Idaho Notary Fees

Idaho caps notary fees at $5 per notarial act — one of the lower limits among states. This applies to every acknowledgment, jurat, oath, affirmation, signature witnessing, and copy certification you perform, regardless of who's paying or what the document involves. The rule is set by Idaho Code § 51-133 and it's not negotiable.

What is negotiable: travel fees and ancillary services. Understanding the boundary between the two keeps you compliant and lets you build a workable fee structure.

The $5 Per-Act Cap

The statute is straightforward. For each separate notarial act — each individual acknowledgment, jurat, or oath — you can charge no more than $5. A loan package that requires notarization on eight different signature pages means eight notarial acts at $5 each, or $40 in notary fees.

You can charge less than $5 per act. You can waive the fee entirely. You can't charge more.

The government-employee exemption applies to the commission filing fee, not to the $5 maximum for a notarial act.

Travel Fees: Separate and Negotiable

The $5 cap applies only to the notarial act itself. Idaho law allows notaries to charge actual and reasonable travel expenses separately from the statutory act fee. The law requires:

• Agreement before departure — the travel fee must be negotiated and agreed upon with the client before you leave your location
• Separate itemization — travel charges must appear as a distinct line item on your invoice, clearly separated from the $5 per-act notary fees
• Reasonable amounts — "actual and reasonable" isn't precisely defined, but a $200 travel fee for a 10-minute drive across town would be hard to defend if challenged

Most mobile notaries in Idaho charge $25 to $75 for travel within a reasonable radius, scaling up for rural or extended distances. Title companies and signing services typically negotiate flat appointment fees that bundle travel and notarial acts into one payment — but your internal records should still separate the two.

Invoicing Properly

The safest approach is a simple, itemized invoice for every appointment:

Notarial acts (4 acknowledgments × $5)    $20.00
Travel to client location                  $35.00
Document handling / courier return         $15.00
──────────────────────────────────────────
Total                                      $70.00

Keep the notarial fees at or below $5 per act. List everything else as a separate service category. This structure protects you if the Secretary of State or a client ever questions your billing.

Common Fee Scenarios

Loan signing appointments: Signing services pay flat rates of $75–$200 per appointment. The notarial acts within that appointment are still subject to the $5 cap — the rest of the payment covers your travel, document handling, printing, and time. Your invoice to the signing service should reflect this breakdown.

Walk-in office notarizations: If someone comes to your office, the fee is simply $5 per act (or less). No travel, no ancillary services — just the statutory fee.

Hospital or care facility visits: Emergency notarizations outside business hours at a care facility warrant a reasonable travel and accommodation fee on top of the $5 per act. Agree on the total before you go.

Free notarizations: Some employers (banks, law firms, government offices) provide notary services to clients at no charge. The notary can perform the acts for free — the $5 is a maximum, not a minimum. Just be aware that if your employer charges the client but doesn't pass the fee to you, that's between you and your employer.

What You Cannot Do

• Charge more than $5 per notarial act under any circumstances
• Bundle notarial fees into a single lump sum without itemization
• Fold travel or other ancillary charges into the statutory notarial fee instead of itemizing them separately

For a complete breakdown of all commissioning costs — bond, filing fee, stamp, and ongoing fee rules — the Idaho Notary Commission Guide covers the full financial picture.

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