Pennsylvania notary fees, receipts and the journal

The maximum Pennsylvania notarial fees

The Department of State sets a ceiling for each notarial act. Most acts top out at $5, and you may never charge more than the posted maximum.

An acknowledgment is $5 for the first named signer and $2 for each extra name on the same certificate. Oaths, verifications, witnessing a signature and certifying a copy are each $5. Noting a protest is $3 per page.

Two other rules sit beside the table. You may waive a fee. And you may not charge at all for notarizing certain voting affidavits, or where other law says no fee applies.

$5Pennsylvania caps an acknowledgment at $5 for the first named signer and $2 per additional name, and most other notarial acts at $5. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

Service fees on top of notarial fees

Travel, printing, courier and time are not notarial acts. You may charge for them, but they must be reasonable for your area and disclosed before you notarize.

The Department calls these clerical or administrative fees. It does not set them. It does require that they be customary and reasonable for the location and the service. Tell the customer about them before the notarization, not after.

For a signing agent, this is most of the income. A typical signing fee from a service covers the drive, the printing and your hour at the table. The stamps inside it are a small, capped part of the total.

Pennsylvania notaries may charge clerical or administrative fees for copying, postage, travel and phone calls, which must be customary and reasonable and disclosed before the notarization. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

The itemized receipt rule in Pennsylvania

If you charge any fee, you must give an itemized receipt. Notarial fees and service fees go on separate lines, and there is no exception.

The rule comes from 4 Pa. Code §167.3(c). It exists to protect the consumer, and the customer may throw the receipt away. You do not have to keep a copy yourself.

The receipt helps you too. Separating notarial fees from service fees on paper gives you the split you need at tax time. The annual obligations page explains why that split matters for self-employment tax.

4 Pa. Code §167.3(c)Under 4 Pa. Code §167.3(c), a Pennsylvania notary who charges fees must provide an itemized receipt for all fees charged. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

Posting your notary fee schedule

If you charge fees, display them in your place of business or give them to anyone who asks. A mobile agent can meet this by sharing the schedule before booking.

Put the notarial maximums and your service fees on one sheet. Send it with every booking confirmation. That covers the disclosure rule for service fees at the same time.

Also check who you are billing. When a signing service books you, the service pays you. The borrower may still ask about fees, and you must be able to show them.

A Pennsylvania notary who charges fees must display them conspicuously in the place of business or provide them to anyone on request. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

What every Pennsylvania journal entry must record

Record each notarial act as you perform it. Every entry needs the date and time, the act, the signer's name and address, how you identified them, and the fee.

The full list: date and time; a description of the record and the type of act; the full name and address of each person; the ID method and any credential, with issue and expiry dates; and the fee charged. Clerical fees go in the journal as separate items too.

A paper journal must be bound, with numbered pages. An electronic one must be tamper-evident under 4 Pa. Code §167.34. You may keep one of each, for paper and electronic records.

Each Pennsylvania journal entry must be made at the time of the act and show the date and time, the record and act type, each signer's full name and address, the identification method, and the fee. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

What a loan signing journal must leave out

Since March 28, 2026, the journal may not hold personal identifiers. Leave out Social Security numbers, full license numbers, dates of birth and biometric records.

Loan packages are full of this data, which is why the rule bites here. Record the ID type and, if you like, the last four digits. Those are expressly allowed. So is the signer's signature and a short note to help you recall the transaction.

Old habits are the risk. Many notaries were trained to copy the full license number. Under the current rules, that line is now a violation.

Pennsylvania's regulations bar a journal from holding any part of a Social Security number, a full license number, a birth date or biometrics, but allow an ID's last four digits. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

Requests to inspect or copy your journal

Anyone may ask to inspect your journal, and you must allow it in your presence. A request for a certified copy must be met within 15 days.

Requests can be oral or written. A copy request should name the entry or time period. For an agent working for several signing services, this means your journal is not just your business record. It is a public-facing one.

Guard it like the stamp. If either is lost or stolen, tell the Department within 15 days of finding out. The commission renewal guide covers where the journal goes when you stop.

15 daysA Pennsylvania notary must provide a certified copy of a requested journal entry within 15 days of receiving the request. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

Who keeps the fees when a company books you

Notarial fees are presumed to be yours, not your employer's. If your own LLC should keep them, say so in writing before you start billing through it.

That default matters in two setups. An in-house notary at a title office keeps the notarial fees unless agreed otherwise. A signing agent with an LLC faces the same rule with the company as employer. The commission and company page covers the written agreement.

Then set your price list. Charge the capped notarial fees, add reasonable service fees, and itemize both. Remote work adds its own ceiling, set out in the remote notarization guide.

Notary fees are presumed to be the property of the notary and do not belong to the employing entity unless the notary and the employer agree otherwise. — Pennsylvania Department of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

Questions