Yes there is. Milesge only discussed first. In Washington.
A Guide to Notary travel fees across the United States | NNA (look up the travel fee rules for the state you reside)
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Depends on your needs. I’m semi-retired (not yet 65) with no debt, so yes, I can support myself on my earnings; but I’m also very busy with work. Many have second incomes in their homes, have other income streams or are retired.
If you believed the 6-figure income sales pitches, you got scammed.
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I really do hate to see young people getting sucked into this for many reasons:
You’re on your own…no sick days, vacation pay, matching contributions to a 401K for retirement years. Not much work available No work = no check (2 weeks later if lucky or 1, 2, 3 months to never if you haven’t done your vetting.)
It won’t be a great prior job on a resume. (They’ll probably be ROFLOL)
It isn’t a full time job–never was-- even in the boom days, you couldn’t make that kind of $ working a 40 hr. week–early AM, late PM, weekends…lots of hours doing/making ZERO while tethered to your phone hoping to get a job when it dings in. And, when RON gets rolling…you most likely won’t be part of it…it’ll be done in-house or outsourced for chump change.
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Arichter always enjoy your comments. Yesterday was Mother’s Day and chatting with my son about a ridiculous good paying job at Amazon working in Security Person just needs keyboard experience to key in data regarding person and take photo to place on security badge. Pay is over $70K/year. Might have to pass background check, etc. but this job also provides Amazon stock, 401K, other retirement plans, medical/dental coverage. Never heard of such a position. Young people might want to check out these type of security jobs ~ craziness !!
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I hid my NSA activities under a business name, Riverpointe Tax with an impressive title. Some of our colleagues have labelled their business as providing legal support services to lenders and title companies. If pressed for details the response is ‘those details fall under privileged work product’.
I’ve had the same experience with many clients. In PA our max per stamp, single signer, is $5.00. I dont do much travel notary work, other than my loan signings. Most of my customers drive to my home. Its a rural, not so high income area. I seriously thinking that with the new year i will add a $5 clerical fee to each visit just because most people cant believe that $5 is all i can get. PA has not changed their notary fees since the 90’s. Now all that said, no, I dont need to worry about if i make money today or not. I became a notary at a past part time job that unfortunately the employer had to close shop. I didnt know what to do with my time, when Im not watching grandbabies, so I started doing loan signings since I can pick and choose my assignments for when Im available. Google listings are free, so I figured Id offer services to my small community also. But yes, back to your point, I realized I was short changing myself by not adding anything extra, thinking I was keeping my service affordable for my community.
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“** Notaries public may charge a clerical or administrative fee for services they have provided related to the notarial act, such as copying documents, postage, travel and telephone calls. These clerical or administrative fees are not set by the Department. Such clerical or administrative fees must be customary and reasonable for the geographic area and for the service rendered. Customers should be informed prior to the notarization of a document if a clerical fee is being charged in addition to the notary public fees. The customer’s receipt should itemize these fees. Clerical and administrative fees, if charged, must be separately itemized in the notary journal.”
Notary Public Fees | Department of State | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Jennifer, definitely. Since your state allows it, I definitely urge you to charge a minimum TRAVEL FEE plus $X per mile in addition to an ADMIN/CLERICAL FEE.
Super nice of you to want to keep services affordable for your community, but your time is also valuable and you are worthy of being paid so that you may pay bills, earn a fair profit, and remain in business. 
Fact of life. These days signing agent loan work is extremely slow.
If you think you can pay your bills and raise a family making $75k at this …forget it…
Sorry to be blunt…but im sad for of people who are trying to make a living and raise a family.
Its a supplement at best …
You need to make $50.per hour to make a profit.
Minimum
Including …print and supplies. Paper …toner and a printer 2 draw laser
Prep and supplies. Sign here stickers reusable
Travel time. Each way
Signing time extra pens blue and black…then review after the signing to be sure there are no errors
Scan back time drive out to drop docs and home
Figure gas and car wear and tear and insurance
Figure your notary commission fees and e& o insurance
Figure certification and background checks
A $50 heloc aint enough…is it?
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There was a new Notary in my area who was taking cheap signings. They lasted about two weeks and then disappeared. Lucky for me, I am retired so it only supplements my Social Security. I’m also in a very rural area so there aren’t very many notaries here. I do not take cheap signings. Fortunately, I can afford not to do that. I have been doing this for four years and have over 350 signings, So several companies contact me directly without posting, knowing they will get a good job. This is definitely not the same income producing job as it was in 2020 and 2021. I would not recommend it to people as a way to support themselves. It’s a lot of work for not a lot of money. And the start up costs of printers, scanners, etc. are no longer covered by the volume of work, as they were when I first started.
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