Can a Notary Charge Travel Fees in Utah? Rules Explained

Yes, Utah notaries can charge travel fees at $0.70 per mile in addition to the notarial act fee. Here are the rules and how to minimize costs.

Utah Law on Notary Travel Fees

Utah law allows notaries to charge reasonable travel fees that are separate from the capped per-act notarial fee.

The Utah notary fee statute sets a maximum of $10 per notarial act for in-person notarization and $25 per act for remote online notarization. However, travel fees fall into a different category. They are not notarial fees, they are service fees that compensate the notary for the time, fuel, and vehicle costs of traveling to a signer's location.

Because travel fees are not classified as notarial fees, they are not subject to the same statutory cap. However, they must be reasonable. The standard practice in Utah and nationwide is to calculate travel using the IRS standard mileage rate, which for 2026 is $0.70 per mile. This rate accounts for gas, depreciation, insurance, and maintenance costs associated with operating a vehicle.

The key principle is transparency. A notary must disclose all fees, including travel, before the appointment. If a notary shows up at your door and surprises you with an unexpected $50 travel charge, that is unprofessional and potentially a violation of consumer protection standards. Always get a written or verbal fee estimate that includes the travel component before confirming your appointment.

At NotaryLTD, we calculate travel fees transparently from our Park City office at 1090 Center Dr, Suite 23, to your location. We provide the total estimated cost including all fees before you book.

How Travel Fees Are Calculated

Travel fees are based on round-trip mileage from the notary's office to your location at the IRS rate of $0.70 per mile.

The calculation is straightforward. The notary measures the driving distance from their office or home base to your location. That distance is doubled for the round trip and multiplied by the mileage rate. For example, if your home is 12 miles from the notary's office, the round-trip distance is 24 miles. At $0.70 per mile, the travel fee is $16.80.

Some notaries add a time component for long drives that take significantly more time due to traffic, mountain roads, or construction. However, the mileage-only approach is the most common and transparent method. Notaries who charge a flat travel fee regardless of distance may overcharge nearby clients or undercharge distant ones.

It is worth noting that the travel fee is charged once per visit, not per document. If you have five documents to notarize, you pay five per-act fees but only one travel fee. This is why batching multiple notarizations into a single mobile visit is the most cost-effective approach. Visit our FAQ page for more savings tips.

For clients in Summit County and the Park City area, travel fees from our office are minimal. Clients in Salt Lake City or Wasatch County should factor in the greater distance when comparing mobile notary to RON options.

Travel Fee Examples by Service Area

Here are estimated travel fees from NotaryLTD's Park City office to common destinations in our service area.

From our Park City office, here is what to expect in travel fees. Destinations within Park City and the Snyderville Basin area, such as Jeremy Ranch, Kimball Junction, or Deer Valley, typically fall within 5 to 10 miles one-way. That translates to $7 to $14 in round-trip travel fees.

Heber City and the Wasatch Back communities are approximately 15 to 20 miles away, resulting in travel fees of $21 to $28. Midway, Charleston, and Jordanelle areas fall in a similar range. These are reasonable fees for the convenience of having a notary come directly to you.

Salt Lake City is roughly 30 to 35 miles from Park City, depending on the specific neighborhood. Travel fees to downtown SLC run approximately $42 to $49. South Valley communities like Sandy, Draper, and Lehi are 40 to 50 miles away, pushing travel fees to $56 to $70. For these distances, our RON service at $25 per act with no travel fee is typically the better value.

We always provide exact distance calculations when you give us your address. No estimates or approximations. You know your total cost before you confirm the appointment.

How to Minimize or Eliminate Travel Fees

Visit the office, use RON, or choose a nearby notary to cut travel costs to zero.

The simplest way to avoid travel fees entirely is to visit the notary's office. When you come to us at 1090 Center Dr, Suite 23 in Park City, you pay only the per-act fee with no travel charges. Our office is open seven days a week from 9 AM to 9 PM, so finding a convenient time is easy.

Remote online notarization is the second option for eliminating travel fees. RON costs up to $25 per act versus $10 in person, but with zero travel fees it is the cheaper choice whenever the travel fee would exceed $15. For any location more than about 11 miles from the notary's office, RON wins on cost.

If you prefer in-person service but want to minimize travel fees, choose a notary located close to you. If you are in Heber City, book a Heber City notary rather than one in Park City or Salt Lake City. Geography is the biggest factor in travel fee calculations, so proximity matters.

Bundling is another powerful strategy. If you have multiple documents to notarize this month, schedule them all for one visit. You pay the travel fee once regardless of how many acts the notary performs during that appointment. Five documents at one visit cost far less than five separate mobile appointments.

When RON Beats Mobile Notary on Price

RON becomes cheaper than mobile notary service when the travel fee exceeds $15 for a single-act notarization.

Let us do the math for a single notarial act. Mobile notary charges up to $10 per act plus travel at $0.70 per mile round trip. RON charges up to $25 per act with no travel. The breakeven point is when travel equals $15, which happens at approximately 21.4 miles round-trip or about 10.7 miles one-way.

For two notarial acts, mobile costs up to $20 plus travel, while RON costs up to $50. The breakeven travel distance doubles to roughly 43 miles round-trip. For multiple acts, mobile notary remains cheaper at closer distances because the per-act savings compound while the travel fee stays fixed.

The takeaway is clear. For locations close to the notary with multiple documents, mobile service is the best value. For distant locations with one or two documents, RON is the smart financial choice. NotaryLTD offers both services and will recommend the option that saves you the most money based on your specific situation. Call us at 435-565-1333 or visit our contact page to discuss your needs.

What Travel Fees Cannot Include

Travel fees must reflect actual transportation costs and cannot include padding for time, convenience, or demand-based surcharges.

While Utah law allows reasonable travel fees, the word "reasonable" does important work. A travel fee should reflect the actual cost of transportation to and from your location. It should not include inflated charges for the notary's time sitting in traffic, convenience premiums for same-day service, or demand-based surcharges because it is a busy week.

Some notaries try to bundle a time charge into the travel fee, essentially charging an hourly rate for driving time in addition to the mileage cost. While this is a gray area legally, the best practice and the industry standard is to use straight mileage. Any additional charges for time, convenience, or special circumstances should be disclosed separately and agreed upon before the appointment.

At NotaryLTD, our travel fee is pure mileage at the IRS rate. We do not charge time premiums, convenience fees, or rush surcharges. Our 9 AM to 9 PM availability seven days a week means we rarely need to squeeze in emergency appointments. We accommodate most requests with standard scheduling and standard pricing.

If a notary quotes you a travel fee that seems disproportionate to the distance, ask how it was calculated. A transparent notary will walk you through the mileage math. If they cannot or will not, consider that a red flag and explore other options. Check our FAQ for tips on vetting notary service providers.