Two add-ons change a quote more than their size suggests: waiting time, because it eats the hour after the one you planned for, and after-hours work, because it is the time you would otherwise not be working. Both are separate services, not notarial fees, and both are easier to charge when you have set the rule before the appointment.
How waiting time is calculated
The calculators use the same rule as the iPhone app:
- A number of minutes is included free (the app starts at 15).
- After that, waiting is billed in 15-minute blocks at a rate per block (the app starts at $10).
- A partly used block counts as a whole block: one minute into a block bills the block.
- You can override the whole calculation with a manual amount.
With 15 minutes included and $10 per 15 minutes:
| Minutes waited | Billable | Waiting fee |
|---|---|---|
| 10 min | Included | $0.00 |
| 15 min | Included | $0.00 |
| 16 min | 1 min → 1 block | $10.00 |
| 30 min | 15 min → 1 block | $10.00 |
| 31 min | 16 min → 2 blocks | $20.00 |
| 50 min | 35 min → 3 blocks | $30.00 |
| 75 min | 60 min → 4 blocks | $40.00 |
The step at 16 and 31 minutes is the rule working as intended. If you would rather bill smaller steps, lower the rate per block; the blocks themselves stay at 15 minutes, as in the app.
After-hours fees
An after-hours fee is a flat add-on for appointments outside your normal hours: evenings, early mornings, weekends. The calculators treat it as one amount per job (the app starts at $25). Decide what counts as after-hours for you and apply it consistently, so a client booking at 8 p.m. hears the same answer every time.
Time-of-day can matter in state rules too. Nevada’s source on file sets a higher hourly travel amount between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. than during the day. That is a rule about travel, not about a separate after-hours fee, but it is a reminder to read your state’s page before building time-of-day pricing.
Both on one quote
A North Carolina evening appointment: two acknowledged signatures at the $10 per-signature maximum, per-mile travel for 20 miles, a $25 after-hours fee, and a 50-minute wait with 15 minutes included:
| Notarial acts2 × acknowledgment | $20.00 |
|---|---|
| Travel20 mi × $1.50/mi | $30.00 |
| After-hours | $25.00 |
| Waiting time50 min · first 15 min included | $30.00 |
| Total | $105.00 |
- Notarial acts
- $20.00
- Travel & service
- $85.00
- Est. net
- $92.00
- Per hour (1 hr 55 min)
- $48.00
The $10 maximum is from the verified North Carolina record; the other rates are example values.
Without the waiting and after-hours lines, the same 1 hour 55 minutes of work would have billed only the acts and the travel.
Waiting and after-hours are both in step 4 of the mobile notary fee calculator. For how they sit next to the capped notarial fee, see notary fees vs. travel and service fees.
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.