Signatures only

What do we charge for 4 signatures only?

Not enough info provided to give meaningful answer.
Just getting signatures/no notarization? Travel involved? GNW or ???

GNW. Just getting four signatures from one person

It appears that @gatorgreg81 is in North Carolina. I notice there is a January 2023 newsletter from the Secretary of State describing new notarial fees. The North Carolina Notary Public Act does not seem to authorize witnessing a signature as a notarial act.

So the first thing you have to figure out is whether you will be performing any notarial act(s), and if so, which ones. Then use § 10B-31 to figure out what you can charge. This rule shows the stupidity of the North Carolina legislature:

(5) For any notarial act under this Chapter, actual mileage at the federal mileage rate if the travel reimbursement is agreed to by the principal in writing prior to the travel.

If all you are doing is notarizations, that would apply, meaning you are spending time driving around without any compensation for the time you spend driving. You are only being compensated for the expenses associated with owning and driving a car. In addition, you would have to agree on the fee in writing in advance, which could be email or texting.

(I deleted a paragraph that no longer applied after gatorgreg81 clarified the question.)

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Arkansas had that same stupid law (IRS mileage only) for a couple of years. I yowled via e-mail to every legislator I could find. Law got changed again to “whatever notary wants provided a quote is given & accepted prior to mobile service”. Not perfect, but better than the alternative of IRS mileage rate only. You do have to explain this to them using small words and big examples.

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Am I reading it right? No charge for the notary act but for travel?

Before gatorgreg81’s clarification I had in mind an invoice like this, if the signer was 20 miles from the signer

  • 4 acknowledgements @ $10 = $40
  • Printing and delivery of document = $45
  • Total = $85

But gatorgreg81 clarified this is general notary work. For general notary work, the signer normally has the document before calling the notary, so there is no justification for charging a printing or delivery fee. So the travel fee would only be 40 miles @ 65.5 ¢ per mile = $26.20 for a total charge of $66.20. It would seem to me to be illegal for a NC notary to charge more than 65.5 ¢ per mile as a travel fee if the only reason for the travel was to do a notarization.

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That’s a pretty random question for a commissioned notary. So, in my state, for example, one should refer to the Government code 8211 (Fees). Since you didn’t specify, then your fees should not exceed those prescribed by your secretary of state.