Notary Fees by State: The Most a Notary Can Legally Charge in 2026

The short answer

That number is the most the notary may charge, not a set price. Plenty of notaries charge less, and banks often notarize free for their customers. Most caps are 16 at $5, 14 at $10, 4 at $15.

Notary fees in every state, on one map

The highest notary fees

1. Rhode Islandper document or notarization$25
2. Californiaper signature$15
3. Coloradoper document$15
4. Nevadaper signature (first signature of each signer)$15
5. Washingtonper act$15
6. Alabamaper act$10
7. Arizonaper signature$10
8. Floridaper act$10
9. Indianaper signature$10
10. Michiganper transaction or notarial act$10

Maximum notary fee by state: all 50 states and DC

Acknowledgment is the act most people need: the notary checks your ID and certifies that you signed. A jurat means you swear the document is true. "Copy" is certifying a copy of an original. "Online" is a remote notarization over video; "on top" means the state lets the notary add it to the regular fee, and "same cap" means the state allows remote notarizations without a separate fee, so the regular cap applies. Click the number next to a fee to open the law it comes from.

On a phone the jurat and copy columns are hidden; the calculator below uses the acknowledgment fee. A dash means the state sets no separate fee for that act, or its notaries may not do it.

Work out the most you should pay

Pick your state, how many pages need a notary's stamp, and how many people sign each one. The calculator applies your state's own counting rule: per signature, per signer, or per stamp.

Worked example: two people, three notarized pages

Say a couple signs a power of attorney, a deed and an affidavit, and each page needs a notary. Here is the most a notary may legally charge in the four biggest states:

Same paperwork, $78 apart. California charges per signature6, so two signers double the fee. Texas charges $10 for the first signature and $1 for each one after it57. Florida charges per notarial act12. New York charges $2 per person41.

Fee changes and odd rules worth knowing

• California: PENDING CHANGE: AB 1597 (2026) raises every 8211 fee by $5 (ack $20 per signature, jurat $20, POA copy $20, deposition $35/$12/$12).6
• New Jersey: Real estate flat fees: $15.00 for all services for the grantors in one real estate transfer, and $25.00 for all services for the mortgagors in one real estate financing, no matter how many acts.38
• Missouri: Online notarizations are capped at the same $5 per signature, but the notary may add a transaction fee agreed in advance that the law does not cap.30
• Maryland: Maryland raised its caps to $8 per signature in person and $30 for a remote notarization; older guides still quote $4 or $25.25

States with no cap

Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, South Dakota, Tennessee and Vermont set no dollar maximum. In those states the notary sets the fee, and the law asks only that it be reasonable or agreed in advance. Ask the price before they stamp.

• Alaska: Alaska has no statutory maximum notary fee; the old fee section was repealed in 2005.2
• Arkansas: Arkansas sets no dollar maximum.5
• Iowa: Neither Iowa Code chapter 9B (the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts as enacted in Iowa) nor the Secretary of State's rules at 721 IAC chapter 43 set a maximum notary fee.20
• Kansas: There is no maximum.21
• Kentucky: There is no maximum.22
• Louisiana: There is no maximum.23
• Maine: There is no maximum.24
• Massachusetts: There is no cap on acknowledgments, jurats or oaths.26
• Minnesota: 357.17 sets no dollar figure for acknowledgments; it uses 'the legal fees allowed other officers for like services', so ack is left null.28
• South Dakota: SL 2025, ch 91 (HB 1192) removed the former $10 per-instrument maximum, effective July 1, 2025, so there is no statutory cap now.54
• Tennessee: No dollar cap for traditional notarial acts; fees must be 'reasonable'.55
• Vermont: Vermont's notary law (26 V.S.A.59

Travel fees and mobile notaries

The cap covers the notarization, not the drive. A mobile or loan-signing notary who comes to you can usually add a travel fee, but the rules differ:

• Arizona: up to state employee mileage and per diem rates (A.R.S. 41-316(B))3
• Arkansas: agreed in advance, no cap5
• California: not set by 8211; any travel fee must be listed separately in the journal6
• Colorado: allowed as a separate charge, must be disclosed and itemized in writing; no cap7
• Connecticut: $0.35 per mile8
• District of Columbia: actual and reasonable expense, agreed in advance, in writing and itemized10
• Idaho: actual and reasonable travel expense16
• Indiana: may charge a travel fee capped at the federal rate (SOS: federal mileage rate; statute reportedly ties it to GSA federal travel rates)18
• Maryland: IRS business mileage rate plus a travel fee not to exceed $525
• Michigan: separate travel fee if agreed with the client before travel begins; no cap27
• Mississippi: agreed in advance, no cap29
• Missouri: agreed in advance, no cap (notary must explain it is separate and not set by law)30
• Montana: extra fee allowed if explained and agreed in advance; capped at IRS standard mileage rate32
• Nebraska: mileage at the state rate (sec. 81-1176) for each mile traveled in serving notice; general travel not otherwise addressed33
• Nevada: extra fee allowed if requested, explained and agreed in advance; max $15/hr 6am-7pm, $30/hr 7pm-6am, 2-hour minimum (electronic notary: $10/hr and $25/hr)35
• New Mexico: allowed if agreed in advance and explained as separate from notarial fees and not mandated by law; no cap39
• North Carolina: actual mileage at the federal business mileage rate, only if agreed by the principal in writing before travel43
• North Dakota: agreed in advance and explained as separate and not set by law; no cap45
• Ohio: reasonable travel fee agreed by notary and principal before the act; no cap46
• Oregon: allowed under ORS 194.400 but amount not set; SOS advises reasonable, consistent and disclosed in advance48
• Pennsylvania: clerical/administrative fees (incl. travel) allowed if customary and reasonable, disclosed before notarization and itemized; not set by Department50
• South Carolina: allowed if agreed in advance and explained as separate and not set by law; no cap53
• Utah: allowed up to federal mileage rate if explained and agreed in advance58
• Virginia: actual and reasonable travel expenses, with the person's agreement60
• Washington: allowed if agreed in advance and explained as separate and not required by law; no cap61
• Wyoming: mileage up to IRS standard rate, agreed in advance and explained as separate64

Where the law says nothing about travel, ask for the travel charge in writing before the appointment.

How to pay less for a notary

• Try your bank or credit union first. Many notarize free for account holders.
• Count the stamps, not the pages. The fee goes by notarial certificate (and by signer in per-signature states), so ask how many certificates your document needs.
• Bring every signer at once in a per-act state. In Florida, two signers on one acknowledgment is still one act.
• Check the fee schedule. Several states require the notary to post or hand you their fees. If the price is over the cap, the law is on your side.
• Online is not always cheaper. The usual cap is $25 per act, plus the platform's own charge.

How we got these numbers

We read each state's notary fee law on October 25, 2026: the statute on the legislature's site, the administrative rule, or the fee page or handbook of the office that commissions notaries. Every fee above links to the page we read. We used the fee in force today; where a change has passed but not taken effect, it is in the notes. We did not use notary-vendor price lists or fee tables from other websites.