A state notary fee maximum looks like a single number: $10, $15, $5. The number is only half the rule. The other half is what it counts: each act, each signature, each person, each document, or a first signature and then each additional one. Two states with the same dollar figure can allow very different totals for the same appointment.
Per act
The simplest structure. Each notarial act has its own cap, and several acts are that many times the cap. Florida: Up to $10.00 per act, so four acknowledgments have a maximum of $40.00. Washington: Up to $15.00 per act.
Per signature
The count is signatures notarized. Two people signing one document are two signatures. California caps acknowledgments this way (Up to $15.00 per signature): one document signed by two people has a maximum of $30.00. Arizona (Up to $10.00 per signature) and North Carolina (Up to $10.00 per signature) also count acknowledgments per signature in the verified data.
Per signer
The count is people. California’s jurat is per person (Up to $15.00 per signer), and New York counts acknowledgments per signer (Up to $2.00 per signer). Three people swearing to one affidavit in California have a jurat maximum of $45.00.
First signature, then each additional
The structure that trips people up. There is a larger fee for the first signature and a smaller one for each additional signature, and the first-signature fee starts over, either for each document or for each signer.
- Texas: Up to $10.00 first signature + $1.00 each additional, restarting per document. Three signatures on one document: $12.00. Three documents with one signature each: $30.00.
- Pennsylvania: Up to $5.00 first signature + $2.00 each additional, also per document. Two names on one acknowledgment: $7.00.
- Nevada: Up to $15.00 first signature + $7.50 each additional, restarting for each signer. Two signers with one signature each: $30.00. One signer with two signatures: $22.50.
Per document, per certificate, per page
Colorado and Rhode Island count acknowledgments per document (Up to $15.00 per document and Up to $25.00 per document). Copy certifications are often counted per page or per certificate: Minnesota gives Up to $1.00 per page and Pennsylvania Up to $5.00 per certificate.
No statutory maximum found
In Alaska, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, South Dakota and Tennessee, the official source on file sets no numeric maximum for notarial acts in general. That does not mean anything goes. Read the notes on each state page: an official source can still require that fees be reasonable, disclosed, posted or agreed in advance, and some of these states cap specific acts (such as remote notarization) even without a general maximum.
Rules that are not one number
Some official text sets a fee that depends on details a per-unit figure cannot capture, such as a deposition fee with separate amounts for the oath and the certificate. These are recorded as custom rules with the text in the notes, and the calculator reports them as “Rule not evaluable for these entries” rather than guessing.
Not yet verified
For Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, New Mexico, Vermont and Wisconsin, the current rule could not be confirmed from an official source, or official sources conflict, so no amount is recorded. The calculator lets you price those states manually and reports “Rule not verified”.
How to read the calculator’s check
For the notarial-act line only, the calculator reports one of:
- Within verified statutory fee limit: every act is at or under its verified maximum for the counts entered.
- Exceeds verified statutory fee limit: at least one act is above its own maximum. A discount on another act never hides an overcharge.
- No statutory maximum found, Rule not evaluable for these entries or Rule not verified: the data cannot support a verdict, and the calculator says why.
It never says “legal” or “illegal”. It reports what the verified record supports and leaves the decision with you and your commissioning authority.
Check the source yourself
Every state page names the agency, the document and the citation, quotes the source text, and links to the official page, with the date it was verified and how. Fee laws change. California’s AB 1597, for example, was approved in 2026 to raise several fees, and the record on file keeps the current amount until its operative date is confirmed. Before relying on any figure, open the source. Start from notary fees by state.
This site provides pricing and statutory-fee reference information for convenience and is not legal advice. Laws and fee limits may change. Verify current requirements with your commissioning authority.