Is There a Maximum Notary Fee in Massachusetts? The $1.25 Myth, the UPS Store Case, and What Boston Notaries Really Charge
Massachusetts has no general maximum notary fee. The $1.25 figure people quote comes from an 1836 statute, M.G.L. c.262 s.41, and the Supreme Judicial Court ruled in 2020 that it applies only to "noting" a dishonored check or note, not to ordinary notarizations. What you pay depends on where you go.
Does Massachusetts cap what a notary can charge?
No. Massachusetts law sets no maximum fee for an acknowledgment, a jurat, a signature witnessing or a copy certification, which are the four notarial acts almost everyone needs. The National Notary Association’s Massachusetts page puts it directly: the state does not set a maximum fee notaries may charge, and notaries should keep fees reasonable and disclose them in advance (nationalnotary.org).
That surprises people because most states publish a per-signature fee schedule. Massachusetts never modernized its fee statute, so the only numbers on the books were written for a kind of notarial work that disappeared with the telegraph.
The practical result is a market. A city clerk charges $5 because the city decided to. A library charges nothing because it treats notarization as a public service. A shipping store charges whatever its owner sets. A mobile notary charges for travel and time. None of them is breaking the law by charging more or less than the other, as long as the fee is disclosed before the work is done and is not so out of line that it invites a complaint.
One-sentence version: Massachusetts does not cap notary fees for ordinary notarial acts; the $1.25 figure in M.G.L. c.262 s.41 applies only to noting a dishonored negotiable instrument.
What is the $1.25 in c.262 s.41, and what did the SJC decide in Richardson v. The UPS Store?
M.G.L. c.262 s.41 is a fee schedule for notaries that dates to 1836, and the $1.25 line in it is the fee for “noting,” one step in the old process of protesting a dishonored check or promissory note. In Richardson v. The UPS Store, Inc., 486 Mass. 126 (2020), the Supreme Judicial Court held that the cap reaches only that act and does not limit fees for anything else a notary does.
The case started in Beverly. Kevin Richardson and his wife paid $10 per document to have eight documents notarized at a UPS Store between 2012 and 2018. He sued in federal court as a class action, arguing that c.262 s.41 limited every notarization in Massachusetts to $1.25 and seeking refunds for himself and every other customer, a claim reported at roughly $5.9 million. The federal judge found no controlling Massachusetts precedent and certified the question to the SJC in 2019.
The SJC’s answer, as summarized on the Massachusetts law library’s notary page at mass.gov, is that the $1.25 fee cap “applies only to a particular notarial act known as ‘noting,’ i.e., a step in the process of protesting a dishonored negotiable instrument.” A protest is a notary’s formal certificate that a check or note was presented and refused, a procedure merchants used constantly in the 1800s and almost nobody uses now. With the cap confined to noting, the Beverly store’s $10 fee was lawful and the class claim failed.
Why the myth persists: c.222 s.16, the notary conduct statute, still says a notary may not perform an act for compensation exceeding the fees set in c.262 s.41 “or other applicable law.” Read alone, that sentence sounds like a cap. Read with Richardson, it caps only the one act s.41 actually prices. If someone tells you a Massachusetts notary can charge no more than $1.25, they are quoting the statute without the case.
Have there been bills to cap Massachusetts notary fees at $10, and did they pass?
Yes, twice, and neither passed. House Bill 814 in the 2017 to 2018 session and House Bill 3291 in 2019 to 2020, both filed by Representative Carmine Gentile, would have set a $10 maximum per signature for acknowledgments, oaths, jurats, signature witnessings and copy certifications, $25 for witnessing the opening of a safe deposit box, and no fee at all for notarizing an absentee ballot envelope or a veteran’s benefits claim. The 2017 bill died at the end of the session, and the 2019 bill was sent to a study order in November 2020, which is how the Legislature shelves a bill without voting it down (malegislature.gov).
So as of October 2026 there is still no general cap, and there is no statute requiring a Massachusetts notary to waive the fee for a ballot or a veteran’s form. Many notaries, including this one, do not charge for an absentee ballot envelope when a voter brings one in, but that is a courtesy, not a legal requirement.
What is the difference between the notarial act fee and a travel or convenience fee?
The notarial act fee is what you pay for the seal: the notary identifying you, administering an oath or taking your acknowledgment, completing the certificate, stamping it and recording it in the journal. A travel fee, mobile fee or convenience fee is what you pay for the notary to come to you, wait for you, or work outside normal hours. Massachusetts law does not regulate either one for ordinary acts, but the two should be stated separately and in advance.
The distinction matters because the notarial act fee is the same no matter where it happens. A single acknowledgment is one act whether it is signed at a library desk or at a bedside at Lowell General. What changes is everything around it: a 40-minute drive each way, parking at a Boston hospital, an evening appointment, waiting for the signer to wake from a nap, or coordinating three family members who arrive at different times.
Our pricing is built on exactly that split. In our Tewksbury office, at 1215 Main St, Suite 115, you pay $45 per notarial act and nothing else, because there is no travel. A mobile visit is a flat rate by zone that already includes the travel, one notary seal and 15 minutes of service: Zone 1 (Tewksbury, Gardner, Ashby, Athol) from $125, Zone 2 (Lowell, Billerica, Andover, Chelmsford, Woburn, Worcester and 40 more towns) from $179, and Zone 3 (Boston, Cambridge, Newton, Lexington, Lynn, Gloucester and 110 more) from $250. Additional seals and additional time are quoted before we leave the office, not announced at your kitchen table. The zone map shows where each town falls.
If a notary cannot tell you on the phone what the visit will cost, that is the first warning sign.
What do City Hall, libraries, banks, UPS and mobile notaries charge in Boston?
Boston prices run from free to about $250 per visit, and the spread is explained almost entirely by who pays for the notary’s time. The figures below are the ones we could source from the providers themselves or from the public record as of October 2026; call before you rely on any of them.
| Provider | Typical charge | What you get | What you do not get | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Public Library | Free | Notary at Central, Codman Square, Jamaica Plain and Brighton during posted sessions | English only, no witnesses, sessions a few times a month | bpl.org |
| Boston City Clerk, Room 601 | $5 per document | Weekday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. walk-in | No vital records, no prenuptial agreements, no evenings or weekends | boston.gov |
| Bank branch (for example TD Bank) | Free for customers; non-customers served in MA “as required by law,” fee not stated | Notarization during branch hours when a notary is in | No guarantee a notary is available; branch limits on document types | td.com |
| UPS Store (independently owned) | Per signature, set by store; $10 per document in the Beverly case (2012 to 2018) | Notary hours listed as 7 days at Boston locations | Witnesses usually not provided; fee not posted online | locations.theupsstore.com, mass.gov |
| Marketplace mobile notaries | Thumbtack’s Boston guidance: $15 to $70 per hour, more for travel | A notary who comes to you | Wide range; total depends on how the hourly figure is applied | thumbtack.com |
| Hire Mobile Notary, in office | $45 per notarial act | Appointment 7 days, Tewksbury, English, Arabic, French | No travel included | hiremobilenotary.com |
| Hire Mobile Notary, mobile | $125, $179 or $250 by zone, travel and one seal included | Home, office, hospital, nursing home, 7 days | Witnesses (you bring your own); extra seals quoted | hiremobilenotary.com |
Two observations. The cheapest options are cheap because the city or the library system is paying the notary’s salary; they suit a simple weekday document and not an urgent, bedside or non-English one. And “per signature” and “per visit” are different units: a document with three signers and two certificates can cost six times the posted per-signature rate at a counter. Always ask for the total.
How does Hire Mobile Notary set its fees?
We charge $45 per notarial act in the office and a flat zone rate for mobile visits, and we quote everything before the appointment. There are no fuel surcharges, no “after hours” multipliers announced on arrival, and no fee for a signing that we have to decline because the signer lacks ID or does not appear willing; in that case you owe the travel portion only, and we tell you that when you book.
The three zones are drawn by driving time from Tewksbury. Zone 1 is home base and starts at $125. Zone 2 covers the Merrimack Valley, the Route 128 belt and Worcester, from $179, and is where most of our visits happen. Zone 3 is metro Boston, the North Shore and the western suburbs, from $250, and the rate includes hospital and nursing home visits without an add-on. Every zone rate includes one notary seal and 15 minutes of service. A second or third seal, a long loan package or a signing that runs past the included time is quoted up front, usually on the same phone call.
Loan signings are quoted per package rather than per seal, because a refinance has a dozen notarial acts and 150 pages to review, print, scan and ship. Massachusetts is an attorney-closing state, so we work as the notary signing agent supporting the closing attorney, title company or lender; we do not conduct closings, and the quote reflects notary work only. Apostille work is the $6 Massachusetts state fee plus a service fee quoted by document count and destination.
Why not charge per signature like a walk-in counter? Because the cost of a mobile visit is the trip, not the stamp. A flat, published zone rate lets you compare us honestly with the free and $5 options and decide whether the trip is worth it to you. Our mobile notary cost guide walks through sample quotes, and the in-office page explains the $45 option for anyone who can come to Tewksbury.
How do I spot notary overcharging in Massachusetts?
Since there is no statutory cap, “overcharging” in Massachusetts means a fee that was not disclosed in advance, a fee for something the notary did not do, or a fee for something a notary is not allowed to do at all. Watch for these.
- A fee that appears after the work is done. The NNA’s standard, and ours, is total price before the first signature. A notary who quotes $75 on the phone and asks for $150 at the table has given you a reason to say no before signing.
- Charging for notarial acts that did not happen. Count the seals. If two certificates were completed, you should see two acts on the receipt, not five.
- Charging a “legal fee” or “document preparation fee.” A Massachusetts notary who is not an attorney may not give legal advice, draft legal documents or explain the legal effect of a document, under M.G.L. c.222 s.17. A fee for that service is a fee for something the notary cannot lawfully sell. The notary vs. attorney guide draws the line in detail.
- Charging for a refusal based on who you are. A notary may not refuse solely because you are not a customer of the notary’s employer, or on the basis of race, religion, national origin, disability and the other grounds in c.222 s.16(b). A bank that will notarize for customers free and quotes a non-customer an unusual fee is in a gray area; ask them to put it in writing.
- Immigration “notario” services. In many Spanish, Arabic and French-speaking countries a notary is a lawyer. In Massachusetts a notary is not, and c.222 s.17 specifically bars a non-attorney notary from advising on immigration status or using a translation of “notary public” that implies legal authority. Fees for immigration advice from a notary are a red flag regardless of amount.
If you believe a notary acted improperly, write down the notary’s name as it appears on the seal, the commission expiration date, the date, the fee and what was said. Notary commissions in Massachusetts are issued through the Governor and the Governor’s Council and administered by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, whose Public Records Division can be reached at 617-727-2836 for questions about a commission. Our notary fraud guide covers what to do when the problem is worse than a fee.
Should I get a receipt, and what will the notary record?
Yes, ask for a receipt every time, and expect the notary to record the act in a journal whether you ask or not. Massachusetts notaries are required under M.G.L. c.222 s.22 to keep a chronological journal of notarial acts, and that entry, not your receipt, is the official record that the notarization happened.
A proper receipt from a mobile notary shows the date, the signer’s name, the number and type of notarial acts, the travel or visit fee as a separate line, and the total. Ours is emailed or texted at the appointment and matches the quote you were given when you booked. If you are being reimbursed by an employer, an estate, or an insurance company, that itemization is what they will ask for.
The journal entry records the date and time, the type of act and document, the signer’s name and address, how the signer was identified, and the fee charged. It does not include a copy of your document. If a question ever comes up about whether you signed something, the journal is what a court will ask the notary to produce. Any Massachusetts notary public, free or paid, is held to that standard, and the Massachusetts notary public page explains the commission, the seal and the journal in more detail.
What does a fair notary fee look like in Massachusetts in 2026?
A fair fee is one you knew before you signed, that matches the work done, and that reflects what you asked the notary to do beyond stamping. For a single English document you can carry to a desk on a weekday, fair is $0 to $10. For a notary who drives to your home, hospital room or office, waits, and handles several documents in one sitting, fair in Greater Boston is in the range of $125 to $250 per visit, with extra acts quoted.
If someone quotes far below that for a mobile visit, ask what is not included. If someone quotes far above it, ask what justifies the difference. Either way, ask before the appointment.
To get a quote for a specific document, call Hanson Webb at (978) 424-4629 seven days a week, the office at (978) 851-0199, or use https://hiremobilenotary.com/booking/. Hanson has been a Massachusetts notary public since 2007, is NNA certified, has completed more than 1,190 signings, and works in English, Arabic and French. The price you hear on the phone is the price on the receipt.
Need this notarized this week?
Same-day and weekend mobile appointments across Greater Boston and the Merrimack Valley. Flat zone pricing, travel included.
Frequently asked questions
Does Massachusetts cap notary fees?
Short answer: no, not for ordinary notarial acts. Massachusetts sets no maximum for an acknowledgment, jurat, signature witnessing or copy certification. The only statutory fee, $1.25 in M.G.L. c.262 s.41, applies to "noting" a dishonored negotiable instrument, as the SJC confirmed in 2020.
How much can a notary charge in MA?
Short answer: whatever is disclosed in advance and reasonable. The National Notary Association's Massachusetts guidance is to keep fees reasonable and tell signers before the act. In practice Boston ranges from free at the library to $5 at City Hall to $125 to $250 for a mobile visit.
Can a notary charge more than $1.25 in Massachusetts?
Short answer: yes. In Richardson v. The UPS Store, Inc., 486 Mass. 126 (2020), the Supreme Judicial Court held the $1.25 cap in c.262 s.41 applies only to noting a dishonored check or note. The Beverly UPS Store's $10 per document fee was lawful.
Have there been bills to cap Massachusetts notary fees at $10, and did they pass?
Short answer: H.814 (2017) and H.3291 (2019) proposed $10 per signature, $25 for a safe deposit box opening, and no fee for absentee ballots or veterans' claims. Neither passed; the 2019 bill went to a study order in November 2020. There is still no cap as of October 2026.
Can a Massachusetts notary charge a travel fee?
Short answer: yes. No Massachusetts statute regulates travel or convenience fees for ordinary acts. The expectation is that the travel fee is stated separately from the notarial act fee and disclosed before the appointment. Our zone rates of $125, $179 and $250 include travel and one seal.
Must a notary disclose fees in advance in Massachusetts?
Short answer: there is no statute requiring it for ordinary acts, but it is the professional standard the NNA sets and the one we follow. A notary who will not quote a total before the appointment is one to avoid. The RON law does require advance disclosure of any technology fee, once remote notarization becomes available.
Can a notary charge for an absentee ballot or a veteran's benefits form?
Short answer: legally yes, because the bills that would have barred those fees did not pass. Many notaries waive the fee for a ballot envelope as a courtesy. Ask first; if you are quoted a fee for a ballot, the library and City Hall are free or $5 alternatives.
What does a UPS Store charge for notary services in Massachusetts?
Short answer: each store sets its own per-signature fee and does not post it online. The only documented Massachusetts figure is the $10 per document the Beverly store charged from 2012 to 2018 in the Richardson case. Call the store before you go.
How do I complain about an excessive notary fee in Massachusetts?
Short answer: first, do not pay a fee you were not told about before signing. If you believe a notary acted improperly, note the name and commission date on the seal and contact the Secretary of the Commonwealth's Public Records Division at 617-727-2836, which handles commission questions. Charging for legal advice or immigration help is a c.222 s.17 violation, not just a pricing dispute.
How much does Hire Mobile Notary charge?
Short answer: $45 per notarial act in our Tewksbury office; mobile visits from $125 (Zone 1), $179 (Zone 2) or $250 (Zone 3, including Boston and hospital visits), each including travel, one seal and 15 minutes. Extra seals and loan packages are quoted before the appointment. Apostilles are the $6 state fee plus a quoted service fee.
