5.1 Notary Fees

Montana Notary Fees

Montana fees for notarial acts are governed by MCA 1-5-626 (Montana Code Annotated, Title 1, Chapter 5, Part 6). The statute sets a hard ceiling, allows a narrow travel-fee exception, and is a heavily tested area because exam writers love clean numeric thresholds. The single number to memorize is $10 per notarial act — not per signature, not per page, and not based on the document's value.

The $10 Statutory Cap

A notary public may charge a fee not to exceed $10 for each notarial act. The cap is identical regardless of which authorized act you perform, so do not let the exam trick you with a complex deed or a high-dollar contract — the price of the document is irrelevant.

Per-Act, Not Per-Signature

The cap attaches to the act, and one act can cover multiple signers if it is a single certificate. Conversely, if one document needs two separate acknowledgments (two certificates), that is two acts and two $10 charges. A worked example: a married couple jointly acknowledges a quitclaim deed under one acknowledgment certificate — that is one act, so the maximum is $10. If instead each spouse signs a separate certificate, you may charge up to $20.

Travel Fees — the Narrow Exception

Montana permits a separate travel fee on top of the $10 act fee, but only under strict conditions drawn straight from MCA 1-5-626:

1. The fee charged for travel must be equal to or less than the standard mileage rate allowed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). (For 2026 the IRS business standard mileage rate is published annually; you charge that rate per mile, never a higher flat amount.)
2. The person requesting the act must agree in advance on the amount of the additional travel fee.
3. You must tell the requester the travel fee is "an amount not determined by law" — i.e., it is your charge, not a state-set fee.

Common Traps and Disclosure

• Trap: "A high-value real-estate closing lets the notary charge more." False — the cap is $10 regardless of value.
• Trap: "Travel fees can be any reasonable amount." False — they are capped at the IRS mileage rate and require advance agreement.
• An employer-commissioned notary may be required to notarize as part of the job at no charge; the employer may set internal fee policy, but no policy can exceed the statutory $10.

Finally, the fee charged (including "$0" or "no fee") must be entered in your journal for each act, because the journal is the audit trail the Secretary of State relies on. Disclose the fee before you perform the act so the signer can consent — undisclosed surprise charges undermine the public trust the commission protects.

Worked Examples and Fee Math

Because fee questions are quantitative, practice the arithmetic until it is automatic.

Example 1 — Single document, multiple acts. A signer brings a power of attorney that requires one acknowledgment, plus an affidavit attached to it that requires a jurat. That is two separate acts on two certificates: up to $10 + $10 = $20 maximum, plus any agreed travel fee. The fact that both pages travel together does not merge them into one act.

Example 2 — Mobile signing with travel. You drive 24 miles round-trip to a hospital to perform one acknowledgment. If the signer agreed in advance, you may charge $10 for the act plus a travel fee of 24 miles times the IRS standard mileage rate — never a flat "convenience" surcharge above that computed amount.

Example 3 — Free notarization. A bank employee notarizes a customer's signature card at no charge as part of the job. Charging $0 is fully lawful; Montana sets a ceiling, never a floor.

Disclosure and Receipts Checklist

Why the Cap Exists

The $10 ceiling and the strict travel-fee rule exist to keep notarial services affordable and predictable for the public. A notary is a public officer, not a vendor pricing by market demand, so the statute removes the temptation to charge by document value, urgency, or the signer's apparent ability to pay. On the exam, any answer choice that ties the fee to document value, page count, urgency, or a flat travel surcharge is wrong; the only correct levers are the $10 per-act cap and the IRS-rate travel fee agreed in advance.