California Notary exam practice question · Journal & Certificates
The fee a notary may charge for a notarial act is fixed by statute, and the purpose of that cap is defeated if other charges can be folded into it. A travel fee is a permitted charge for a different service — going to the signer rather than performing the act — so it is not subject to the statutory maximum, but it must be identified separately so the client can see what they are paying for each. Two related expectations follow. The travel fee should be agreed with the client in advance, before the notary travels, so that it is a negotiated charge rather than a surprise on arrival. And the notarial fee itself must be recorded in the journal for each act. Combining the two into a single total obscures whether the statutory fee was exceeded, which is precisely the appearance the separation exists to prevent, and it is one of the more common fee complaints against mobile notaries.
The statutory fee cap applies to the notarial act, so a travel charge must be identified separately from it and agreed with the client in advance.
Statutory maximums apply to notarial acts. A travel fee is a separate charge that must be distinguished from the notarial fee and agreed in advance with the client, with the notarial fee recorded in the journal.
Two Charges, Two Lines. The act is capped, the travel is not, and blending them hides which is which.
The journal records the fee charged for the notarial act. Travel is not a notarial fee and does not belong in that field.
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