After a few years of learning about notary work and studying, I’d say I’ve gotten pretty good at spotting notaries who are breaking the law. I see fellow notaries in my area charging incredibly high fees and making up fees: waiting fees, after-hours fees, emergency fees, weekend fees, etc. I think it’s heartbreaking that they’re public servants and they somehow get away with scamming the public. These are usually the notaries who have very little training. I’d love to have a network of notaries in my area I can call on when I can’t take an assignment, but so far I haven’t found any I respect.
Does anyone else burn up when they read through a notary’s website that’s filled with false information and that has obviously been written by AI? I just found one such website today. The notary or signing service is in another state. The writing is so poor and the facts so distorted that I believe the owner must be in another country. Where is the oversight of these notaries and signing services and how do they continue to exist?
I have written letters to my state representatives and to the Secretary of State, but no one has responded. Now I’m considering putting together an article for the newspaper. What else can we do?
There are advertising requirements for notary services in several states including my state of Wisconsin. I know the requirements change but at one time we were required to place a statement on our advertising that we could not offer services which could be considered practice of law. They also stated that notary fees are limited to five dollars per notarial act and that service fees can be charged if related to notary expense such as mileage. You can not charge for extra time, or time of day or any of these miscellaneous fees which many notaries are charging for. The public should know how the state agencies limit fees so they are not taken advantage of by bad actors.
I don’t know what state of jnewberry is in. The typical state notary fees won’t usually prevent mobile notaries from charging what they think is appropriate, because they could just shift the difference between the regulated fees and what they think is fair into the travel fee.
For states that regulate the travel fee too, they could shift into printing fees, document dropoff fees, or fees for waiting while the signer reads unnotarized documents. Of course, it’s a different story if the signer has the docs, brings them to the notary, and ships them him/herself.
Why are they too complicated? In VA there is now a $10 maximum plus a reasonable travel fee allowed. But no one except for me seems to be complying with that. So they’re making a nice living and I, the one who abides by the law, is making next to nothing. I’m curious what notaries are charging in Vermont. I suppose there’s no difference if there is no oversight. Notaries will continue to do what they want until their state holds them accountable.
How do you suppose the public should learn about these laws, besides just posting them on your website? I know the public doesn’t think about these things because you may need a notary once or twice in your life. And I’m sure it wouldn’t even occur to most people that they might be getting scammed by a notary.
That’s true. I suppose there are always ways to overcharge if they want to.
I do everything by the book and try to be as reasonable as possible. I also don’t have much of a business mind, and if someone looks like they can’t afford my travel fee, I give them a big break. I’m definitely not a business-minded person.
Not sure about elsewhere, but in FL you are required to post your fees in a readily accessible place in your office so all can see.
For mobile services, that is easily addressed - I start my response for a request for notary service by asking how many notarizations are required and then itemizing my fees - $10 per notarization plus a travel fee. After knowing the distance and time involved I quoted a fee for the total services - if they agreed, we’re good to go. If they disagree, they’re free to shop around…or go out and give up the convenience of someone going to them.
A good start to meeting notaries who might be in your area is to log on to a weekly Zoom called Tuesday Notary Titans. It’s on every Tuesday at 12:15 pm PDT. I’ve learned a lot and met some really nice fellow notaries both running the zoom and in the chat. If you give it a try, I hope you have as positive an experience as I.
I do the same thing. The problem is that the public really doesn’t know there are laws we have to adhere to, and they get suckered into paying things like waiting fees – $1 a minute! I see it all the time and customers tell me these stories constantly. I recently went to a trust signing where I charged $80. They told me that the previous notary quoted them a fee of $300. Many people don’t know any better and will pay the asking fee. That’s why I’m asking how you can teach the public, aside from posting it on your website.
I used to do trust signings for a company out of GA - the rep would come here and I sat at the table while he reviewed everything. I charged my $10 per but also charged mileage and an additional fee for time; I finally told him "you should go over these with them first and tell me what time to show up to notarize - will be cheaper.
That was a nice gig; kind of ended when I had my car accident.
That does sound good. I don’t charge for my time in addition to the travel and notary fees. I even proofread the documents beforehand because the lawyer likes me to see the notary blocks and fill out my journal at home. I even look at the formatting and check for pages that are cut off at the wrong spot and don’t charge for that. That proves I have no business sense at all. It’s a young lawyer so I try to help him out.
For normal GNW I don’t - for trust signings, sitting there for 2-3 hours while the people reviewed their docs with the rep…while I twiddled my thumbs … yeah, I charged for time - not a lot but, if you think about it, while I sit there I can’t take any other work. These estate plans and trusts were extensive.
I don’t charge for notarizations anymore. But if I were to start up again, I would figure that if I decided to charge per notarization, say $15 per signature, I would have a time commitment that goes with that. Maybe 15 minutes to glance at the document, decipher the notarial certificate, fill out the certificate, and then the journal. Later there would be maybe 5 minutes to record it in my bookkeeping system.
If there is extra time beyond that, such as waiting for the signer to finish up a meeting with somebody else, or read a document while I’m waiting, I think an extra charge is fair.
When charging a travel fee, one should not think like an employee who’s getting reimbursement at the IRS rate of $0.67 / mile. Rather, think like a taxi driver or uber driver, who’s getting paid not just to reimburse the expense of owning and operating a vehicle, but getting paid for their time as a professional driver. If someone lives in a state that only allows the IRS rate, maybe being a mobile notary is not a good thing to do in that state.
Ohio:
Our law is purposely vague. $5 per in-person notarization plus an “agreed-upon” travel fee in advance. They tell me where they want me to meet them and I give them a rate. They can decide whether they want to take it or move onto another notary. The travel fee is meant to cover time, mileage, my convenience, etc., etc.
If they tell me their location is further away from my standard travel fee, I let them know that in advance. If I’m traveling an hour away, trust me, I will charge for that. I have a different tier of rates for hospitals and nursing homes simply because they take longer and at times, I need to wait on a medical professional to leave the room.
If I’m meeting someone in a public location, I let them know I will wait 15 minutes maximum. Since I don’t work after hours or on weekends, there is no premium needed for that.
I could make a fortune doing GNW at prisons since there are 2 state prisons less than 15 minutes away. But, if there are lock-downs, I’m stuck. Plus, the whole security process is a pain, particularly since I have so much titanium in my body. I did a notarization for a paralegal who told me her the rate her boss charges to see a client at one of the prisons and if I charged half of his base fee (not plus billing rate), it would be a great assignment.
In Ohio, a notarization is required to transfer a vehicle title and I rarely do those any more; too many sellers and buyers want us to do things that are illegal and I can do without that. It’s not worth it for me to lose my commission over someone trying to get around the law.
I was just hired by the public defender to obtain initials and a signature on a POA. My fee had to be approved by the county before I could meet with the inmate. After receiving the papers, I did a “who’s in jail” check on the signer, and he’s being held on a 3 million dollar bail for 1st degree murder. I’m hoping he’s not a reader because there’s no place to sit in the Sally Port.
Our 2 prisons and mainly minimum and medium security; death row is at another facility and most of the max security have been sent away from here.
But, it’s still not worth my time. Maybe if I was younger and still had a lot of bills to pay but I’m at a different stage in my life.
This may seem wrong charging the additional fees for the services you mention. Why should I allow someone to waste my valuable time waiting for them because the other person did not arrive on time and I have another job to go to and I may lose that job because I’m late or get a bad review for punctuality. Or have someone come to my home at 9 pm for a $2 notary or wake me up at 2 AM because they need a notary for their exam in the morning and they wanted to make sure they have it. There is nothing illegal about charging more for those services. As far as In my state, the Secretary of State sets notary fee, not any of the other fees. In some cases I don’t charge a notary fee, just the cost for travel.
Following up on my jail assignment, yes, he was a reader. Many years ago, I got a seller signing in county jail. The inmate was in for drug possession, sales, and was arrested with dozens of weapons. His lawyer had located a highly motivated cash buyer for his property. While the buyers waited, I was escorted deep inside the jail to a large room surrounded by cells and about half a dozen stainless steel picnic tables in the center. The signer was flanked on each side by guards, and three groups of inmates gathered around the table. White & asian, black, and brown. I questioned one of the guards about that, and he said they all self-segregate when they arrive. There wasn’t a lot of paperwork, but the signer said out loud that he wanted to read everything before he signed it. One of the guards looked him straight in the eye and yelled, “Shut up and sign those #%#%# papers. We don’t have all day.” I was kind of happy he did because it was 40 against one if that meeting went south. All in a day’s work though, and that seller signing paid real well.
