Where I live in Yuma Arizona most of my signings have been within a 35 to 40-mile travel area which is okay. I am thinking about expanding outside of the area to include La Paz County which is on average 108 miles away. I took a singing the other day for $175 to travel 74 miles for a 15-page document which by the way was my only signing notification for the day. It was all highway driving which was not bad so I am thinking that this may open up for higher fees and more signing. What are your thoughts and experience on this? How far are most notaries traveling for business, and how much would you charge to go 100 miles?
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I try to keep the bulk of my signings within a 25 mile radius of my home. I would say that about 90% of my signings are within those parameters. The farthest I’ve traveled (one-way) is just under 70 miles; $300. But, I’m a retiree and this is not my livelihood. So, I can be discriminating.
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I won’t travel more then 5 miles, I think that’s fair.
You must live in a busy city
I would say go as far as you comfortable with and make sure your pay compensates the time and mileage. I’m a part timer so I will only go 40/50 miles max. Anything more than that would take all day 4hrs or so. If I was to take a signing that was 100 miles out , I personally would charge $300 to 400 and that also depends on the type of signing it’s. Wishing you the best!
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I live in Los Angeles….
Oh okay, that makes a difference… does that keep you busy?
It’s up to your comfort level.
But personally I would never go more than 50 miles. I gave back a $400 hybrid this morning due to personal/family situation. Bummer! No problem, I have plenty of signings to do this month.
I gave back this one that was scheduled for closing today:(
I hope whoever got a call to take over this order asked for a good fee because it was approved for $400 for me.
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Just an additional item to consider when you’re calculating your average costs incurred while creating your established fee structure . . .
=> Remember to consider that if there are any oversights/mistakes/errors inadvertently occurring during a signing appointment with an extended amount of travel required, the return trip costs are going to be directly out of your budget to correct those oversights/mistakes/errors inadvertently made. 
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Thank You for your insight! Can you explain what hybrid means? It that just a term for a specific SS or title company? Thank You!
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Hybrid closing is designed to save time and paper. The clients can review and pre-sign their docs on their electronic device before the notary arrive.
The notary will print approximately about 30 pages and go get about 3-5 more signatures and notarize a couple docs, basically the deed and signature name/affidavit. Takes about 7-15 mins to complete if the clients have already completed their online side.
If the clients haven’t done their portion, the notary can have the clients sign on their electronic device like iPad or wait until they are done signing on their own device. That takes about 30 min max. Then you’re out the door.
Average 30 pages to print 1 set only, if more than 50 pages can get additional print fee but I haven’t seen the print portion more than 67 pages. Hybrid closing is the most profitable in my opinion.
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Awesome thank you! Hopefully I can get one of those soon! Not just for the great pay but also to learn something new! Thanks!
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Where are you located that you could get such high fees?
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VIP Notary:) Wink wink:) read my handle again:)
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Longest distance for me was 90 miles, 180 miles round trip. I’ve decided I can take longer distance signings but only at premium due to the higher cost if an error occurs. By region covering 3 counties is about 2000 square miles. This means 100 mile round trips would still be in my territory.
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Every time I’m told it is a hybrid with a low fee for a quick signing, the package comes in with instructions to sign a complete package. NOT a hybrid.
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That is not uncommon. When that happens you need to draw their attention to the change in status of the signing and ask for the fee to be adjusted to reflect the type of signing. I have never been in a situation where they have not made the change. If they are unwilling to accommodate then ask for the signing to be reassigned.
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I think I made the wrong choice to give back 3 more signings due to weather forecast for tomorrow and Friday. Plus one is almost 1 hr one way anyway into the mountains. Lost a bunch of money but I feel good about it and hope it’s a good gain for another notary/notaries.
OK, I’m mad at myself right now . I was so terrified of the bad weather conditions and gave away three good orders:) 
The weather is actually nothing to worry about for the rest of the week. Ugh
I’ve traveled that far dozens and dozens of times. What alot of people don’t realize is that for us who live in rural, mountainous or agricultural areas, not everyone lives within 5-10-20 miles away. I drove 33K miles last yr. I averaged 40-50 closings a month. Slowed down some in Dec. but I also took a week off due to the holiday and my son coming in.
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