22 ways to make money as a Notary (2024)

Excellent suggestions; I'll let you know if and when they work! Many thanks - jab

The title of the article is "22 ways to make money as a notary". The actual article appears to be ways to INCREASE your income as a notary. To me, these are different things.

I agree with Darrell.

Great tips! I have yet to implement some of these activities, and I thank you for sharing.

The first point really does sound incredibly simple. So much so that I laughed quietly to myself. However, it's so simple that people could easily look past it. It's smart to have some business cards as well when you tell people you're a notary. That way you can easily give them your information should they require your services. http://integralaw.ca/

"Provide free notarizations for the local high school athletics department."But in the NNA's Notary Public Code of Professional Responsibility, it says "All should be charged the same, or none should be charged." That means you shouldn't pick and choose whom you will assess a fee to.

Some of these suggest are kinda of dumb...waiters do not care if you're a notary or not!

I believe some states allow NP's to perform marriage ceremonies.

This article is very deceiving, many of these suggestions seem to be more about paying out money than making money. I feel with any business you have to do some marketing and networking, but to me none of these show me how I can go out and start making money now.

Hello Twynette. If you're looking for more specific information on alternate income opportunities, perhaps these articles can help you: https://www.nationalnotary.org/notary-bulletin/blog/alternate-income-opportunities

Waiters may not care but they lend pens to customers who sign credit card receipts.

Great suggestions!!

Great suggestions! Suggestions are just that, share them, use them if one wishes!

If you take one idea, it called stealing. If you take more than one, its call research. I thank you for the research. I am going to take more than one. Some great info

Great tips that I can definitely apply.

Absolutely none of these ideas are dumb. As far as some of them costing money well it takes money to make money and no one said you had to take all 22 of them. But its not like any of them are going to break the bank. The idea that offering free services to a select few deserving people is in anyway inappropriate is ludicrous, do you begrudge the police officer his free coffee at the corner store or the active duty soldier their discount at local businesses? Of course not. I feel more inclined to give my business to a company that acknowledges the special services these people offer. I mean can you really think that helping out the high school teams student body could do anything but make you look like a hero?

I normally don't leave negative feedback but these suggestions are sort of dumb for the title of this "people are always asking how to make money as a notary", so buys pens and hand them out to your waiter. We seem to be on a subject of making "more" money when I'm still looking for your suggestions on how to make it to begin it. If I make $2.00 per signature, buy pens and cards to hand out and notarized for free, oops I haven't made more money at all, seems I now can't afford my membership and certifications.

I believe the article is relevant. You have to spend money to make money.

Notarizing for veterans, what a fantastic idea. Thank you

I do a lot of free signings for members of a club I belong to. It's nice to be able to give back. For doing free notarizations it has produced other notarizations that I get referred and it outside the members club!

I will certainly try all an I'm positive it will be a successful 2017

Alow me to thank you for your email message entiled, "22 Ways of Making Money as a Notary". I would greatly appreciate more information regarding this topic since we have not as yet been active in the Notary Market Place and would like to be more financially productive. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you. Dr. Eric T. Martin

Hello. You can read more articles on this topic in the Bulletin's "Alternate Income Opportunities" section (https://www.nationalnotary.org/notary-bulletin/blog/alternate-income-opportunities). We're glad you found the article helpful. Have a great day!

I agree with Mister J03 Aug 2015 you have to charge or not to charge you can not choose. another thing is that you can only charge so much like $ 5 a document and the maximum for travel set by the IRS allotment..

I'm looking forward to becoming a notary signing agent. My mind was opened on how to market my business. Thank you. tJr7g4

I agree with everything the other people leaving comments are saying, i have not made any money so far, but people from chicago, and michigan, and iowa asknme can i notarize a document and i don't know if i can in other states, im licensed in indiana, can someone answer that????

Hello. Indiana Notaries only may notarize within their own state ((IC 33-42-2-1[b] and 33-42-1-1)), so you cannot notarize when you travel outside the borders of Indiana.

Excellent tips to start 2017 with a brighter perspective.

Thank you for sharing!

Great advice on how to let others know you're a notary. Putting it out there when you are talking to people even waiters is a great way to get business some how some way people remember or they'll ask you for your number just in case, that is how I have gotten my business someone will remember I'm a notary and will pass on the word to someone else and there I go..This advice is great for Notaries like me I have a day job and do notary work evenings and weekends.

I'ce been notary my whole life, My experiences, personally and professionally, have taught me that innovation is continuous. I recently decided to take my business a step further, expanding to Maryland. I hired an agency to develop an SEO strategy. Sales deriving from SEO have improved monthly profit margins. We will be modifying our business structure because of the results. We are very happy. for those who fear an investment in internet marketing, we are a success story. Dalai Group is the agency we used to manage our Maryland SEO (http://dalaigroup.com/maryland-seo/) campaign. They were very commited to the project from the start.

The title should be "22 ways to market as a Notary", title is deceiving.

I love these ideas. Some of these things are free too or do not cost a lot of money. I am glad that I found this article.

I repeat, doing free notarizations for some people but charging others is against the NNA's Notary Public Code of Professional Responsibility.As a Notary Public, you are not just a business. You are an impartial, neutral public official. All should be treated equally. You should NOT decide that some people or organizations get free notarizations but others don't simply based on your personal judgment of their merit.

The title should be "Ways to Market Your Notary Services & Make Yourself Extra Busy" but, yes, some decent tips included here.

I liked to different ways you cna make money as an NP. I will try some but other ways can you do so if you are just getting started? I think there are some ways you can free business cards and advertising? Do anyone know of any of this?

Hi Mike. This article has some links to lower-cost advertising resources you may find helpful: https://www.nationalnotary.org/notary-bulletin/blog/2014/11/notary-advertising-strategy-best

Sounds like work.

I have found that in order to make money as a notary you need to do loan documents like refinances, HELOCS, home purchases etc. I dont see any way a notary can make money doing individual notary jobs cause there is a max we can charge. Pens wont do it at all. That was not even close to being a good suggestion. Networking was a good suggestion. Do it with title and escrow people. I get the feeling NNA threw this together to have something on their site, simply to have something. Some of the suggestions will get you business but again we can only charge a few dollars. I dont think a community shred day is going to land you much other then people getting rid of trash for free but it sounds good in an article. That pen idea was insulting.

How do you make money when by law you can only charge $10 per signing?

Great advice on how to let others know you're a notary! I find that word of mouth brings in more clicens then anything.

I'm surprised you didn't mention Authentication as a way to make a significant additional source of income. Many notaries send me documents to process at the State Department. This is 3rd party arrangement that allows them have a service through our company. They notorized the document and send me the part that needs to go the the State Department and embassies.

In some states, it's a requirement that Notary's are paid state mandated fees. So check the law or local notary webpage before you listen to some of this advice.

never be notary because notary always all get sued in the end even if he do nothing wrong

I have been a Notary for 13 years not nearly as long as some but I find some of these comments a little frightening. Like not knowing if you can notarize outside the state you are commissioned in. Also to not know that a Notary can charge whatever they need to for travel, that is not regulated by the IRS. Mileage for tax purposes for the IRS is a separate issue. I have purchased pens for years to leave my customers as gifts. Notaries do a tremendous amount of writing and I consider good pens a necessity. I am going to order some less expensive pens for passing out. I think that is a good idea. You can find some for as little as 50 cents. And it is a write off for tax purposes for advertising. NNA codes of conduct are fine suggestions but they are not the law. I do on occasion not charge for a Notarization when I know the circ*mstances warrant that. It is not against the law. Look at the Banks that notarize documents at no charge for their customers. I find many people are just not able to use sound reason anymore, therefore the quibbling about whether this article was titled correctly. Really?I will make one suggestion. I do a lot of Trust documents for law offices. I love doing them and would take them over loans any day.

I just come to this article to check what a notary can do or how they make money. It helped me to understand about notary's activity.

Thank you for the suggestions...

I think the suggestions were helpful if a person chooses to do those things. I also would like to make more money as a Notary but it will not just happen like magic. I have to market myself just like with any other business. The pens are good because people like free stuff no matter what and if it costs me $50.00 for 100 pens which could lead to future business, that is a small price to pay. If you are not willing to invest in your own business, who else would be willing to give you the secrets that have made money for them. Not many. The fact someone was even willing to offer tips on how we could make more money is helpful in itself.

Great Suggestions and remember not everything is for everyone, take what works for you. I agree with Birdena especially regarding mobile fees and trust documents. I would also suggest listings at Yelp and Google as no cost advertising to start and commenting on your online member sites while you keep yourself updated!

Was looking for ways to make money as a notary - this is just an article on how to market yourself. Totally misleading headline.

Notarization should be a service, not a source of income (and I know most of you disagree with me)!

I can’t do anything because you have never sent me my stamp

Hello. If you are having an issue with a stamp order, you can contact our Customer Care team at 1-800-876-6827 or services@nationalnotary.org to ask for assistance.

I am a Notary in AZ. I do Notary services at our Local So.AZ Home for Veterans located on the campus of the VA. I was doing them Pro Bono. Then I was advised that if I was audited and the state saw that I charged others, I could lose my commission - that I had to either charge all or none. So I now charge.

These are not ways to make money. These are ways to market your services. Huge difference. There are only 4 ways to make money as a notary. Employee, GNW, NSA, and expert (trainer/speaker/writer). That's it. Everything else is variations or marketing.

WHY WOULD I HAVE TO CHARGE FAMILY AND FRIENDS .HOW WOULD THEY KNOW WHO I CHARGE AND WHO I DO NOT CHARG?

Hello. The amount Notaries may charge for their services is set by state law. For more information, please see here: https://www.nationalnotary.org/notary-bulletin/blog/2016/11/how-state-notary-fees-compare

Marketing will help to make your money, all that is adviced is a great idea.

Get Experience, get Education, the more you know the more you do, the more you earn.

Might want to do a spell check. “Veterams” of Foreign Affairs

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We've corrected the spelling error.

Is there a format to performing weddings, or do you use the format found in churches?

Hello. Please see this article for more information: https://www.nationalnotary.org/notary-bulletin/blog/2014/05/how-notaries-add-wedding-services

Thank You!

To be honest your article is informative and very helpful. After i saw your site and i read it and it help me a lot. Thanks for share your kind information.

This information was so great, got my wheels turning, ready to take my business to the next level, I’m already a Notary. And will be a loan signing notary in the couple of days, I will take this information and apply it to my business.

These are great pointers and has given me creative ideas! Thanks for the article!

Great suggestions!

Just like the very first commenter on this thread from 4 years ago, I too am stymied by how I can make a true income when I am limited to only charging $10 for a signing. Do you just make up for that by inflating mobile notary travel fees?

Some of these responses are just petty. You can always go to another site and find what your are seeking. As a new notary, some of the suggestions were helpful.

Any Commissioned Officer in the military can notarize docs and the Admin Officer, XO and CO have use of the command seal, as legit as a notary stamp!

Hello. Yes, this is correct as long as they are on active duty and the notarization is taking place for a person also on active duty.

Thank you for the information.

Great advice. However, I would add that you need to know your state law on fees. In some states, you set your rate and are required to charge everyone the same fees. My point on this is in reference to providing volunteer work which would be contrary to some state laws if your Jurat or Acknowledgement fee is set and posted in accordance with Secretary of State requirements. You would need to charge everyone the same fee regardless.

This is more about networking than making money, but still good info.

Another spellcheck suggestion under "Develop a business page on social media" - Faceboo rather than Facebook.

Hello. We've corrected the typo. Thanks for letting us know.

The idea of placing a sign on your car is a good one but, in some states. Florida is one, where you may need to upgrade your car insurance to commercial. Be careful.

I am a Ron notary. It is my first time to have this type of position. I am very proud and interested in learning this type of notary. I need to win extra in cash.

Thank you

Yes that title is definitely inaccurate

I'm very new to Notary. I started the last of June. My ignorance was and is with computers. I'm still learning of the computer. This leads me to what I have just read in this post. If it's all you are interested in is making money, you are with the wrong mindset. You are in this business to help people and by helping people you will eventually make money. As for the 22 Ways, I think it's awesome that, Mark, somehow took his time, energy, and knowledge to put this together for us to learn and obtain an understanding of how to do the loan signing business, and the notarty business as well. For those 22 Ways may not help you but just think of the many that will get something out of it. Stretch your mind and change your mindset. Do you want to learn and make money or do you take this as a place for your frustrations. I become frustrated with computers so much till i want to throw it out the windwow, but then I say this is what I want to do, so since I don't know any notaries as yet, I reach out to a friend and ask them for their knowledge. I'm in this for the long run. Good luck, Love and Blessings to all. I'm looking forward to actualy meetings some of you in the near future.

I want to encourage all notary members of this association to volunteer as much as you can. Not only is the experience rewarding, but the only way you learn is by doing. Once you see the multitude of documents on an enormous scale as I have (in the thousands), you become a seasoned professional and are able to think on your feet and stay organized. The professional experience I have could not ever be acquired in school or by reading blogs. Give everything you can back to your community and it will thrive. Best wishes to all!

Great Article Daniel :)

These are merely suggestions on how to connect with others to learn how to help others also while being compensated. This is a service! Some people don't know where to start. So rather than nit pick about the title, get what you can from these suggestion and keep it moving. Everything may not be for you but it's helpful to somebody. Be thankful that someone is, as mentioned above, taking THEIR TIME and energy to help others.

All of these ideas are good - thank you for sharing. The negative comments are uncalled for and it make me a bit PO’d that someone can take the time to write this out for new and seasoned NP’s and all some of you can do is gripe about it. I bet you are the one’s not making any money in this business. GOOD! Our profession doesn’t need grippers like you. (Sorry for the rant but geez louize)Patti

i wont to know how much is notrioy

Hello. If you are looking for information on how to become a Notary, you can find more details here: https://www.nationalnotary.org/knowledge-center/about-notaries/how-to-become-a-notary-public

Very sound advice given. I am anxious to use most techniques to grow my notary business

The title of this should be changed to "22 ways to promote your notary business" very clickbaity Daniel Lewis. And not helpful or a good article.

I enjoyed reading the suggestions, thank you. I haven’t implemented any of them, but I intend on doing a few. Some have implied that they are not beneficial, however I’ve learned it’s what you do with information as to whether it’s beneficial to you.

These are great suggestions and ideas that I could definitely use going forward. Thank you very much for sharing Daniel!

I feel if you mentally decide to become a Notary and are positive in the process you will earn income as much or as little as you are willing to put towards this venture. Who cares what the title is just read or don’t read and keep in mind it’s up to you to decide to be successful or to be unsuccessful. Negative comments aren’t warranted or needed in this forum. It’s all about your attitude in all aspects of life. “Get knocked down get up again “😀 PS no one needs a spellcheck monitor. It doesn’t make you sound smarter it’s just annoying you are trying to find ways to discredit this forum. Get a punching bag instead.

Thanks for the wonderful suggestions on sustaining a viable notary profession. They are quite doable and can help promote the business better.Kindly clarify the issue of offering free notary services to sports or youth groups as incentives and its contradiction to NNA’s code of conduct and professional practice. I am about to apply for membership. I appreciate your kind response.

Hello. Charitable acts such as supporting community youth programs do not show unfair bias or compromise a Notary’s impartiality. For more information, please see the fees section in our article on "Notaries And Impartiality": https://www.nationalnotary.org/notary-bulletin/blog/2017/08/notaries-and-impartiality

I am interested in knowing all of the ins and outs of the business. They do offer insurance that will protect you from making errors.

GREAT Suggestions!

The mention of Notarizing for Veterans for FREE is a great idea that I've been doing for many many years. I also was doing Notary work for free at our local Senior Center. I had to stop the Senior Center due to Covid and being around older folks who may be more susceptible to Covid. I do plan on going back someday to continue that free service for Senior Citizens, but I still do not charge Veterans for my service.

In Alabama, ONLY a notary can do the marriage paper work. I started offering FREE marriage notarizations with a comic add on that I charge full price for divorce documents. My FB page got so many thumbs up and calls.

Trying to increase earnings as a notary doesn't make sense for me. New Mexico only allows $5 per document, that isn't worth my time.

Great suggestions! Thank you so much NNA. I agree with a comment above of the limited amount of knowledge some notaries actually have with simple laws. Stay positive and think outside the box sometimes with your marketing, you would be surprised how many leads you may get from waiters!! Its also nice to gain friendly reminders to things you may already know but miss opportunities a lot of the time........

I appreciate the article but everything listed is “how to advertise” your Notary Business. I want to know what other avenues are there to making money “having Notary Certifications”

Hello. You may find these articles helpful: https://www.nationalnotary.org/notary-bulletin/blog/alternate-income-opportunities

Wow! This was very helpful. Thank you!!

Great ideas. Thank you for sharing. I especially like the one idea for free notary for veterans !

I have a question because I see a lot of this type of "make money" or "make more money" as a notary in the emails your organization sends out. Everyone in our office is a notary and generally your emails are informative and provide us with useful information, but where we are from, the most one could charge as a notary is $5 per doc, Using that figure as a baseline, one would have to notarize 624 docs per month for 12 months of the year in order to make the equivalent of $18/hr or $37,440/yr. Idk where your members are from, but those numbers are not feasible here - no matter how many pens you hand out. I just don't think it is realistic to lead people to believe they can have a functional income producing business as a notary.

In the state of Nebraska we can only charge $5 per page, but I don't think we all can just buy supply's at once. So I would start off with a pack of pen's and a notebook for my ledger till I made a little money. Then a little at a time buy advertising pen's, business cards, and a notary ledger. I will also buy a state notary handbook for $22 and hope I can build from there. Some items are as high as $40

Advertising on your vehicle as a notary may be considered “commercial usage” of the vehicle by your auto insurance carrier. Might become an issue should an accident occur. Check to find out if a business use Endorsem*nt is needed or required. These are great suggestions, thank you!

what is a set rate for a si8gnature in Florida ?

Hello. The fee schedule for notarizations in Florida is as follows:"The fee of a notary public may not exceed $10 for any one notarial act under this part, except as provided in [FS] s. 117.045 (i.e., rite of matrimony fee) or [FS] s. 117.275 (online notarization fees)” (FS 117.05[2][a] and RMN)."An online notary public or the employer of such online notary public may charge a fee, not to exceed $25, for performing an online notarial act under this part. Fees for services other than notarial acts, including the services of a [remote online notarization] service provider, are not governed by this section. A [remote online notarization] service provider’s services are also not considered closing services, as defined in [FS] s. 627.7711, and a fee for those services may be separately charged" (FS 117.275).“For solemnizing the rites of matrimony, the fee of a notary public may not exceed those provided by law to the clerks of the circuit court for like services” (FS 117.045). The current such fee charged by clerks is $30 (FS 28.24[24]).A Notary may not charge a fee for witnessing a vote-by-mail ballot in an election (FS 117.05[2][b]).

Why become a notary when you're only allowed to charge a miniscule amount, yet have a ton of expenses to operate correctly especially insurance.