Fazlur Rahman
Notary public cost depends on where you go and what you need signed. A simple signature at a UPS store runs about fifteen dollars. A mobile notary driving to your home is fifty to one hundred fifty dollars. A remote online notarization on a video call is around twenty-five dollars per signature. The price has stayed mostly flat over the last three years, with a small uptick in remote online notarization as more states authorize the service.
What a notary actually does
A notary public is a state-commissioned witness who verifies your identity and confirms that you are signing a document willingly. The fee pays for the commission, the notary seal, the journal entry, and the time. Notaries do not give legal advice or verify the contents of the document, only the act of signing.
The service exists to deter fraud. A notarized signature is harder to forge because the notary keeps a journal entry with the signer identity, the document type, and the date. Most documents that need notarization are financial or legal, where the cost of a fraudulent signature would be high.
Price by location in 2026
| Location | Typical cost per signature | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| UPS Store | $15 | Standard notarization, one signer per visit |
| FedEx Office | $15 | Same flat rate as UPS in most stores |
| Bank branch (account holder) | $0 | Call ahead, not every branch has a notary on duty |
| Bank branch (non-account holder) | $5 to $10 | Some banks refuse non-customers |
| AAA office (member) | $0 | Free with most membership tiers, some offices have a small fee for non-members |
| AAA office (non-member) | $10 to $20 | Varies by region |
| Mobile notary (in person) | $50 to $150 | Per visit, includes travel, extra for after-hours |
| Remote online notarization | $25 | Video call, authorized in 40+ states |
The table covers the most common cases. Some specialty documents, like apostilles or real estate closings, run higher because the work is more involved.
When you need a notary
The most common cases are a sworn affidavit, a power of attorney, a real estate deed, a loan or mortgage document, a school form that requires a notarized signature, and a sworn statement for court. Some employers also require notarized documents for I-9 verification or background checks.
The right path depends on the document. A simple affidavit can be done at a bank or UPS store. A real estate closing usually requires a mobile notary or a signing service, because the document set is large and the closing has a fixed time and place.
Mobile notary and after-hours service
A mobile notary drives to your home, office, or a public location, and charges for the visit plus per-signature fees. Base rate is fifty dollars for the first signature in a daytime visit, and a hundred dollars or more for evening, weekend, or holiday visits. The fee covers travel time and the cost of bringing the journal, seal, and identity verification equipment to the signer.
Mobile notaries are the right call when the signer cannot travel, the document set is too large to sign in a store, or the closing has a fixed time and place. Real estate signings, hospital document signings, and prison signings are the most common use cases.
Remote online notarization
Remote online notarization, or RON, lets you sign on a video call with a commissioned notary in another state. The session is recorded, the identity check is more thorough than in person, and the cost is around twenty-five dollars per signature. As of 2026, more than forty states authorize RON, and the federal government accepts RON signings for most documents that do not require a physical witness.
RON is the right pick for documents that do not require a physical seal in a particular state, when the signer is in a different state from the notary, or when speed matters more than the cost savings of a free bank visit. The main trade-off is that some receiving institutions still ask for a physical seal, so check before you pay.
What to bring
Bring a valid government photo ID, the document to be signed, and any other signers who need to be present. Do not sign the document before the notary sees it. The notary watches you sign and applies the seal afterward, which is what gives the signature its legal weight.
The cheapest path by use case
For a single signature on a simple document, the cheapest path is a bank branch where you are an account holder. For real estate closings and large document sets, a mobile notary or signing service is the standard. For out-of-state or after-hours work, remote online notarization is the cheapest option that does not require travel.
The honest short version
Notary public cost in 2026 is mostly between five and twenty-five dollars per signature at a retail or bank location, fifty to one hundred fifty for a mobile visit, and twenty-five for remote online notarization. The service is fast, the price is mostly flat across providers, and the cheapest path depends on whether you can get to a bank branch or need the notary to come to you.
