Notary side hustle posts love big monthly numbers. The real answer is less exciting, and more useful. How much can a notary make? Short answer: part-timers in the best-known survey often land between $500 and $1,000 a month, state law caps what you can charge per signature, and the people who earn more usually work as mobile notaries or loan signing agents and spend a year or two building up.
I haven’t worked as a notary myself, so I won’t tell you what a Saturday of signings feels like. What I did was read what the National Notary Association (NNA) publishes on earnings and travel fees, and the IRS pages on the tax side. I’ll flag where the numbers are old, because one of the key surveys dates from 2020.
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Last updated: October 2026. Fees are set by state law and change, so check your own state’s notary office before you rely on any number here.
Key Takeaways
- Part-time pay is modest. In an NNA survey of about 3,000 notaries, 43% of part-time, self-employed notaries earned over $500 a month, and nearly 30% earned over $1,000 (NNA).
- State law caps the fee per signature. It can be as low as $2 in New York and 50 cents in Vermont, and as high as $15 in California, according to the NNA’s state fee chart.
- Travel fees are separate. Most of a mobile notary’s extra income comes from them, and you should agree on the amount before the appointment.
- It takes time. The NNA says it isn’t a get-rich-quick business and that new notaries usually need 12 to 24 months before their fees rise.
- Taxes are on you. After $400 of net self-employment income, the IRS charges 15.3% self-employment tax on top of income tax.
How Much Can a Notary Make?
How much can a notary make on the side? The best public data I found is the NNA’s 2020 survey, published in an article it updated in 2025. It covered about 3,000 voluntary respondents, so treat it as a rough guide, not a promise.
For part-time, self-employed notaries, 43% earned over $500 a month and nearly 30% earned over $1,000. For full-time mobile notaries, more than half earned $2,000 or more a month, and nearly two-thirds of full-timers with at least three years in business earned $4,000 or more. The NNA also says five-figure monthly incomes are rare.
Two details I’d keep in mind. First, 88% of full-timers and 80% of part-timers said their business was profitable enough to continue, and 42% of part-timers were in profit within a year. Second, several comments under the article say signing volume and fees dropped after 2020, and the NNA’s replies don’t address how current the survey is. So the numbers are a ceiling to test, not a forecast.
My take: if you want a notary side hustle, plan around the part-time range, not the full-time one. A few hundred dollars a month is a realistic first goal when you ask how much a notary can make part-time. Anything above that is a bonus you earn by building a client base.
How Much Can a Notary Make After Costs?
Here’s an example, not a promise, with made-up round numbers. Say you do 8 appointments in a month, charge $10 for the notarial act and agree on a $20 travel fee, so each one pays $30. That’s $240 before costs. If each trip is 15 miles round trip, the IRS standard business mileage rate for 2026 is 72.5 cents a mile (IRS), so mileage alone is about $87. That leaves roughly $153 before taxes and supplies.
That’s the number to find for yourself when you ask how much a notary can make: not the fee on the invoice, but what’s left after the driving. If your state caps the act at $2, the math gets tighter fast.
How Much Does a Notary Charge?
How much does a notary charge? It depends on your state, because state law sets the maximum fee for the notarial act itself. The NNA’s state fee chart (it has no date, and the latest change it mentions is California’s 2017 increase) lists these examples for an acknowledgment:
- Texas: $6 for the first signature and $1 for each additional signature.
- Florida: $10.
- New York: $2.
- California: $15 per signature.
- Vermont: 50 cents, the lowest on the chart.
That’s why the same job can pay differently depending on where you live. Check your state’s official notary office for the current figure before you plan your income. One more point: the NNA says it can’t recommend specific fee amounts for loan signing agents, so any “you should charge $X” number you see online is someone’s guess.
What About Travel Fees?
Travel fees are where a mobile notary’s income can grow, but the rules vary. According to the NNA, travel charges must be kept separate from notarization fees, and you should agree on the travel amount before the appointment, even in states without travel fee rules, like Florida and Texas.
A couple of examples show how different the rules are. Maryland allows travel charges up to the federal mileage rate (76 cents per mile from July through December 2026) plus a flat fee of up to $5. Nevada allows $15 an hour for travel during the day. The NNA also suggests explaining your policy if a signing is cancelled, and listing travel as a separate line item on your invoice.
What About Taxes and Invoicing?
Notary income is self-employment income, so nobody withholds tax for you. Once you’ve netted $400 in a year, the IRS charges self-employment tax of 15.3%: 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare, on top of regular income tax. You can deduct the employer-equivalent part of that tax when you work out your adjusted gross income.
The IRS also says self-employed people generally need to make estimated tax payments if they expect to owe $1,000 or more when they file, using Form 1040-ES. The page doesn’t list the 2026 due dates, so check the Form 1040-ES instructions. I’m not a tax professional, so check your own situation with one or with the IRS. My guide to financial planning for gig workers covers the saving habits I’d start with.
For invoices, I’d use something simple from day one, because travel fees and notary fees should appear on separate lines. One option is FreshBooks, an invoicing and expense tool for freelancers. Its pricing page lists a Lite plan at $23 a month (with a promo that was showing $1 a month for the first year when I checked) and a 30-day free trial with no credit card. The catch is that Lite covers 5 billable clients, so if you serve many one-off customers, you’d need the Plus plan at $43 a month for up to 50. Promotions change, so check the page before you decide.
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If you only work with one or two title companies, a spreadsheet may be enough at first. The tool matters once you have many small invoices to chase.
Is a Notary Side Hustle Worth It?
So how much can a notary make that’s worth your time? Only you can set that bar. A notary side hustle is worth it if you can fit appointments around your schedule and you treat it as a slow build. The NNA says starting a notary business is low-cost compared to other careers, but it gives no dollar figures for expenses, so I can’t tell you your start-up cost. Notary commission rules and fees vary by state.
Who Does It Fit?
It suits you if you like meeting people, you can drive to appointments, and you’re fine with unpredictable income. It’s a decent add-on to a flexible job. If you want to see how I weigh any hustle against the hours it takes, my side hustles guide has the formula, and my guide to weekend side hustles shows what else you can do on a Saturday.
Who Should Skip It?
Skip it if you need steady income this month. Fees are capped, work can be uneven, and the NNA’s own advice is to expect 12 to 24 months before your rates improve. If you need cash sooner, my guide to extra income while working full-time sorts ideas by how many hours you have.
FAQ
How much can a notary make a year?
The NNA survey reports monthly figures, not a yearly total. In it, 43% of part-time, self-employed notaries earned over $500 a month and nearly 30% earned over $1,000, while more than half of full-time mobile notaries earned $2,000 or more.
How much can a notary make part-time?
In the NNA’s 2020 survey, 43% of part-time, self-employed notaries earned over $500 a month and nearly 30% earned over $1,000. The survey is older, and some commenters say volume and fees dropped afterwards.
How much does a notary charge per signature?
State law sets the maximum fee for the notarial act. The NNA’s fee chart lists $6 for the first signature in Texas, $10 in Florida, $2 in New York and $15 in California, but it is undated, so check your state’s notary office.
Can a notary charge a travel fee?
Often yes, but the rules differ by state. The NNA says travel fees must be kept separate from notarization fees and should be agreed on in advance.
Do you pay taxes on notary income?
Yes. Notary income counts as self-employment income, and the IRS charges 15.3% self-employment tax once your net earnings reach $400 in a year.
Want to compare this with other options? Start with the best gig economy jobs that pay instantly.
The Bottom Line
How much can a notary make on the side? Think hundreds of dollars a month at first, and more only if you build a client base over a year or two. The main limits are your state’s fee caps and how many appointments you can get.
My advice: look up your state’s fee limit first, work out what a month of appointments would pay, and decide before you spend anything. And if the NNA numbers or your state’s rules have changed by the time you read this, send me a message through the contact page so I can update the guide.
Writes and tests every guide on hustle&passive. Everything here is something we have actually run — including the parts that did not work.
