New York fixes what you may charge, by statute. Here are the actual numbers, the sections they come from, and an honest read of whether a commission is worth the $75 it costs to get.
| Act | Maximum fee | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Administering an oath or affirmation | $2 | Exec. Law §136 |
| Acknowledgment or proof of execution, per person | $2 | Exec. Law §136 |
| Swearing each witness | $2 | Exec. Law §136 |
| County clerk authentication certificate | $3 | Exec. Law §133 |
| Electronic notarial act | $25 | 19 NYCRR Part 182; NY DOS |
These are statutory maximums. A notary may charge less and many charge nothing; nobody in New York may lawfully charge more for the act itself.
If you have been told that a notary commission is a reliable second income, look at that first row again. Executive Law §136 entitles you to two dollars for administering an oath. Twenty signings a week at $2 is $40. That is the honest picture of the traditional fee, and any preparation course implying otherwise is selling you a story.
What the commission is genuinely worth is everything it sits next to. It is worth having if you already run a business people come to, if you work in real estate, insurance, tax preparation or law, if you serve a community that needs documents sworn, or if you intend to travel to people — a mobile notary charges for the journey and the hour, not for the stamp, and the $2 cap does not touch that. It is also the entry ticket to the number below.
The Department of State states plainly that an electronic notary may charge up to $25.00 per electronic notarial act performed. That is 12.5 times the traditional cap, set by regulation under 19 NYCRR Part 182 rather than by the 1930s fee schedule, and it is why the arithmetic of a New York commission looks different than it did five years ago.
Registration under Executive Law §135-c costs $60 and includes filing an exemplar of your electronic signature with the Secretary of State. But the obligations are real and you should count them before you commit:
One thing we could not confirm from a primary source, so we will not assert it: whether an active commission is a formal prerequisite for electronic registration. §135-c asks for your commission expiration date, which strongly implies it, but implication is not the same as a rule. Ask the Department of State before you plan around it.
| Item | Cost | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Written examination | $15 | Paid to the State on the day |
| Application for appointment | $60 | Exec. Law §131 — $20 of it goes to the county clerk |
| Term of the commission | 4 years | Exec. Law §130 |
| Renewal, every 4 years | $60 | Eligible from 90 days before expiry |
| Name or address change | $10 | Exec. Law §131 |
| Electronic notary registration | $60 | 19 NYCRR Part 182 — optional |
$75 to New York State, total. There is no compulsory course, no bond and no association membership. Our preparation package is $20, and we would rather you knew the State’s number is the bigger one.
You do not go to the county clerk to be sworn in. Executive Law §131 provides that the oath of office is executed before any person authorised to administer an oath and submitted to the Secretary of State with the application. A great deal of guidance online still describes the older process. The county clerk keeps the record of your commission and signature — which is what allows the public to verify your official signature afterwards, and what the $3 authentication certificate under §133 relates to.
Your jurisdiction is the whole state. A New York notary’s authority is co-extensive with the boundaries of the state. The county on your record is where the record lives, not a limit on where you may act.
New York sets the maximum by statute. Executive Law §136 entitles a notary to two dollars for administering an oath or affirmation, two dollars for taking and certifying an acknowledgment or proof of execution by one person and two dollars for each additional person, and two dollars for swearing each witness. Those are maximums, not suggestions.
It is, and it has not moved in a long time. This is why almost nobody in New York earns a living from the notarial fee itself. What people actually charge for is travel, availability and the loan-signing work the notarisation sits inside — and, since the electronic-notary rules came in, the electronic act itself.
The Department of State states that an electronic notary may charge up to $25.00 per electronic notarial act performed, set by regulation under 19 NYCRR Part 182. That is 12.5 times the $2 cap on a traditional act, and it is the single most important number in the economics of a New York commission.
$75 to the State: a $15 examination fee and a $60 application fee under Executive Law §131. Of that $60, twenty dollars is apportioned to the county clerk. Our preparation package is $20 on top, and there is nothing else that is compulsory — no course, no bond, no association membership.
Four years, under Executive Law §130. Renewal is $60 and you may file up to 90 days before your term ends.
No, and a lot of older guidance still says otherwise. Executive Law §131 provides that the oath of office is executed before any person authorised to administer an oath and submitted to the Secretary of State with the application. The county clerk's role is to keep the record of your commission and signature, which is what lets the public verify your official signature later.
$60, under 19 NYCRR §182.11(b), on top of your ordinary commission. Registration under Executive Law §135-c includes filing an exemplar of your electronic signature with the Secretary of State.
They are real and worth counting before you commit. The audio-visual recording and the associated records must be retained for at least ten years. Identity proofing must meet the NIST IAL2 standard, together with credential analysis and third-party identity proofing. That is a compliance regime, not just a webcam.
Yes. A New York notary's jurisdiction is co-extensive with the boundaries of the state, so you may take acknowledgments and proofs anywhere in New York regardless of the county that holds your record.
Honestly: not from the $2 fee. The commission is worth having if you already have a reason for people to come to you — a business, a professional practice, a community — or if you intend to register as an electronic notary and build around the $25 act. If someone has told you that a notary commission alone is a reliable income, they were selling you something.
Last reviewed 29 August 2026. Fee amounts on this page come from New York Executive Law §§130, 131, 133 and 136, from 19 NYCRR Part 182, and from the Department of State’s own notary FAQ. Pass NY Notary is an independent preparation service and is not affiliated with the New York Department of State. This is information, not legal advice.
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