Montana Notary Fees
Acknowledgment: Up to $10.00 per act
Montana notaries may charge up to $10 for an acknowledgment, signature witnessing, verification on oath or affirmation, certified copy, certified transcript, or any other notarial act enumerated in MCA 1-5-603. Travel fees are allowed if explained and agreed in advance or if at or below the IRS mileage rate, and a reasonable, pre-agreed fee may be charged for remote/remote online notarization.
Source: Montana Secretary of State · Admin. R. Mont. 44.15.109; Mont. Code Ann. § 1-5-603
Maximum notary fees in Montana
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 $10.00 per act | per actUp to $10 per notarial act. |
| Signature Witnessing | Up to $10.00 per act | per actUp to $10 per notarial act. |
| Verification on Oath | Up to $10.00 per act | per actUp to $10 per notarial act (verifying on oath or affirmation / jurat). |
| Jurat | Up to $10.00 per act | per actHandbook: maximum fee for performing jurats is $10. |
| Copy Certification | Up to $10.00 per act | per actCertifying a copy of a document or certifying a transcript: $10 maximum. |
| Remote Online Notarization | See rule notes | custom ruleA 'reasonable' fee to cover the cost of performing a remote or remote online notarization may be charged if agreed to by the signer in advance; this is in addition to the $10 notarial-act cap. |
| Any Notarial Act | Up to $10.00 per act | per actCatch-all: the official source applies this maximum to any notarial act not listed separately. |
How Montana counts notary fees
Counted per notarial act
Acknowledgment, signature witnessing, verification on oath, jurat, copy certification and any other notarial act: each notarial act performed is capped at $10.00. The maximum for several acts is the number of acts times the per-act cap.
- 1 act: up to $10.00
- 4 acts: up to $40.00
Rules recorded as text
For remote online notarization, 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 Montana appointment
Notarial acts start at the verified Montana maximum and are checked against it. Travel and add-ons use example rates you can change.
Montana quote calculator
1Job
Act fees default to the verified maximum
2Notarial acts
$10.00Maximum per act
Defaults to the verified Montana 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
$50
General Notary Work · Montana
- Notarial acts
- $10.00
- Travel & service fees
- $40.00
Job economics (estimate)
- Est. direct costs
- $0.00
- Est. net
- $50.00
- Effective rate
- $150.00/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
$10.00
Travel
Flat
$40.00
Total
$50.00
Notarial acts vs. service fees
Within verified statutory fee limit
$10.00 verified maximum for your entries
- Notaries who charge must publish their fee schedules in English.
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.
Montana on travel feesNotaries may also charge a travel fee if (1) the notary explains to the person requesting the notarial act that the travel fee is in addition to the statutory maximum fee for the notarial act and is an amount not determined by law and the person requesting the notarial act agrees in advance to the amount of the travel fee; or (2) the fee charged is equal to or less than the standard mileage rate allowed by the Internal Revenue Service.
Travel fees in Montana
Notaries may also charge a travel fee if (1) the notary explains to the person requesting the notarial act that the travel fee is in addition to the statutory maximum fee for the notarial act and is an amount not determined by law and the person requesting the notarial act agrees in advance to the amount of the travel fee; or (2) the fee charged is equal to or less than the standard mileage rate allowed by the Internal Revenue Service.
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 Montana source
Notaries who charge must publish their fee schedules in English.
Electronic and remote notarization
you may charge a "reasonable" fee to cover the cost of performing a remote or remote online notarization, if the fee is agreed to by the signer in advance.
Quoted from the official source
Notaries may charge up to $10 for performing an acknowledgment, witnessing a signature, verifying on oath or affirmation, certifying a transcript, or certifying a copy or any of the other notarial acts enumerated in 1-5-603, MCA. ... You may also charge travel fees at the rate authorized by the IRS, and you may charge a "reasonable" fee to cover the cost of performing a remote or remote online notarization, if the fee is agreed to by the signer in advance. [Handbook:] The maximum fee allowed for taking acknowledgements, witnessing signatures, performing jurats, certifying copies of documents or certifying a transcript is $10.
Caveats and research notes
The $10 cap is stated on the SOS Help Center and in the Montana Notary Public Handbook (https://sosmt.gov/Portals/142/Notary/misc/Handbook.html); the search summary attributes it to ARM 44.15.109 'Fees for Notarial Acts'. MCA 1-5-624 addresses validity of notarial acts, not fees.