I usually explain the ‘notary fee’ isn’t the fee for notarization, it also covers my expenses to print, travel, and witness the signers affixing their signatures on every document. I add in that part of my fees are paid to a dispatching service, i.e. the Signing Service, to handle my invoicing and scheduling, so I can focus on the closing.
Taking this approach, I leave the signers with the warm tingles. I’ve gotten repeat notarial work from them and some are now my Tax Preparation clients.
9 out of 10 times I just smile and say nothing…while inside I’m cringing…lol
I always specify that it’s $15 PER NOTARIZED SIGNATURE. Signers sometimes get confused if my fee is determined by the number of documents or number of signatures that do and DON’T need notarization, etc., so I always phrase it exactly as that. (I’m in CA, also, where $15./signature is the max). This is on top of my travel fee, btw.
All I can say is that you CA notaries are pretty lucky to charge $15 a notarization. In VA the max is $5.
Notary fees on CD’s don’t mean YOUR notary fees. That fee has to cover re-draws if necessary and possibly other notaries.
The max in WA is $10. So when I am contacted to go notarize something for someone it’s the travel I am charging for.
We’re also number one in homelessness….
Love the term “weasle move”. Might have to use this in the future 
I’ve been notarizing docs for over 40 years! I had an attorney send me documents and a letter demanding I pay his clients $10,000.00. I had notarized documents regarding a purchase that were prepared by a very legitimate escrow company! Apparently the documents were the WRONG parcel of land! He wanted me to pay for the error!! I then had to explain to him to contact the title company! That’s is why his clients had paid escrow and title fees! Apparently this so called attorney didn’t have enough knowledge regarding the insurance of title fees! It was also a surprise to him that I worked in escrow for 25 years! No more attorney notarizing for me!
The fees offered by signing services have no relation to the number of notarizations required or the maximum rate per notarization for your state. They usually have a “one size fits all” offer fee, depending on the type of job (refinance, seller, buyer, heloc, reverse, etc). They don’t care if it’s one signer or four signers. They don’t care if it’s next door to you or 50 miles away. They don’t care if it requires scanbacks or not. They don’t care if it’s 50 pages or 200 pages. It’s up to the individual signing agent to determine whether a job is a good fit for them and at what price they’re willing (if at all) to do it. Not just that, but you have to decide instantly. Now, with volume down significantly because of high interest rates, there is no time for the “do I want this job or not?” thought process before responding. Hesitate, even for a few seconds and you lose.
