Now listing notaries in California · Texas · New York · Delaware · Oregon · Colorado
NotaryOT

California Fee Calculator

The law caps part of your bill. Here's which part.

California caps what a notary may charge per signature. It does not cap travel. That single split explains almost every "why is this $95?" question, and this calculator does the math both ways.

Your appointment

Signatures drive the capped portion, not documents. Count both.

Notarized signatures: 4Each signer signing each document is its own notarized signature.

Set by the notary and agreed before the appointment. California does not cap this.

Quote record · California

Verified

Notarial fees, maximum

4 signatures × $15.00 maximum each

Cal. Gov. Code §8211

$60.00

Travel fee

Quoted by the notary, agreed in advance

Not capped by statute

$45.00

Maximum total

$105.00

A quote at or under $105.00 is consistent with California law.The notarial portion may be lower. A notary may charge less than the maximum, or nothing at all.

$15.00 per signature is a ceiling, not a set price. Travel is a separate charge and is recorded separately in the notary's journal. This calculator does not set prices and does not quote on any notary's behalf.

Why your quote is more than $15.00

Two different fees, two different rules.

People read the $15.00 cap and assume a mobile notary quoting $95 is overcharging. Almost always, they're looking at two fees added together, only one of which the law limits.

Capped by law

The notarial act

$15.00

The maximum a California notary may charge for each notarized signature. Not per document, and not per appointment. Two signers on three documents is six signatures.

It's a ceiling, so a notary may charge less or nothing at all.

Cal. Gov. Code §8211

Not capped by law

Travel to you

Set by the notary

Coming to your kitchen table, your hospital room or your office at 9pm is a separate service, and California does not cap what it costs. It's recorded separately from the notarial fee in the notary's journal.

NotaryOT's own policy is that travel is quoted and agreed before the appointment, so nothing on the bill is a surprise. That's our rule, not California's.

Cal. Gov. Code §8211

For notaries

Quote it right, then record it right.

Switch the calculator to "What should I charge?" and it builds your quote from your own travel rate. These two panels update with it.

Journal line preview

California wants the notarial fee recorded separately from travel. Here's how this appointment breaks down in your journal.

Notarial fee charged$60.00
Travel fee charged$45.00
Signatures notarized4

Entries shown are the fee lines only. Your journal has other required entries, including a thumbprint for a power of attorney (Cal. Gov. Code §8206(a)(2)(G)).

Your fee menu

The same math applied to the appointments you'll actually be asked to quote, using your travel rate.

Single signature, one signer$60.00
Two signatures, one signer$75.00
Refinance package, two signers, four notarized$105.00
Power of attorney, one signer$60.00

Maximums at your current travel rate. Charge less whenever you want to; you can never charge more than the capped portion.

Other states

California first, then the rest as they're verified.

A fee calculator is only useful if its numbers are right, so each state goes live only after we've checked its fee law against the statute and the state's own official source.

Calculator live · Fee law verified

In verification · Directory live, fee law being cited

Pipeline · Queued

  • AlabamaPipeline
  • AlaskaPipeline
  • American SamoaPipeline
  • ArizonaPipeline
  • ArkansasPipeline
  • CaliforniaCalculator live
  • ColoradoIn verification
  • ConnecticutPipeline
  • DelawareIn verification
  • District of ColumbiaPipeline
  • FloridaPipeline
  • GeorgiaPipeline
  • GuamPipeline
  • HawaiiPipeline
  • IdahoPipeline
  • IllinoisPipeline
  • IndianaPipeline
  • IowaPipeline
  • KansasPipeline
  • KentuckyPipeline
  • LouisianaPipeline
  • MainePipeline
  • MarylandPipeline
  • MassachusettsPipeline
  • MichiganPipeline
  • MinnesotaPipeline
  • MississippiPipeline
  • MissouriPipeline
  • MontanaPipeline
  • NebraskaPipeline
  • NevadaPipeline
  • New HampshirePipeline
  • New JerseyPipeline
  • New MexicoPipeline
  • New YorkIn verification
  • North CarolinaPipeline
  • North DakotaPipeline
  • Northern Mariana IslandsPipeline
  • OhioPipeline
  • OklahomaPipeline
  • OregonIn verification
  • PennsylvaniaPipeline
  • Puerto RicoPipeline
  • Rhode IslandPipeline
  • South CarolinaPipeline
  • South DakotaPipeline
  • TennesseePipeline
  • TexasIn verification
  • U.S. Virgin IslandsPipeline
  • UtahPipeline
  • VermontPipeline
  • VirginiaPipeline
  • WashingtonPipeline
  • West VirginiaPipeline
  • WisconsinPipeline
  • WyomingPipeline

Straight answer · The limits of this tool

What this calculator deliberately won't tell you.

  • Whether your notarization is one California requires to be free.

    Two notarizations must be free: a veteran's benefit claim, and vote-by-mail or other voting materials. Those are the two that apply to any notary. Three narrower exceptions exist, and two of them turn on who the notary is rather than what the act is. This calculator always shows the paid maximum, so it can't tell you that yours should be $0.

  • Apostille costs.

    Apostilles are issued by the California Secretary of State. An apostille costs $20 per document from the Secretary of State, separate from anything the notary charged. In person there's also a $6 handling fee for each different public official's signature. The notary's own fee is separate from both. It isn't part of what a notary charges, so it isn't part of this calculation.

  • Online notarization in California.

    California's own remote online notarization won't operate until the Secretary of State certifies its technology. Until then, online notarizations performed by notaries in other states are recognized here. So there's no California online fee to calculate.

  • Which document you need.

    That's a legal question. Neither we nor any notary can answer it, because notaries public are not attorneys and cannot give legal advice.

Every number this calculator does produce traces to a statute we've verified and cited on the page.

Questions, answered

Before you book

Is it per document or per signature?

Per signature. If two people each sign three documents in front of the notary, that's six notarized signatures, so the capped portion is six times the maximum. This is the single most common miscount, and it's usually why a quote looks higher than people expect.

I think I was overcharged. What do I do?

Compare the notarial portion of your bill, not the total, against the capped maximum this calculator shows. Travel sits outside the cap, so a high total isn't itself a problem. If the notarial portion alone exceeds the maximum, raise it with the notary first. If the notarial portion exceeds the cap, the Secretary of State is who takes complaints about California notaries. The Secretary of State disciplines notaries — it can't recover your money or undo a document. Fraud or forgery goes to local law enforcement or the district attorney instead.

Can a notary charge me for waiting, printing or parking?

The statute caps the notarial act and treats travel separately. For anything else on a quote, ask the notary to itemize it before the appointment, and get the total in writing. NotaryOT notaries quote travel in advance as a matter of our policy.

Is this legal advice?

No. It's arithmetic on a published fee cap, with the statute cited next to it. NotaryOT is not a law firm, and a notary is not an attorney. For advice about your situation, talk to a lawyer.

For signers

Know the number? Now book the notary.

Search by what you're signing and where you are, with every listing sourced from the Secretary of State's roster.

Find a Notary

For notaries

Set your rate with confidence.

Pricing, routing and the business side are a full track inside NotaryOT Academy.

Explore the Academy