The other day I did a buyer loan closing, and I noticed on the settlement statement that it said, “Mobile Notary fee $250.00.” I hadn’t planned on that, and the signing service had offered to pay me just $85, but I got them to up it to $100.
I think we need to take control of our own income, and we can’t do that by constantly complaining about “low fees.” That’s not how business works. We need to start to charge more for our services, or the value we provide will never be recognized.
What we have to do is put into practice certain actions that will increase our fees. It’s a type of mindset that helped me increase my average fee to $170 per signing so far in 2025. I just wanted to speak to the other side of the “coin”, for every story has two sides.
It’s unfortunate notaries do not push for more. It’s become so competitive, people are doing orders for $40, $50 or $60. That’s a complete waste of my time. I just will not accept those orders. Printing alone can be a $15 and that’s finding the paper on discount etc. So I find that holding my line on fees is better than freaking out over the competition doing orders for peanuts. It’s the biggest challenge, having the patience to not drop your drawers on fees.
I always negotiate have for years.
Especially with larger packages ..as you see the $ fees are there for us
I also want payment fast no 30.45 days
Transactions fund in 3 days no need to wait 30 plus to get paid ..
I report signing companies who are unscrupulous .
The info is on the closing doxs ..escrow officer title officer etc.
U might wind up with direct business…better then 30 fees and they get 00s$
I absolutely did. and prior to advising her of what had happened. I reminded her that she has never experienced any issues with my conduct or operations in previous appointments. As I proceeded to advise her of the issues, she quickly cut me off and stated " it’s fine ill find another notary" i was dumbfounded. I replied and said wait “i’m confused here. You understand he’s attempting to identify himself with a digital photo id” she preceded to advise me tht i’m not in the wrong but that she would continue to find another notary. To top it off she called me with this last min appointment within a few hours of signing time (I had 3 other appointments that day). property was an hour from me in Bay area traffic. to add insult to injury when i get to the property the client doesn’t answer door for 15 mins , and then proceeds to request a change of location venue. I agreed. by the time we sat at new location im 40 mins into my appointment hour. DID NOT GET PAID FOR TRAVEL , PRINT, NOTHING. and since then i’ve never received work from that office again.
I still consider myself a newbie, being in it for 8 months, and while I want a lot more experience, I refuse low ball offers. Recently I had a signing, it was a very small package with a private lender for a small multifamily built. The signer was super mad about having to sign the way they’ve printed, his name was quite complicated, and the print on the docs did not even match his ID. Long story short, we solved this with a name affidavit, but while waited for the paperwork to come through (at signer’s home), he told me that he is paying $300.00 to the title co. My fee was $100.00. Not too bad, considering a very close location to me, but what could have been done in 20 minutes, actually took over an hour. My point being, title companies are still charging a lot, but a lot of them are cutting our fees. Completely unfair.
Thankfully, I have another business to support myself, so I’m not desperate, but do want to grow into loan signing full time, which might going to take a very long time.
Yes we do need to force their hands to pay us more.
Now that the Top Tier Title/Escrow Companies [T/ECs] have developed their own “Signing Agency” platforms, they’re engaging in the Low-Ball Fee gambit as well.
The costs to provide our professional services continue to increase.
The performance demands continue to increase.
The cost for certifications, licensing, gasoline, vehicle maintenance, insurance, supplies, etc. all continue to increase.
Those who are accepting the Signing Orders for nominal fees that only cover the cost of gasoline ($40, $50, $60) will rapidly discover they’re losing money shown on their Profit & Loss [P&L] sheet. This will be reflected as a LOSS when preparing their documentation for tax preparation.
Yes, it is. Do these notary content creators also own Signing services? That’s where most of this misinformation comes from and they’ll keep doing it because every newb who believes will be just another one to put $$$ in creators pocket. Been going on for about 2 years now, but there’s always another in line!
If a notary wants to accept an offer below what it costs to deliver the service, he/she is better off staying home and mailing $10 to the scheduling company just to stay on the list. The wear and tear on our bodies, printers, cars and bank accounts means a low-ball offer is a hard NO. I have accepted offers without the full details only to find out the location is very far, the printing is ALL LEGAL, or there are more signers, POA, or any other exotica. Sometimes the documents are late and you don’t know that with a scan you will most definitely lose money. In such instances I still ask for an increase. Some companies ignore this completely trusting you will carry out the signing regardless, others will remove you from the signing and go with a cheaper vendor, and others will respect your request and increase the fee.
I totall agree that they are low balling, as a matter of fact i was doing an assignment and they had the Notary Fee 350.00,of course I didn’t get nearly that much but i see on a lot of the statements that they quote their fees very hiigh but aren’t paying that, now if they are super desparate you could possibly get what you are asking
NOTE:
If you haven’t yet created your own personalized Schedule of Fees, here is a thread I’ve created that contains the Guidelines to support you in creating one tailored to your professional services:
Yes exactly! When we do the math we’re actually losing $10-$20 with these low fees. I don’t know what these signing companies are thinking but it’s better if we don’t accept these offers. Let’s let them see the impact of paying too little. At these prices we as signing agents are helping keep the business going without getting paid enough for our hard work
Wow the responses here are overwhelming and I can relate to all of them. I didn’t expect so many replies but I definitely appreciate and have read every one. Thank you!
As professionals we have the power to set the right standards. By standing up for fair fees and working together we can make things better for all of us. It’s not about stopping work it’s about making sure we get paid what we’re worth. We can always grow and succeed if we work smart.
Whether you’re a seasoned signing agent or just starting out take pride in what we do. Always stay professional and do your best work no matter the fee. Our professionalism is what sets us apart and it’s what will keep this business strong
I’m starting a new route with this low ball fees issue. And that is to educate the agencies that it is common knowledge that any notary accepting low fees, like they have just offered, are notaries that are new and still training/in learning mode. They are not making any profit at these low rates. They are paying the hiring agency for their education. If that is the level of experience their clients want, then by all means go with that Notary. However, if their assignment needs to be handled with care and experience, they should accept my negotiated offer. I even write this comment in the “message” section on the notary platform.
I don’t believe this approach will hurt new notaries either because they will simply be paid more (eventually when this approach starts working industry wide) for learning on the job.
Comments/suggestions welcome. Sharon
Percent Accurate!