When it comes to signing certain important paperwork—like forms or contracts associated with finances, estates, and property—you may be required to have a witness to deter fraud. Your witness, in most cases, would be a notary public. The notary public submits to be your impartial witness to verify the validity of your documents. In return, you pay the notary a pre-agreed fixed fee for his or her services.

This small fee is the subject of one of the most frequently asked questions about London Public Notaries. Specifically, how much should you expect to pay a notary public to notarise your document?

As you might expect, there isn’t one easy answer to this question. Notary public fees can vary depending on the notary, the document(s) you are getting notarised, and the number of notarisations you need. Let’s look at each of these factors individually to get a ballpark idea of how much you might pay for notary services.

• The notary: When you contact a London notary public to perform a notarisation, you should always ask for a fixed fee price quote. Different notaries will charge different fees for their services, so speaking with several might help you save money.
  

• The documents: For particularly complex documents, a notary might charge more than his or her usual fixed rate. When enquiring about fees for notary services, also ask your notary which services might fall under this ‘more complex’ category.

• The number of notarisations: Many notaries will charge one fixed fee for the first notarisation or two, but will charge less for additional notarisations. If the notary charged a flat rate of £120 for the first notarisation, he or she might offer a discounted rate for all additional notarisations after that.

There are other factors to consider as well. For instance, if you engage the services of a ‘mobile notary,’ the notary would likely charge you for travel time, distance and an attendance fee.