California Notary Fee Calculator (2026)

A California notary public may charge no more than $15 for an acknowledgment, a jurat or an oath, with the maximums fixed by the Legislature in Cal. Gov't Code § 8211. The calculator above returns the statutory ceiling for the act and count you choose. California prices an acknowledgment per signature, so a document signed by two people caps at two times $15. These are ceilings, so a California notary may always charge less or waive the fee.

What are the maximum notary fees in California?

Under Cal. Gov't Code § 8211 a California notary may charge up to $15 for taking an acknowledgment or proof of a deed or other instrument, for each signature taken; up to $15 for administering an oath or affirmation to one person and executing the jurat; and up to $15 for certifying a copy of a power of attorney under Probate Code § 4307. Depositions are priced separately, at $30 for all services rendered in connection with the deposition, plus $7 for administering the oath to the witness and $7 for the certificate to the deposition. California raised the acknowledgment, jurat and oath figures to $15 in 2017.

Are these fixed prices or ceilings?

They are ceilings, not fixed prices. A California notary may charge less than $15, charge nothing, or waive the fee entirely. The figures are the most a notary may lawfully bill for the act. The acknowledgment fee is charged per signature, so the total scales with the number of signatures acknowledged, while the oath and jurat fee is charged per person sworn.

Does California allow online or remote notarization, and is there a fee?

California does not currently authorise its own notaries to perform remote online notarization for the general public, so there is no California RON fee to quote. Senate Bill 696 created an Online Notarization Act, signed in 2023, but it becomes operative only once the Secretary of State completes the required technology platform, or by January 1, 2030, whichever comes first. Until that happens, California notaries perform acknowledgments and jurats in person under the $15 caps above. California does recognise notarizations performed remotely by notaries commissioned in other states, but a California notary cannot perform a remote online notarization yet, so this calculator shows no California online figure.

When can a California notary not charge a fee, and can a notary charge for travel?

California bars a fee in two situations. A notary may not charge for notarizing a vote-by-mail or other voting material, and may not charge a fee to a United States military veteran for notarizing an application or claim for a veteran's benefit. Travel is separate from the notarial fee: § 8211 caps only the notarial act, so a mobile or traveling California notary may charge a reasonable travel fee as a non-notarial service, agreed with the customer in advance and kept separate from the capped fee. Charging more than the statutory maximum for the act itself is a misdemeanor and is grounds for action against the commission by the Secretary of State, so when in doubt, charge at or below the cap and give a receipt.

• The $15 acknowledgment cap under § 8211(a) is per signature taken.
• The $15 oath and jurat cap under § 8211(b) is per person sworn.
• California notaries have no general certified-copy authority, only a power-of-attorney copy at $15.
• California notaries cannot yet perform remote online notarization, so there is no California RON fee.