed total ranges from 60,000 to more than 70,000 people trained, depending on which of their sites you read. This does not change what the product is, but it does mean the marketing totals should not be quoted as precise figures, by them or by anyone else.
3. Live seminars are listed and suspended at the same time. Their own YouTube channel states that live seminars have been suspended, citing low attendance, while the homepage still shows live-seminar schedules. If a live class is specifically what you want, confirm one is actually running before you pay for anything labeled live.
None of these is damning. All three are the kind of detail you want settled before checkout rather than after.
The format question: this is a recorded hotel seminar
The core product is a video of a seminar that was taught in a hotel room to a live audience. That has real upsides (one instructor, one continuous teaching voice, the feel of sitting in a class), and it is how most of this market learned for two decades.
It also has real limits. A seminar recording was produced as an event, not as a course: no per-lesson structure, no interactive drills, and no topic-level reporting to show you which area is actually failing you. You find out where you’re weak by scoring the quizzes, not by the course telling you.
One more fact worth weighing. The exam’s question source is the state’s free 22-page booklet; the March 2026 edition is current, and we walk it section by section here. The association’s free YouTube seminar dates to 2014. We could not independently verify when the paid recording was made or how recently its question bank was reviewed against the current booklet edition, so ask that question before buying. It is the most important one.
Who it suits and who will want something else
The association is a strong fit if you:
- want the longest-running name in the field, with a hotline to call
- learn well from a real instructor talking through the material in one arc
- want the biggest published question bank and a free-repeat guarantee
- appreciate that the free sample is a full-length, no-gate exam
You will probably want a different product if you:
- want a course built lesson-by-lesson around the current booklet edition, with page citations in every explanation
- want topic-level diagnostics that tell you exactly where you’re weak (as the market stood in September 2026, nobody’s free test offered that but ours: try it here)
- are price-sensitive enough that the NNA’s $35 course or the free lane does the job. See our full cost comparison
The verdict
The association earned its incumbency: a quarter-century of tenure, a free full-length sample exam with no signup gate, the largest published bank in the state, and a guarantee, all at a mid-range $77. Against that stand a dated seminar format and published details that contradict themselves in three places. If you buy, confirm the access period and the recording’s currency first. And whichever course you end up choosing, start by finding out where you actually stand. Take our free NY notary practice test or their free 40-question sample first. Both are free, and a diagnostic beats a guess.
NYS Notary Public Association: FAQ
How much is the NYS Notary Public Association course?
$77 as of September 2026, for the recorded seminar course and the package described above. The 40-question sample exam on their site is free, with no signup.
Is the course live or recorded?
Recorded: a 5-hour hotel seminar in 7 on-demand sessions. Their YouTube channel states live seminars are suspended while the homepage still lists schedules, so treat any “live” offering as unconfirmed until you verify it directly.
How long do I keep access?
Their own pages disagree: 4 months (plus 4 more on request) on their websites versus 30 days on their Thinkific course page. This is a published inconsistency. Get the answer in writing before you buy.
Does it include a guarantee?
Yes: a free repeat of the course if you don’t pass. It is one of only a few guarantees in the New York field; the NNA and NYREI, for example, publish none.
—
*NyNotaryExamPrep.com is an independent exam-prep publisher and, as disclosed above, a competing provider. We are not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by the NYS Notary Public Association or the New York State Department of State. All details reflect the association’s own published pages as of September 2026 and can change; verify current terms before enrolling.*
