A notary in New York costs less than most people expect, because the state sets the maximum by law. The notarial act itself is capped at $2 per signature. What changes the total is how you get it done: come to an office and it is a couple of dollars, have a mobile notary come to you and you add a travel fee, or go online and it is capped at $25. Here is the full 2026 breakdown so you know exactly what you should pay.
New York caps the notarial fee at $2 per act for in-person and $25 per act for online notarization. Mobile notaries add a travel fee that is not regulated and is agreed up front. So the price depends less on the stamp and more on how the notary reaches you.
NotarEaseNYC pricing at a glance (NY and NYC)
| Service | Starting price |
|---|
| Standard notarization (per act) | $2 |
| Mobile notary (travel fee) | From $40 |
| Remote online notary | $25 |
| Apostille (plus government fees) | $199 |
| I-9 verification (per employee) | $65 |
| Real estate document recording | $350 |
1 What the law caps
Under New York Executive Law, a notary public may charge a maximum of $2.00 for each notarial act, such as taking an acknowledgment or administering an oath. For electronic and remote online notarization, the cap is higher: up to $25.00 per act. Those are the ceilings; a notary can charge less, but not more, for the act itself.
| Service | Notarial fee (NY) |
|---|
| In-person notarization | $2 per act |
| Online / remote notarization | Up to $25 per act |
| Mobile (notary comes to you) | $2 per act + travel fee |
2 Mobile and travel fees
Here is where the real cost lives for most people. The $2 act fee is tiny, but a mobile notary travels to your home, office, or hospital, and New York does not cap that travel or convenience fee. It is agreed in advance and reflects distance, time of day, and urgency. That is normal and legal, you are paying for the convenience of not going anywhere.
| Area | Travel fee |
|---|
| Rockaway and Far Rockaway | $40 |
| Nearby Queens (Howard Beach, Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, Jamaica) | $65 |
| Greater Queens and near Brooklyn | $85 |
| Manhattan, Bronx, deep Brooklyn, Staten Island | $110 |
The travel fee is charged once per visit, not per document, so three notarizations on the same trip to Far Rockaway is still $40 travel plus $6 in signature fees. After-hours and weekend appointments add a surcharge: $35 after 6:30pm, $60 after 9:00pm instead of the evening fee, and $25 on weekends and holidays.
Always confirm the travel fee before the appointment so there are no surprises. A reputable notary quotes it up front.
3 Online notarization
If your document allows it, online is often the best value: capped at $25 per act, no travel fee, and done in minutes over secure video. You can be anywhere in the U.S.; the notary just has to be in New York. See our remote online notary service, which starts at $25. For a deeper look at online pricing, read how much a virtual notary costs.
S Apostille, I-9, and document recording pricing
These are not notarial-act fees, they are separate done-for-you services priced on their own, on top of any notarization involved:
- Apostille: from $199 plus government filing fees, includes notarization, state filing, and secure return shipping. See our apostille page.
- I-9 verification: from $65 per employee, for remote hires and authorized-representative verification. See our I-9 verification page.
- Real estate document recording: from $350 plus government recording fees, filed through ACRIS. See our recording page.
4 What you will actually pay
- You go to the notary: about $2 per signature.
- Notary comes to you: $2 per signature plus a travel fee set in advance.
- Online: up to $25 per act, no travel, done remotely.
- Specialty services like apostille or I-9 verification are priced separately from the notarial act.
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How much does a notary cost in NY?The notarial act is capped at $2 per signature in person, or up to $25 per act online. Mobile notaries add a travel fee that is agreed in advance.
Why do mobile notaries charge more than $2?
The $2 is only the act fee. Mobile notaries also charge a travel or convenience fee for coming to you, which New York does not cap.
Is online notarization more expensive in NY?
The online act fee is higher ($25 vs $2), but there is no travel fee, so it is often cheaper overall than having a notary drive to you.
Are apostille and I-9 services part of the notary fee?
No. Those are separate services with their own pricing, on top of any notarization.
Related: how much a virtual notary costs and our mobile notary service.
This article is general information, not legal advice. New York fee caps and rules can change. Confirm current pricing before you book.
Is the $2 fee about to go up to $5?
There is a bill in the New York Legislature to do exactly that. Senate Bill S6268 (with a matching Assembly version, A3360), introduced by Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal on March 7, 2025, would amend Executive Law § 136 to raise the notarial fee from $2.00 to $5.00 per act. As of 2026 it is still sitting in the Senate Finance Committee, it has not passed either house, and it has not been signed into law. The statutory fee in New York today is still $2.00.
This is not the bill’s first attempt. Nearly identical versions were introduced in 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2023, and every one of them died in committee without a vote. The justification cited each time is the same: the $2 fee was set in 1991 and has never been adjusted, while notaries’ own licensing costs (application, renewal, exam, and duplicate fees) have gone up. Whether this version passes where the others did not remains to be seen.
We will update this page the moment (and if) this bill is signed into law. For now, $2 per act in person and $25 per act online remain the actual legal caps in New York.
What the cap covers, and what it does not
The statutory fee is for the notarial act itself: taking an acknowledgment, administering an oath or affirmation, and the certificate that goes with it. That is the piece New York regulates.
It does not regulate travel. It does not regulate printing, scanning, shipping, or the time a notary spends waiting while a hospital finds the right room. Those are services, they are agreed between you and the notary in advance, and they are where the real cost of a convenient notarization sits.
This is why two honest quotes can look very different. One notary is quoting the act. The other is quoting the act plus getting to you at eight in the evening.
Per act, not per document
The distinction people get wrong. An act is one signature notarized on one document. Two signers on the same page is two acts. Three documents signed by one person is three acts.
So a form with four signature blocks is not one notarization. Knowing your count before you call is how you get a quote that turns out to be the price.
Where you can get it done for nothing
Worth saying plainly, because it is often true. Many banks and credit unions notarize free for account holders. Some employers, libraries, community organizations and law firms have a notary on staff who will not charge. If you have simple paperwork, business hours, and time, start there — see our full guide to finding a notary near you in NYC for exactly where to look.
The reasons people end up paying anyway are consistent. Bank notaries keep banking hours and serve customers only. Staff notaries decline anything unfamiliar, and many will not touch a document with an unusual certificate or one they have not seen before. Nobody is available at nine on a Sunday evening. And none of them will come to a hospital room.
You are not paying for a better stamp. You are paying for availability and for somebody who will not turn you away.
Upstate and the city are the same law, not the same market
The statutory maximum is identical everywhere in New York. What differs is travel and supply.
In New York City the distances are short but the traffic is real, which is why travel is priced by area rather than as one flat number. Upstate the distances are longer and the number of active notaries thinner, so a rural mobile appointment can carry a higher travel fee than a Manhattan one despite the same statutory act fee underneath.
Two things that quietly cost you money
Expired identification. Valid, unexpired and government issued with a photograph. Expired is expired however recently it lapsed, and it is the leading reason an appointment cannot be completed.
Signing early. The notary must witness the signature, so a document signed at home has to be signed again.
Both waste a trip, and on a mobile appointment the travel fee is generally not refundable once the notary has set out.
Overcharging, and what to do about it
A notary who charges more than the statutory maximum for the act is not negotiating. They are exceeding a cap set by law.
The way to tell is to ask for the fee broken into two lines: the notarial fee and everything else. A legitimate quote separates them without hesitation. If somebody will not itemize, that is your answer.
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Why a free bank notarization is not always the cheapest option
Banks often notarize at no charge for account holders, and for a single straightforward document that is hard to beat on price.
The cost shows up elsewhere. Branch hours are business hours, so it is a trip during the working day. The notary on duty may be at lunch, on leave, or the only one in the branch. Many banks will notarize for account holders only. And bank staff frequently decline unfamiliar documents, real estate paperwork, or anything with an unusual certificate, because their employer’s policy is narrower than what state law permits.
None of that appears on a price list. It appears as a wasted afternoon, and then a second trip.
Online against mobile, on price
For one document with one signer, online is usually cheaper: $25 against a travel fee that starts at $40 plus $2. The relationship flips as the pile of documents grows. Eight documents signed by one person is priced per act online, but the same eight documents in a single mobile visit to the Rockaways is one $40 travel fee plus $16 in signature fees. Volume favors the in-person visit; a single form favors the video call. Speed does not flip either way: online is faster in almost every case and available at hours nothing else is.
What New York does not allow a notary to charge for
Advice. A New York notary may not choose a document for you, explain what a clause means, or tell you what your document will do, that is legal advice and it is prohibited, not priced. If a service offers to advise you on your paperwork alongside the notarization, that is not a better deal, that is a problem you would be paying for.
What you are actually paying for
Since New York caps the act itself at $2 per signature in person and $25 per act online, nobody is competing on the notarial fee. What differs is availability at nine at night, whether someone travels to a hospital, whether they will handle a document a branch would decline, whether witnesses can be arranged, and whether the person answering the phone can tell you which certificate your document needs before you book.
For a simple form during business hours, the bank is fine. For anything time sensitive, unusual, or involving someone who cannot travel, the fee is buying you certainty rather than the stamp.