The short answer

In Massachusetts, in-office notary services start at $45 per signature witnessing for all standard services. Mobile notary visits price separately based on travel time and distance. Specialty services like apostille processing, loan signings and bedside hospital visits price by complexity. Every appointment requires booking in advance.

What does Massachusetts law say about notary fees?

Massachusetts notary fees are governed by M.G.L. c. 222 and the executive standards set by the Governor. Massachusetts does not set a standard fee for most notarial acts, so fees vary by provider and should be disclosed up front. Travel fees, witness coordination fees and document preparation are separately negotiable as long as both parties agree before the appointment.

What this means for you: the per-signature fee you pay is regulated. Add-on services (mobile travel, witness coordination, after-hours availability) are based on what’s reasonable for the work involved.

In-office notary fees in Massachusetts

For appointments at our Tewksbury office at 1215 Main St, Unit 115, the standard rate is $45 per signature witnessing across all common services. That includes verifying your photo ID, witnessing your signature, completing the notarial certificate, applying the seal, and recording the act in our notary journal as state law requires.

Document type	In-office fee	Typical time on site
General signature witnessing	$45 per signature	10-15 minutes
Power of Attorney (POA)	$45 per signature	15-20 minutes
Healthcare Proxy (HCP)	$45 plus witness coordination	15-20 minutes
I-9 Verification	$45 per signature	10-15 minutes
CORI Forms	$45 per signature	10 minutes
Deeds and real estate documents	$45 per signature	10-15 minutes
RMV Affidavit of Correction	$45 per signature	10 minutes
Passport Application for Minor (DS-3053)	$45 per signature	10-15 minutes
Corporate documents	$45 per signature	15-30 minutes depending on package

Mobile notary fees

Mobile notary visits price differently because they include travel. We quote each mobile visit individually based on three factors: the destination city, the time required on site, and any after-hours or weekend premium.

For most visits within the Merrimack Valley (Tewksbury, Lowell, Andover, Dracut, Billerica, Wilmington, Chelmsford), the all-in cost typically lands between $125 and $199, depending on zone. Visits to Boston, Cambridge, Newton or Worcester run higher because of drive time and traffic.

Specialty service pricing

Loan signings

Loan signing fees depend on the package size and signing time. A typical refinance signing at 100-150 pages prices between $125 and $200. HELOC, second mortgage, and reverse mortgage signings price similarly. We provide a written quote before the appointment so there are no surprises. Read more about our loan signing service.

Apostille service

Apostille fees include the state authentication fee plus our processing time. The Massachusetts Secretary of State charges a state fee per document. Our processing fee covers preparation, courier service to and from the state office, and document tracking. Total cost typically runs $95 to $175 per document depending on complexity. See our apostille service.

Bedside hospital and senior living visits

For families needing a notary at a hospital, hospice or assisted living facility, we offer compassionate bedside service. These visits typically run $125 to $278 all-in, depending on the facility location. We bring witnesses if needed and adapt the pace to the principal’s energy level.

Three real appointments, priced line by line

Rate sheets only get you so far. Most people want to know what their specific errand will cost before they book. Here are three appointment shapes we see week after week, with the math written out.

Example 1: one durable power of attorney, signed at our office. One signer, one notarized signature. The cost is $45. You are in and out in about 20 minutes, and there is nothing else to pay. Free parking sits right outside our office at 1215 Main St in Tewksbury, inside Neighborhood Parcel.

Example 2: an estate planning set for a married couple, signed at our office. Say each spouse signs a durable power of attorney and a healthcare proxy. That is four notarized signatures at $45 each, or $180 total. Booking both spouses into one appointment costs the same as two separate visits, but it saves you a second trip and keeps the whole set moving together. Our estate planning notary guide walks through how these signings run and which documents need witnesses.

Example 3: a mobile visit to a rehab facility eight miles away. A facility eight miles from our Tewksbury office falls in Zone II, which is a flat $199 with two notarized seals included. If the patient signs a third document, that signature adds $35, for a total of $234. Nothing else stacks on top. Travel, wait time and the first two seals are all inside the flat rate. Our hospital bedside notary page covers how these visits work when the signer is admitted somewhere.

Every quote we give before booking is the number you pay at the appointment. If the document count changes when we arrive, the only adjustment is $35 per added signature. The full rate table lives on our notary pricing page.

Cheaper options we will point you toward when they fit

We would rather tell you the cheap path exists than have you find out after paying us. For some errands, the right answer is not a private notary at all.

Your bank or credit union. Many Massachusetts banks notarize for account holders at no charge. If you have one simple document, a flexible weekday schedule and an account at a branch with a commissioned notary on duty, start there. The limits show up fast, though. Branch notaries commonly decline wills, healthcare proxies that need witnesses and anything unusual, and availability depends on who is working that day.

Shipping-store counters. FedEx Office and UPS Store locations often have a notary on staff at low per-signature rates. Walk-in availability is the gamble. We wrote a full comparison in our FedEx notary guide for Massachusetts.

Remote online notarization. For a signer who is out of state or fully comfortable on camera, a RON session handled under the authorizing state’s rules is sometimes the fastest and cheapest route. It is not right for every document, and some receiving agencies still want wet ink. Our online notary page lays out when remote works and when it backfires.

Where a private office earns its fee is certainty. A booked time slot, witnesses arranged when a document needs them, a notary who handles estate packages and loan documents every week, and mobile service when the signer cannot travel. You are paying to have the signing go right the first time.

When one document means several acts

The single biggest source of quote confusion is the gap between “a document” and “a notarial act.” Fees attach to acts, and one stack of paper often contains several. Learning to count acts lets you price your own appointment from the kitchen table.

Count the signatures that receive certificates. A deed with two owners carries two acknowledgments even though it is one document. A trust package might hold a certificate of trust, a deed and two affidavits, each with its own certificate: four acts from what the client experiences as “signing the trust stuff.” Corporate paperwork does the same thing, where three resolutions signed by the same officer are three acts, because each certificate stands alone as its own attestation.

Some pages surprise in the other direction. A document with five signature lines might need only one notarized, with the rest belonging to witnesses who sign without certificates. The instruction letter from the drafter or receiving agency usually says which lines get sealed. When you are unsure, read us the signature pages over the phone and we will count acts with you before you book, so the quote and the receipt match. Multi-act appointments still happen in one sitting, and our guide to which Massachusetts documents get notarized shows what typical packages contain.

Frequently asked questions