California

Guide live

Every claim below carries its citation and the source it was checked against. Sections still in verification say so rather than guess.

Fees

$15 per signature is the maximum a notary may charge.

This is a ceiling, not a set price. A notary may charge less, or nothing at all. It applies per notarized signature.

Cal. Gov. Code §8211Cross-checked · 2026 CA Notary Public Handbook

Fees · Travel

Travel fees are not capped by statute and are recorded separately.

The $15 cap covers the notarial act itself. Travel is a separate charge and gets its own line in the journal.

Cal. Gov. Code §8211Cross-checked · 2026 CA Notary Public Handbook

Fees · Free acts

Two notarizations must be free: a veteran's benefit claim, and vote-by-mail or other voting materials.

Those are the two that apply to any notary. Three narrower exceptions exist, and two of them turn on who the notary is rather than what the act is.

Cal. Gov. Code §8211(d), (f); §6107Cross-checked · 2026 CA Notary Public Handbook

Notarial acts

Acts · Jurat

A jurat must be signed in the notary's presence.

This presence rule applies to jurats specifically. Acknowledgments follow their own rules.

Cal. Gov. Code §8202Cross-checked · 2026 CA Notary Public Handbook

Acts · Certified copies

A notary can certify a copy of a power of attorney — but never a birth, death or marriage certificate.

Vital records can only be copied by the State Registrar, local registrars and county recorders. That covers notarizing one as well as certifying it. The notary's own journal is the only other copy a California notary certifies.

Cal. Gov. Code §8205(a)(4); Prob. Code §4307; Health & Saf. Code §103545Cross-checked · 2026 CA Notary Public Handbook

Signer ID

Identification

A signer without ID can be identified by credible witnesses.

If one credible witness is used, the notary must personally know them. If two are used, each just needs to present their own ID.

Cal. Civ. Code §1185(b)Cross-checked · 2026 CA Notary Public Handbook

Identification · Accepted ID

A driver's license or passport works if it is current or was issued within the past five years.

Expired isn't automatically disqualifying — the test runs from the issue date. Out-of-state and foreign documents are accepted from a narrower list, and those must also carry a photo, a description, a signature and a serial number.

Cal. Civ. Code §1185(b)(3), (b)(4)Cross-checked · 2026 CA Notary Public Handbook

Journal & seal

Journal

A power of attorney requires the signer's thumbprint in the journal.

One of the journal entries California specifically requires for powers of attorney and certain deeds.

Cal. Gov. Code §8206(a)(2)(G)Cross-checked · 2026 CA Notary Public Handbook

Journal · What's recorded

Every act goes in one active sequential journal, kept locked and under the notary's exclusive control.

Each entry records the date, time and type of act, the character of the document, the signer's signature, how they were identified, and the fee — including when the fee is nothing. Failing to secure the journal is itself grounds for action against the commission.

Cal. Gov. Code §8206(a)(1), (a)(2)Cross-checked · 2026 CA Notary Public Handbook

Seal

Every California notary must have a seal, and it stays theirs even if an employer paid for it.

It's kept locked and under the notary's exclusive control, and can't be surrendered to an employer on leaving a job. It has to reproduce photographically, which is why nearly every California notary uses a rubber stamp; an embosser may be used as well, not instead.

Cal. Gov. Code §8207Cross-checked · 2026 CA Notary Public Handbook

Online (RON)

Online Notarization

California signers may use online notaries commissioned in other states.

California's own remote online notarization won't operate until the Secretary of State certifies its technology. Until then, online notarizations performed by notaries in other states are recognized here.

Cal. Gov. Code §8232.1Cross-checked · 2026 CA Notary Public Handbook

Apostille

Apostilles are issued by the California Secretary of State.

The notary handles the notarization. The apostille itself comes from the Secretary of State's office.

CA Secretary of StateCross-checked · CA Secretary of State, Request an Apostille

Apostille · Cost

An apostille costs $20 per document from the Secretary of State, separate from anything the notary charged.

In person there's also a $6 handling fee for each different public official's signature. The notary's own fee is separate from both.

California Secretary of StateCross-checked · CA SOS Apostille FAQs (worked fee examples)

Becoming a notary

You must be 18, a California resident, complete a six-hour course approved by the Secretary of State, and pass the state exam.

The course only counts if the Secretary of State approved that vendor. After the commission issues you have 30 days to file the oath and a $15,000 bond with your county clerk — until then it isn't in effect.

Cal. Gov. Code §8201(a); §8204; §8212; §8213(a)Cross-checked · 2026 CA Notary Public Handbook

Becoming a notary · Term

A California commission runs four years from the date written in the commission itself.

Not four years from the day you're sworn in: the 30 days you have to file the oath and bond come out of the term rather than on top of it. Renewal isn't a lighter process either — you take the full six-hour approved course again unless you already hold a current commission and have completed it before.

Cal. Gov. Code §8204Cross-checked · 2026 CA Notary Public Handbook

Complaints

If the notarial portion exceeds the cap, the Secretary of State is who takes complaints about California notaries.

The Secretary of State disciplines notaries — it can't recover your money or undo a document. Fraud or forgery goes to local law enforcement or the district attorney instead.

Cal. Gov. Code §8214.1; §8220Cross-checked · 2026 CA Notary Public Handbook; CA SOS complaint process

Straight answer · What these guides are

Reference, not legal advice.

These guides explain how notarization works: the fees, the acts, the process. They won't tell you which document your situation needs, and neither will any notary. Notaries public are not attorneys and cannot give legal or immigration advice. For that, talk to a lawyer.

The same rule that governs our directory governs these pages: we publish what the state publishes, cite it, and stop there.

Find a California notary All state guides