I wanted clarification on charging fees for each notarial act in Virginia. I know we cannot charge more than $10 per notarial act, but what constitutes a notarial act? Is it the number of times you use your stamp, or is it the number of signatures you are notarizing?
For example, if I am acknowledging 4 signatures - 2 signers and 2 witnesses- but using one acknowledgment form, and notating all 4 people individually in my journal, is that 4 notarial acts on one acknowledgment form? I want to ensure I am charging fees correctly. — C.J., Virginia
You are correct that Virginia Notaries may charge up to $10 per notarial act (COV § 47.1‑19; A Handbook for Virginia Notaries Public, p. 4), and you are also correct that in your scenario you are performing four notarial acts. You are entitled to charge $40 for the four notarial acts.
The key to understanding the fee statute lies in the definitions of acknowledgment, affirmation, and oath in COV § 47.1‑2. Each definition describes a notarial act as one performed “for an individual at a single time and place….” In other words, a notarial act is tied to the person, not the certificate form or seal. This makes sense: for each acknowledgment you take, you must identify the signer, obtain their voluntary acknowledgment, and complete a certificate that to evidence that act.
Why be limited to charging a single $10 fee simply because the names of all four signers appear on one notarial certificate or you affixed your seal only once? If fees were assessed per certificate or seal rather than per act, a Notary could simply prepare four separate certificates and stamp each — one for each signer — and charge $10 each. While legally permissible, this would be unnecessary.
Virginia law resolves this by tying the fee to the act performed for each individual: the statute authorizes $10 “for taking and certifying the acknowledgment of any writing.” Whether you complete and affix your seal to one combined certificate or four separate certificates, you have still taken and certified four acknowledgments, and therefore may charge $10 for each.
Commissioning officials in some states have interpreted their fee statute as applying per notarial certificate. To our knowledge, the Virginia Secretary of the Commonwealth has not provided any other official guidance than the statement in the Handbook that a Notary may charge $10 per notarial act.
Notaries seeking information on fee schedules and fee-charging rules in other states can consult our 2026 Notary Fees By State page.
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