Under the base fee in section 456-9, what does the attorney general charge for issuing the original notary commission?
Based on: HRS 456-9 (Fees and administrative fines)
Hawaii Notary Public Exam · Fees
Hawaii Notary Exam Practice Questions: Fees (2026)
Hawaii fixes specific per-act notary fees in HRS 456-17 rather than a single flat cap. Taking any acknowledgment is $5 for each party signing, administering an oath including the certificate is $5, and noting a protest of mercantile paper is $5; affixing the certificate to a duplicate original beyond the first is $2.50 per person. An act for a remotely located individual is a flat $25. Separately, HAR 5-11-46 sets the $20 application fee, the $100 commission issuance fee and the $10 examination fee.
Practice
Free practice questions
Under the base fee in section 456-9, what does the attorney general charge for renewing a commission?
Based on: HRS 456-9 (Fees and administrative fines)
Under section 456-9, how may the attorney general adjust the commission fees or establish other fees?
Based on: HRS 456-9 (Fees and administrative fines)
Under section 456-9, who specifies the court fees for filing a copy of a commission and for each certificate of authentication?
Based on: HRS 456-9 (Fees and administrative fines)
Under section 456-9, what is the administrative fine for failing to maintain a single official seal of one type with the correct inscription?
Based on: HRS 456-9 (Fees and administrative fines)
Under section 456-9, what is the administrative fine for failing to authenticate every acknowledgment or jurat with a complete certificate?
Based on: HRS 456-9 (Fees and administrative fines)
Under section 456-9, what is the administrative fine for failing to record all transactions as prescribed by section 456-15?
Based on: HRS 456-9 (Fees and administrative fines)
Under section 456-9, what is the administrative fine for failing to surrender the notary's record books within ninety days of the end of a commission?
Based on: HRS 456-9 (Fees and administrative fines)
Under section 456-9, what is the administrative fine for failing to notify the attorney general within ten days of the loss, misplacement, or theft of the seal, stamp, or a record book?
Based on: HRS 456-9 (Fees and administrative fines)
Under section 456-9, the administrative fine for failing to surrender the seal and certificate within ninety days is what?
Based on: HRS 456-9 (Fees and administrative fines)
The per-act fees you may charge
Hawaii does not leave notary fees to the market: HRS 456-17 sets a maximum for each act, and a notary may charge less but never more. For taking any acknowledgment, including the original plus one duplicate original, the fee is $5 for each party signing. For affixing the certificate of acknowledgment to every duplicate original beyond the first, the fee is $2.50 for each person making the acknowledgment. Administering an oath or affirmation, including the certificate of the oath, is $5, which is the line a jurat is priced under; affixing the certificate of an oath to every duplicate original instrument beyond four is $2.50. Every deposition, or official certificate or copy thereof, is $5. Noting the protest of mercantile paper is $5, noting any other protest is $5, and each notice and certified copy of protest is $5. An oath of loyalty carries no charge. A separate, higher line covers technology: performing any of these acts for a remotely located individual, the remote online notarisation, is a flat $25 under HRS 456-17 read with HRS 456-23. An overcharge is a violation of law, the notary must record the fee charged in the record book, and a notary who charges fees must hold a State general excise tax licence because the fees are subject to general excise tax. These per-act figures are exactly the kind of detail the exam asks about, so the $5 acknowledgment per party and the $25 remote flat fee are worth memorising.
- Acknowledgment: $5 for each party signing (HRS 456-17).
- Oath or affirmation, including the certificate: $5 (HRS 456-17).
- Remote online notarisation for a remotely located individual: $25 flat (HRS 456-17 with 456-23).
Application, commission and administrative fees
Becoming and staying a notary carries its own set of fees, and these come from the administrative rules rather than the per-act statute. Under HAR 5-11-46 the fee for an application for a notary public commission is $20, each examination is $10, and issuance of the commission is $100; renewal of the commission is also $100, and the application for renewal is $20. The rule fills in many smaller charges the exam can ask about: the administrative fee to process and catalogue notary journals is $10, certification of each transaction from a notary's journal is $5 per notarial transaction, a replacement commission certificate is $10, a change of name, employer, address, telephone number or judicial circuit is $10, copying is twenty-five cents per printed page, and the notary public manual is $3 if picked up or $5 if mailed. All fees collected by the attorney general under HAR 5-11-46 are nonrefundable. Two background statutes round out the picture: HRS 456-9 sets the base commission and renewal fee at $40 subject to adjustment by rule, which is why the administrative rule's $100 figure controls in practice, and HRS 456-9.5 directs all of these fees, administrative fines and charges into the notaries public revolving fund administered by the department of the attorney general, which pays for personnel, equipment, training and other notary-related costs. The exam separates these two fee families cleanly: the per-act fees in HRS 456-17 are what a notary charges the public, while the application and commission fees in HAR 5-11-46 are what the notary pays the State.
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Taking an acknowledgment | $5 for each party signing |
| Certificate on a duplicate original beyond the first | $2.50 per person |
| Administering an oath, including the certificate | $5 |
| Noting a protest, or each notice and certified copy | $5 |
| Act for a remotely located individual (RON) | $25 flat |
| Oath of loyalty | No charge |
| Application / examination / commission issuance | $20 / $10 / $100 (HAR 5-11-46) |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How much can a Hawaii notary charge for an acknowledgment?
Under HRS 456-17, a Hawaii notary may charge $5 for each party signing when taking an acknowledgment. Affixing the certificate of acknowledgment to every duplicate original beyond the first is $2.50 for each person making the acknowledgment. A notary may charge less, but an overcharge is a violation of law.
What does a Hawaii notary charge for an oath or a protest?
Under HRS 456-17, administering an oath or affirmation, including the certificate of the oath, is $5, and that is the line a jurat is priced under. Noting the protest of mercantile paper is $5, noting any other protest is $5, and each notice and certified copy of protest is $5. An oath of loyalty carries no charge.
What is the fee for a remote online notarisation in Hawaii?
Under HRS 456-17, read with HRS 456-23, performing any notarial act for a remotely located individual is a flat $25. This is higher than the standard per-act fees and is the fee a Hawaii notary charges for a remote online notarisation.
What does it cost to apply for and receive a Hawaii notary commission?
Under HAR 5-11-46, the application fee is $20, each examination is $10, and issuance of the commission is $100; renewal of the commission is $100 and the renewal application is $20. All of these fees collected by the attorney general are nonrefundable.