Two parts, and only two
An in-person price is the notarial fee plus the travel and nothing else, so when you hear a number from me it already has both inside it.
An online session has only the first part, because there is nothing to drive to, which is what makes it the cheaper option for a single document.
In person, across Polk County
Florida law caps the notarial fee at $10 for each act, and the cap is the same whether I come to a house in Lakeland, a hospital room in Winter Haven or a dealership in Bartow.
The travel is the part that varies, because distance and the hour of the day are not the same for a morning in Lakeland and a late evening in Lake Wales, so it is quoted and agreed before I set out, never afterwards.
Online, anywhere in Florida
A remote online session is capped at $25 for each act and carries no travel at all, so a single document usually costs less than any visit and happens sooner.
The identity checks and the recording the law requires are part of that session rather than extras on top, because they are simply how a remote notarization works in Florida.
Weddings
Florida caps the fee for solemnizing a marriage at $30, the ceremony has to happen in person and inside the state, and I officiate across Polk County.
The marriage license is not my fee at all, because you obtain it from the Clerk of the Circuit Court and pay the county directly for it.
What counts as one act
One act is one notarial certificate, so a single page with two signatures that each need notarizing is two acts, while one signature on a ten-page contract is still one.
That is why a signing package is quoted as a whole before the appointment, with the number of acts written out, so nothing gets counted twice at the table.
Costs that are not mine
An apostille carries a fee paid to the Florida Department of State, plus postage or courier when the document has to travel, and those are the state's charges rather than mine.
A translation between English and Spanish is quoted per document before I start, because a one-page birth certificate and a twenty-page contract are not the same work.
What never happens
I never charge above the legal cap for an act, and no Notary Public in Florida may, because the maximum is set by statute and not by the market.
If the appointment cannot go ahead, because identification is missing or the signer is not in a condition to sign, there is no notarial fee, since no notarial act took place.
Getting an exact number
Send me the document, how many signatures need notarizing, your ZIP code and the time you had in mind, and the full amount comes back in one message, before anything is booked.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the $10 per document or per signature?
- Per notarial act, so a document with three notarized signatures is three acts, while one signature on a long contract is still one.
- Does the travel fee come inside the $10?
- No, the cap covers the notarial act only, and a travel fee may be charged separately as long as it is agreed beforehand and shown apart from the notarial fee.
- Is an online session really cheaper?
- For a single document usually yes, because there is no travel at all, even though the cap per act is higher at $25.
- What does a wedding cost?
- The fee for solemnizing is capped at $30 by Florida law, and the license is a separate payment you make to the Clerk rather than to me.
- Can you give me a price over the phone?
- Yes, as soon as I know the document and the number of acts, and for a visit I also need the ZIP code and the hour, because those are what move the travel fee.