What goes into a loan signing quote
A signing quote is several charges added together, and only one of them is a notary fee. The calculator lists each one as its own line, in the same order as the iPhone app, so the total is always the sum of what you can see.
- Signing service fee. Your base fee for handling the package: reviewing it, presenting it, collecting signatures and returning it. It is a separate service fee, not a notarial fee.
- Notarial acts. The acknowledgments and jurats in the package. In most states these have a statutory maximum; the calculator fills it in for the state you pick and checks your entry against it.
- Printing. Per page or flat, with a double set when the borrower keeps a copy. See how to calculate printing costs.
- Scanbacks, waiting time, after-hours, parking and tolls. Each is optional and each is its own line.
- Travel. Flat, per mile, base plus mileage, hourly or a manual amount. The travel fee calculator compares all five on the same trip.
A worked refinance
Here is the job from the app’s own result screen: a California refinance with four acknowledged signatures at the $15 per-signature maximum, a $125 signing fee, base-plus-mileage travel for 18 miles, a double set of a 120-page package at $0.15 a page, and scanbacks. The estimate assumes one hour at the table, 45 minutes of driving, $0.65 a mile to run the car and $0.07 a page for paper and toner.
| Notarial acts4 × acknowledgment | $60.00 |
|---|---|
| Signing serviceRefinance | $125.00 |
| Travel$25.00 + 18 mi × $1.25/mi | $47.50 |
| Printing240 pages × $0.15 (double set) | $36.00 |
| Scanbacks | $20.00 |
| Total | $288.50 |
- Notarial acts
- $60.00
- Travel & service
- $228.50
- Est. net
- $260.00
- Per hour (1 hr 45 min)
- $148.57
The $15 maximum comes from the verified California record. The other rates are example values, not market averages.
Of the total, only the notarial-act line is governed by California’s fee maximum. The signing fee, travel, printing and scanbacks are separate services, which is why the quote shows them apart.
Package type
The calculator offers the same package types as the app: Purchase, Refinance, Seller Package, HELOC, Reverse Mortgage and other. The label does not change the math. What changes the price is what the package involves: pages to print, how many signers and notarizations, and how long the appointment runs. Enter those and the total follows.
Check what a signing pays per hour
A flat signing fee hides how long the job takes. Add appointment and travel time in step 5 and the calculator subtracts mileage, printing and other direct costs, then divides by the total time. Use it to compare an offer against your usual work, or to find the fee that keeps a long drive worth taking. The notary profit calculator does the same for any gross quote, and the guide to effective hourly rate explains the method.