CA Notary Public Division Website
Please visit our state notary division contact page to find contact information for the California notary division.

CA Mobile Notary Fees
There are no restrictions on what a California Mobile Notary may charge as a travel fee. It is common to charge a lot extra for late night signings as well as hospital and jail signings.

CA Maximum Notary Fees

Acknowledgments	$15.00
Jurat	$15.00
Oaths & Affirmations	$15.00
Notarize signatures on vote by mail ballot identification envelopes or other voting materials	Free
Certified Copy of Power of Attorney	$15.00
Taking a Deposition	$30.00

New or Reappointing Commission Application	$20.00
Exam - payable at exam site	$20.00
Duplicate Commission	$10.00
Apostilles & Authentications	$20.00
Affixing Certificate & Seal of State (unless another fee is specified by law)	$5.00
Certification - Notary Public Section copies only (California Government Code section 12183(a))	$5.00
Bond Amount	$15,000 four year bond
Updated October 3, 2017.

Acknowledgment information
The notary verbiage "personally known to me" has long since been removed from the California Acknowledgment wording. If you met a signer a few times in the past, you might claim that you "know" them. However, you will easily forget who they are in court unless you have had a close relationship with them for a significant amount of time. Therefore, to ensure that a person is the same person named in the signature line, proper identification documents make better sense than basing their identification on vaguely personally knowing the person. Failure to get a signer properly identified constitutes perjury in California and could lead to a fine, since you could not have positively identified the signer without proper identification. If you are performing an Acknowledged signature on an important Deed, or a Jurat on a critical Affidavit, the last thing you need is questionable identification.

In California and recently in many other states, the Notary acts for Oaths and Affirmations have been integrated. It seems that many people complained bitterly because it was against their religious beliefs to swear under oath. If the form given to them had Oath wording, many signers would simply refuse to take the oath. The new Notary act is still called an Oath, but is a "merged" procedure which has a verbiage option to use the word Swear (affirm), which gives the affiant the choice of whether or not they want to swear or affirm, without having to create extra paperwork and authorizations to accept a different notary act. Those who affirm rather than swearing do not make any standardized reference to a higher being (god). The affiant should still raise their right hand and affirm under a solemn oath in either case.

Unauthorized Practice of Law
Preparing, drafting, assisting, determining, selecting legal documents, or giving advice in legal matters is considered to be unauthorized practice of law in the State of California. Notaries may not even help decide which type of notary act to perform for a client.

Dual State Notary Commission Information
If you are an Oregon notary, you may not become a California notary public unless you are a California resident. Also, if you are an Arizona notary or Nevada notary residing in Arizona or Nevada, you would not be qualified to apply for a CA notary commission.

Related Links
California Notary Fees and FAQ
Become a California Notary Public
California Notary Acknowledgment and Jurat Information
California Notary Law
California Notary Classes and Seminars
California Notary Public General Information
Notary Acts