To the notaries public among the Teeming Millions in the Golden State:
I’ve been reading the handbook to study for the test to qualify as a Notary Public in California. According to the handbook, a notary must have a seal and a journal, and provide a bond. How much does this cost? (I live in Gardena, in Los Angeles County.)
Thanks very much. 
Not a notary here, but a Google search suggests $20-30 for a seal and $25-60 for a 4-year bond. The journal can be a plain old $5 notebook. There’s also about $50-60 in registration/testing fees.
My wife was a notary a few years back (she let it lapse.) She got all of her notary stuff at Kinko’s. It was less than $60 total.
Haj
Thanks. I have a 10% discount as an Amway distributor. I’ll inquire at a Kinko’s in my area in a few days…
Is being a notary something that’s pretty well paying? I’ve never really thought about how one becomes one and now I’m curious. Would it be something I could do on the side or what?
Pays good if you charge good…My friend notarizes real estate sales at 200.00 US dollars a pop. made 250,000 last year. Note that this is what I was told as he drove off in his “Tuesday” Porche. I’m sure it wasn’t an overnight success though.
I have only had to use a Notary a few times, both in Iowa and in Missouri and I have never had to pay any fee’s. I have used them both in a bank (of which I was not a member) and in a city hall. I didn’t think it was anything that people would do for a profit. Am I missing something here?
I was a notary in California at one time.
To make much money you have to be in a position to get a lot of custom, or where the signer has little or no choice as to the fee. I never heard of someone making $250K just as a notary.
Besides the bond, it is also advisable to get Errors and Omissions Insurance, so if one of your notarizations blows up on you, you are insured. (Possible example: husband and wife are deeding house to new buyer, seems a normal sale, later it turns out ‘wife’ was bogus, he’s long gone with the money, and the real wife never sold her interest in the house. $300,000 issue.) Always get good ID.
frixxxx, your friend must be doing something more than notarizing. California notaries may not charge more than $10. Other states may not have maximum fees, but the prices are surely comparable.
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Maybe he’s a little underhanded in his excuse for his prosperity. Or he’s getting paid per signature. what’dya think?
This morning, Nov. 13, 2003, I bought my materials at the NNA in Chatsworth, CA, and filed the oath, bond, and E&O insurance policy in a county office in Van Nuys. I await the seal, which will come in a few days. The end of a long, long trail, I hope.