How Much Does a Notary Cost in Virginia? 2026 Notary Fee Guide

Last Updated: September 2026

Short answer: in Virginia, the fee for the notarial act itself is capped by state law. Under Virginia Code 47.1-19, a notary may charge up to $10 per traditional notarial act and up to $25 per electronic notarial act. Many notaries charge less than the maximum.

What surprises people is that the notarial fee is often not the whole bill. The total you pay for an appointment can include more than the notarization, so it helps to separate four different things:

1. The fee for performing the notarial act. Capped by Virginia law, charged per act rather than per document.
2. Mobile, travel, or convenience charges. Permitted in Virginia as an agreed travel expense when the notary comes to you.
3. Remote online notarization. Performed electronically by a Virginia electronic notary, with its own fee cap and, depending on the provider, platform or technology costs.
4. Other services connected to the appointment. Things like printing, scanning, shipping, or loan signing coordination, which are separate services and not notarial fees.

Once you know which of those four apply to your situation, comparing quotes becomes simple.

What Is the Maximum Notary Fee in Virginia?

Direct answer: the maximum a Virginia notary may charge for the notarial act itself is $10 for a traditional notarial act and $25 for an electronic notarial act, under Code of Virginia 47.1-19. Charging more than that for a notarial act is unlawful. An agreed travel expense is separate and is not part of that cap.

Virginia sets maximum fees for notarial acts in the Code of Virginia. The cap applies per notarial act, so a document requiring two signers to be acknowledged separately, or a packet with several notarized signatures, can involve more than one act.

Virginia law also makes it unlawful for a notary to charge more than the established fee for a notarial act. Separately, the law permits a notary to recover actual and reasonable travel expenses, with the agreement of the person being charged, when the act is performed somewhere other than the notary's usual place of business.

Virginia Notary Fee Quick Answer

Source: Code of Virginia 47.1-19. Fee rules can change, so confirm current figures with the Code of Virginia or the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth notary information.

Virginia caps the notarial fee. It does not cap what a business may charge for travel, printing, shipping, or scheduling, which is why totals differ between providers.

Notary Fee vs. Mobile Notary Service Cost

These two numbers are not the same, and confusing them is the most common source of sticker shock.

Picture a daughter whose father is recovering at a rehabilitation facility in Chesapeake and needs a power of attorney signed today. The notarial act is capped by Virginia law. The appointment, though, also involves driving to the facility, coordinating access with staff, waiting for a nurse to confirm the signer is available, and working around a narrow visiting window. Virginia allows the notary to recover an agreed travel expense for going to a location that is not the notary's usual place of business.

The same logic applies to a home visit in Suffolk, an office signing in Norfolk between meetings, or a bedside appointment at a hospital.

The practical rule: ask for the total appointment price before you book. A professional notary should be able to tell you the number of notarial acts expected, the travel or service amount, and anything else that would appear on the invoice. Our instant quote tool gives you a figure for common situations in a couple of minutes.

2026 Virginia Notary Cost Guide

Use this table to see what each type of appointment typically includes and what can add to the total.

Every notarial fee shown in an actual quote stays within Virginia's statutory cap. The variable part is travel, timing, and any non-notarial services you ask for.

What Affects the Cost of a Mobile Notary?

Not every factor below adds a charge. Several are simply scheduling details that help the notary arrive prepared.

• Travel distance. A Suffolk appointment and a Newport News appointment are not the same drive.
• Number of signers. Each signer's acknowledgment or oath can be a separate notarial act.
• Number of documents or notarial acts. Virginia's cap is per act, so a packet costs more than a single page.
• Appointment location. Homes, offices, hospitals, care facilities, and correctional facilities each involve different access requirements.
• Scheduling requirements. A flexible window is easier to accommodate than a fixed ten-minute slot.
• After-hours or urgent requests. Evening, weekend, and same-day appointments may carry priority scheduling.
• Witness requirements. Some documents require witnesses, and arranging them takes coordination.
• Parking or building access. Gated communities, badge-in offices, and downtown parking add time.
• Special locations. Hospitals and care facilities often require check-in, staff coordination, and patience with timing.

When you share these details up front, you get an accurate total instead of a surprise.

Can a Virginia Mobile Notary Charge a Travel Fee?

Direct answer: yes. Code of Virginia 47.1-19 permits a notary to recover any actual and reasonable expense of traveling to a place where a notarial act is performed, when that place is not the notary's usual place of business, and only with the agreement of the person being charged.

Two points matter here. First, a travel expense is not the statutory notarization fee. The notarial act stays capped at $10 traditional or $25 electronic no matter how far the notary drives. Second, the travel amount must be agreed before it is charged, which is why a reputable mobile notary quotes the whole appointment in advance rather than presenting a number at the door.

If you are comparing quotes, ask each provider to separate the two figures. A quote that will not break out the notarial acts from the travel amount is difficult to compare fairly.

What Do Mobile Notary Travel Fees Cover?

A travel or convenience amount reflects the work around the notarization rather than the notarization itself:

• Drive time and mileage to your home, office, hospital room, or other agreed location, in both directions
• Scheduling flexibility, including evening, weekend, and short-notice appointments
• Coordination and access, such as checking in at a hospital, care facility, gated community, or badge-controlled office
• Wait time when a signer, nurse, witness, or second party is not immediately available
• Preparation for the appointment, including confirming signer count, identification, and witness requirements

That is why totals differ between appointments. A ten-minute drive within Suffolk and a bedside appointment across the water at a fixed visiting hour are not the same job, even though the notarial fee is identical.

Does the Number of Documents Affect the Price?

Direct answer: what changes the price is the number of notarial acts, not the number of pages. Virginia's cap applies per act, so a twenty-page document with one notarized signature involves one act, while a three-page document signed and acknowledged by two people involves two.

A practical way to estimate before you call:

• Count each signature that needs a notarial certificate
• Count each signer separately, since each person's acknowledgment or oath is its own act
• Add any certified copies or oaths handled at the same appointment
• Note whether witnesses are required, which affects coordination rather than the notarial fee

Combining eligible documents into a single visit is usually cheaper than booking several appointments, because travel is quoted once.

How Much Does a Mobile Notary Cost in Hampton Roads?

Across Hampton Roads, mobile pricing tends to follow the same pattern: the capped notarial fee, plus an agreed travel amount that reflects distance and appointment complexity. A short hop within Suffolk sits at the lower end. Appointments across the water in Hampton or Newport News, or into Virginia Beach's far reaches, involve more drive time and often more scheduling flexibility from the notary.

That is why a single flat number for the whole region would be misleading. Suffolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Hampton, and Newport News all sit within reach, but travel distance, timing, the number of signers, and the number of notarial acts shape the final total.

Epic Signature Solutions is a veteran-owned notary business based in Suffolk, Virginia, serving Hampton Roads with mobile appointments and providing Remote Online Notarization for eligible documents. We quote the total up front, including the notarial acts and any agreed travel, so you can decide before anyone gets in a car. See what we cover on our mobile notary service page, or read Choosing a Notary in Hampton Roads.

Is a Mobile Notary Worth the Additional Cost?

It depends entirely on what your time and access are worth on that particular day. Mobile service tends to pay for itself when:

• Busy professionals would otherwise lose an hour of billable or working time
• Families are juggling school pickup, work, and caregiving in the same afternoon
• Senior citizens find driving or waiting in a lobby difficult
• Hospital patients cannot leave, and the paperwork cannot wait
• Care facility residents need documents signed where they live
• People without convenient transportation would need a ride each way
• Multiple signers need to be in one room at one time, and that room is not an office
• Time-sensitive documents have a filing or closing deadline today

Banks, credit unions, shipping stores, libraries, and other notary providers all serve real needs, and for a single document on a flexible schedule they can be an excellent choice. Mobile service simply solves a different problem: bringing the notary to the signer.

How Much Does Remote Online Notarization Cost in Virginia?

Direct answer: Virginia allows up to $25 per electronic notarial act. Depending on the provider, an online session may also involve platform, identity-verification, or service charges, so ask for the total before the session begins.

Remote Online Notarization, usually shortened to RON, lets a signer and a commissioned electronic notary complete a notarial act over secure live audio-video instead of in the same room. The signer's identity is verified electronically, the signing happens during the live session, and the notary applies an electronic signature and seal along with the required records.

Eligible documents may be notarized online when the applicable legal requirements and platform requirements are satisfied. Eligibility depends on the document, the receiving organization's policy, and any witness requirements involved. Virginia's fee cap for electronic notarial acts is higher than the traditional cap, and providers may also charge platform or service amounts, so confirm the total before your session.

Epic Signature Solutions provides Remote Online Notarization. You can read the details on our Remote Online Notarization service page or in our guide Can You Notarize Documents Online?.

How Can I Save Money on Notary Services?

We would rather you spend correctly than spend the most. A few honest ways to lower your cost:

• Check your bank or credit union first. Many notarize for their own account holders at no charge. Call the branch and confirm a notary is on site.
• Confirm all required signers before the appointment. A second trip costs far more than a phone call.
• Find out whether witnesses are required. Some documents need them, and arranging witnesses in advance avoids rescheduling.
• Have acceptable identification ready. An expired or missing ID is the most common reason an appointment cannot be completed.
• Ask for the total cost before scheduling. Notarial acts, travel, and any extra services should all be stated up front.
• Consider Remote Online Notarization when appropriate. For eligible documents, RON can remove travel entirely.
• Combine eligible documents into one appointment. One visit covering several documents usually beats several visits.

We are not always going to be the least expensive option for every consumer, and we will tell you when a bank or a walk-in provider is the more sensible route for what you have in hand.

What Should I Bring to a Notary Appointment?

A short checklist that prevents almost every failed appointment:

• Valid acceptable identification, current and government issued
• The document requiring notarization, complete except for signatures
• All required signers, present at the same time
• Required witnesses, when the document calls for them
• Any instructions provided by the receiving organization, such as a lender, court, school, employer, or consulate

One important note: do not sign the document in advance when the specific notarial act requires you to sign in the notary's presence. If you are unsure which applies, leave the signature line blank and ask at the appointment. For more preparation detail, see Preparing for a Mobile Notary Appointment.

A notary can explain the notarial process, but cannot tell you what to sign, how to complete your document, or what it means legally. Those are questions for an attorney.

2026 Virginia Notary Cost Guide: Quick Reference

A short summary you are welcome to share or reference:

• Virginia caps the fee for a traditional notarial act at $10 and an electronic notarial act at $25, per act, under Code of Virginia 47.1-19.
• A notary may not charge more than the statutory fee for the notarial act itself.
• A notary may recover actual and reasonable travel expenses by agreement when performing an act away from the notary's usual place of business.
• Fees are charged per notarial act, not per page, so multiple signers or multiple notarized signatures cost more.
• Mobile appointment totals depend on travel distance, number of acts, timing, and location.
• Remote Online Notarization can eliminate travel for eligible documents.
• Always ask for the total appointment price before booking.

Organizations may link to this guide as a free consumer resource.

Attorneys, real estate and title professionals, senior care organizations, veteran organizations, and libraries are welcome to reference this guide for the people they serve.

Get More Virginia Notary Guides From Epic Signature Solutions

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What Should I Ask Before Booking a Notary?

Five questions settle almost every pricing surprise before it happens:

1. How many notarial acts do you expect for my documents, and what is the fee for each?
2. Is there a travel or convenience amount, and what is the total including travel?
3. Can my document be handled online, or does it need an in-person appointment?
4. Do I need witnesses, and can you help arrange them?
5. What identification do you need to see, and what happens if a signer is missing?

Any professional notary should answer all five without hesitation, and give you one total figure to approve before an appointment is scheduled.

Need a Notary Instead of Researching Fees?

If you have read this far because you actually need a document notarized, here is the short version of what we do.

Epic Signature Solutions provides mobile notary appointments throughout Suffolk and the wider Hampton Roads region, and Remote Online Notarization for eligible documents and signers, including out-of-state signers. Every quote separates the notarial acts from any agreed travel amount, and you see the total before anything is scheduled.

• Want a figure first? Use the instant quote tool and answer a few questions about your document, location, and signers.
• Ready to schedule? Book your appointment and pick a time that works around your day.
• Not sure whether online works for your document? Start with Can You Notarize Documents Online?
• Comparing options? Read Mobile Notary vs. Bank Notary or Where Can I Get a Notary for Free in Suffolk, VA?

Virginia Notary Resources

Official Commonwealth of Virginia sources for notary law and fees:

• Code of Virginia 47.1-19, Fees
• Code of Virginia Title 47.1, Virginia Notary Act
• Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Notary Public information

Fee amounts and requirements can change. Check these sources for the current text before relying on any figure.

About Epic Signature Solutions

Epic Signature Solutions is a veteran-owned notary business based in Suffolk, Virginia, serving Suffolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Hampton, and Newport News with mobile notary appointments, and providing Remote Online Notarization for eligible documents and signers.

Our focus is straightforward: professional handling, clear communication about pricing and requirements, and appointments that work around your schedule. We notarize for families, seniors, patients, attorneys, real estate professionals, and businesses across Hampton Roads. Learn more about our team, explore estate planning notarization and apostille services, or request a quote for your document.