Mississippi Notary Fees

Mississippi imposes one of the tightest fee caps in the country. Since July 1, 2021, notaries can charge a maximum of $5.00 per signature for standard notarial acts — and there's one category of document where you're required to notarize for free.

The $5 Statutory Cap

Under the Revised Mississippi Law on Notarial Acts (RULONA), the maximum fee breaks down as follows:

• Acknowledgments: $5.00 per signature
• Jurats: $5.00 per signature
• Witnessing or attesting a signature: $5.00 per signature
• Administering an oath or affirmation (verbal, no signature): $5.00 per person

These limits apply to both traditional paper notarizations and in-person electronic notarizations (IPEN). The cap is per signature, not per document — so a single document with three signers means you can charge up to $15 total.

Absentee Ballot Notarizations Are Free

Mississippi law requires notaries to perform notarizations for absentee voter applications and absentee ballots at no charge. This isn't optional. Charging a fee for election-related notarizations violates state law.

Travel Fees for Mobile Notaries

The $5 cap applies only to the notarial act itself. Mississippi does not regulate travel fees, which means mobile notaries can charge separately for traveling to a client's home, office, hospital, or other location.

The key legal requirement is disclosure: the travel fee must be agreed upon by the signer in advance, before the notary arrives. You can't add surprise charges after the fact.

Mobile notaries in Mississippi typically charge $25 to $75 per trip depending on distance, with additional per-signature fees capped at the statutory $5. Some notaries charge mileage at the federal reimbursement rate instead of a flat trip fee.

What You Cannot Charge For

A few situations either prohibit the act or require you to charge no fee:

• Employer-directed notarizations where you have a direct financial or beneficial interest beyond standard wages or statutory fees — the conflict-of-interest rule bars the act
• Absentee ballot notarizations as noted above

How to Document Fees

Record every fee charged in your notary journal alongside the other required transaction details. Mississippi's journal rules require contemporaneous entries, and the fee amount is part of that record. If you waive the fee or notarize for free, note that as well — a blank fee column looks like a skipped entry during any future audit.

The Mississippi notary commission guide includes a fee and mileage log designed for Mississippi's $5 cap, with built-in fields for travel charges and journal cross-references.

See more Mississippi guides →