California Notary Fees
Acknowledgment: Up to $15.00 per signature
Under Gov. Code § 8211 as currently displayed, a California notary may charge up to $15 per signature for an acknowledgment/proof and $15 per jurat (oath to one person); AB 1597, approved by the Governor June 30, 2026, raises these to $20 (and raises deposition-related and power-of-attorney copy-certification fees), but its operative date was not confirmed in official results.
Source: California Secretary of State / California Legislative Information · Cal. Gov't Code § 8211
Maximum notary fees in California
What the official source allows a notary to charge for each notarial act. Charging less, or nothing, is allowed.
| Notarial act | Maximum fee | How it’s counted |
|---|---|---|
| Acknowledgment | Up to $15.00 per signature | per signatureGov. Code § 8211(a): $15 for each signature taken (acknowledgment or proof of deed/instrument, incl. seal and certificate). AB 1597 (approved 2026-06-30) amends this to $20 per signature; operative date not confirmed. |
| Jurat | Up to $15.00 per signer | per signerGov. Code § 8211(b): $15 for administering an oath or affirmation to one person and executing the jurat, incl. seal. AB 1597 amends to $20. |
| Oath / Affirmation | Up to $15.00 per signer | per signerOath/affirmation to one person with jurat: $15 (AB 1597: $20). |
| Other | See rule notes | custom ruleDeposition: $35 for all services in connection with taking a deposition, plus $7 for administering the oath to the witness and $7 for the certificate to the deposition (AB 1597 raises the $7 items to $12 each per search summary). |
| Copy Certification | See rule notes | custom ruleCopy certification of a power of attorney is fee-capped in § 8211; AB 1597 text sets it at $20. The pre-AB 1597 amount was not returned verbatim by official results, so no current number is recorded. |
How California counts notary fees
Counted per signature
Acknowledgment is capped for each signature notarized, not for each document or appointment. Two people signing the same document are two signatures.
- 1 signature: up to $15.00
- 2 signers on one document: up to $30.00
- 2 signers on each of 3 documents (6 signatures): up to $90.00
Counted per person
Jurat and oath / affirmation are capped per individual: the count is the number of people, not pages or signatures.
- 1 person: up to $15.00
- 3 people: up to $45.00
Rules recorded as text
For other listed services and copy certification, the verified record gives the rule as text rather than as a single per-unit maximum the calculator can check, so these are not evaluated automatically. The notes in the table above give the details from the source.
Price a California appointment
Notarial acts start at the verified California maximum and are checked against it. Travel and add-ons use example rates you can change.
California quote calculator
1Job
Act fees default to the verified maximum
2Notarial acts
$15.00Maximum per signature
Defaults to the verified California maximum. Count units follow the state rule (per act, signature or signer).
3Travel
$40.00Used for the vehicle-cost estimate
Flat $40.00 per appointment.
4Printing & add-ons
$0.005Time & costs
Round trip
Fuel, wear, insurance share
Courier, supplies
Uses the miles you drive and your print cost whether or not you bill for them. An operational estimate, not accounting profit.
Suggested total
$55
General Notary Work · California
- Notarial acts
- $15.00
- Travel & service fees
- $40.00
Job economics (estimate)
- Est. direct costs
- $0.00
- Est. net
- $55.00
- Effective rate
- $165.00/hr
20 min total time. Costs: mileage $0.00, printing $0.00, other $0.00. An operational estimate, not accounting profit; it leaves out taxes, insurance and overhead.
Breakdown
Notarial acts
1 × acknowledgment
$15.00
Travel
Flat
$40.00
Total
$55.00
Notarial acts vs. service fees
Within verified statutory fee limit
$15.00 verified maximum for your entries
- A notary public may decide to charge no fee or an amount that is less than the maximum amount prescribed by law.
Travel, printing and add-ons are not part of this check. Some states restrict these charges, and listing a fee separately does not by itself make it permitted.
Travel fees in California
No travel-fee text was captured from the California official source in this data version. That is not the same as saying travel fees are unrestricted in California; confirm with the commissioning authority, and agree the fee with the client before you drive.
Travel is a separate charge from the notarial act, so the maximums above do not cover it. Work out a travel charge with the notary travel fee calculator.
Fee notes from the California source
A notary public may decide to charge no fee or an amount that is less than the maximum amount prescribed by law.
Quoted from the official source
According to Section 8211 of the Government Code, the maximum fees charged by a notary public are: $15 for each signature taken for acknowledgments or proof of a deed or other instrument (including the seal and certificate writing), and $15 for administering an oath or affirmation to one person and executing a jurat (including the seal). AB-1597: For taking an acknowledgment or proof of a deed, or other instrument, to include the seal and the writing of the certificate, the sum of twenty dollars ($20) for each signature taken. Administering an oath or affirmation to one person and executing the jurat, including the seal, shall not exceed twenty dollars ($20). For all services rendered in connection with the taking of any deposition, the maximum fee is thirty-five dollars ($35), and in addition thereto, seven dollars ($7) for administering the oath to the witness and seven dollars ($7) for the certificate to the deposition. A notary public may decide to charge no fee or an amount that is less than the maximum amount prescribed by law. No fee may be charged to notarize signatures on vote by mail ballot identification envelopes or other voting materials. No fee may be charged to a United States military veteran for notarization of an application or a claim for a pension, allotment, allowance, compensation, insurance, or any other veteran's benefit.
Caveats and research notes
AB 1597 (2025-2026 session) 'Notary public: service fees' was approved by the Governor on June 30, 2026 and filed with the Secretary of State June 30, 2026 (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1597). Official search results did not state its operative date; the current code display still reports $15, so $15 is recorded as the in-force cap with $20 flagged as the enacted successor. No fee may be charged for vote-by-mail materials or to a U.S. military veteran for veteran's-benefit documents. 2026 Notary Public Handbook: https://notary.cdn.sos.ca.gov/forms/notary-handbook-current.pdf.