The bill amends South Carolina Code §26-1-100(A) to increase the statutory maximum a notary may charge for common notarial acts from five dollars to ten dollars. The five enumerated items affected are acknowledgments, oaths or affirmations without signature, jurats, signature witnessing, and verification of fact; each is recast with a $10 maximum and the change takes effect upon the Governor’s approval.
The change is narrow and mechanical but consequential in practice: it raises the ceiling on routine fees that notaries and signing agents can charge, which can modestly increase costs for individuals and organizations that obtain many notarizations and raise per-transaction revenue for mobile and professional notaries. It does not create new notarial authorities, change commissioning rules, or require notaries to charge the new maximum.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill replaces every instance of a five-dollar cap with a ten-dollar cap in §26-1-100(A), covering acknowledgments, oaths or affirmations without signature, jurats, signature witnessing, and verification-of-fact certificates. It leaves the structure of the statute intact—this is an increase to the statutory ceiling, not a new mandatory fee schedule.
Who It Affects
Commissioned notaries public in South Carolina (including private signing agents and traveling notaries), businesses and legal practices that routinely procure notarizations (title companies, law firms, banks), and end-users who pay for notarizations (consumers, clients, and agencies). Entities that reimburse or set internal fee limits will need to review their policies.
Why It Matters
Even though the per-act increase is small, cumulative effects matter for high-volume operations and for mobile notaries who charge per signature or per trip. The amendment also requires organizations to update posted fee notices, client disclosures, and any contracts or internal reimbursement rules that reference the state cap.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The bill makes a single, targeted change to South Carolina’s notary-fee statute: it substitutes the number ten for the number five across five enumerated notarial acts in §26-1-100(A). That means a notary may now charge up to $10 for each acknowledgment, jurat, signature witnessing, verification of fact certificate, and for an oath or affirmation taken without a signature.
The statute still frames these as maximums, so notaries can continue to charge less than the cap.
Practically, the amendment raises the potential charge on a per-signature or per-certificate basis. For documents with multiple signatures the law’s “per signature” language allows the fee to be multiplied by the number of signers; a three-signature acknowledgment could therefore be charged up to $30 under the amended text.
The bill does not alter any definition of the notarial acts themselves, nor does it address other notary requirements such as commission, recordkeeping, or bonding.The act takes effect immediately upon the Governor’s approval, so affected parties must move quickly to align administrative materials. Employers, title companies, and legal service providers that reimburse notarization costs should update policies and vendor contracts.
Public offices or programs that pay third-party notaries will need to budget for slightly higher per-act expenses if they reimburse to the new statutory cap.The bill is narrow in scope: it changes amounts but not the process. It does not expressly mention electronic or remote notarization, nor does it create new enforcement mechanisms; any dispute over fees would proceed under existing state law and consumer-protection remedies.
Because the text only adjusts the dollar figure and not the underlying obligations, the primary implementation tasks are operational and accounting — updating fee notices, websites, and internal rate cards — rather than substantive legal compliance changes.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill amends South Carolina Code §26-1-100(A) to raise the statutory maximum notary fee from $5 to $10 for specified acts.
The five enumerated acts changed are: acknowledgments; oaths or affirmations without a signature; jurats; signature witnessing; and verification of fact certificates.
Each listed fee is expressed on a per-signature, per-person, or per-certificate basis — meaning multi-signature documents can incur multiple $10 charges.
The increase is a statutory ceiling only; the bill does not require notaries to charge the higher amount and does not change notarial authority or procedures.
The amendment takes effect upon the Governor’s approval and does not address electronic or remote notarization or add new enforcement provisions.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Doubles the statutory cap on five enumerated notarial acts
This is the operative change: the text replaces the word 'five' with 'ten' in each of the statute’s five clauses, so the maximum charge for an acknowledgment, jurat, signature witnessing, verification of fact, and an oath/affirmation without signature becomes $10. For practitioners, the practical consequence is the potential for higher per-document revenues and for multi-signature instruments the statutory language allows charging the cap for each signature unless constrained by other agreements or policies.
How per-signature and per-certificate language plays out in practice
Because three of the statute’s lines use 'per signature' and one uses 'per certificate' the same $10 cap can stack on a single instrument: multiple signers equal multiple maximum fees. This legal detail matters for closing agents, notary services, and document preparers who assemble multi-party documents; it also matters for consumers who may face several charges in a single transaction. The bill does not place any new limits on aggregation of those fees within a single notarial encounter.
Immediate effect upon Governor's approval
The bill becomes operative as soon as the Governor signs it. That leaves little lead time for systems and policy updates: businesses and public offices that pay for notarizations should adjust budgets and vendor agreements quickly. The statute contains no transitional provisions, so fees charged after the effective date fall under the new cap.
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Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Commissioned notaries public — especially mobile or independent notaries: the higher cap increases potential revenue per act and makes travel and same-day services relatively more compensatory.
- Signing agents and title/closing services: higher per-signature ceilings can increase revenues on multi-signer transactions and make outsourced signing services slightly more profitable.
- Small private notary businesses that rely on per-transaction pricing: the amended cap improves margins on routine notarizations without requiring additional licensing or training.
Who Bears the Cost
- Individuals and consumers who require notarizations — particularly people who sign multiple documents or who use paid, commercial notary services: costs per transaction can rise and add up for frequent users.
- Nonprofit legal clinics and pro bono providers that pay for external notarizations: program budgets may face pressure from higher per-act charges.
- Public agencies and private employers that reimburse notarization fees: entities that cover notarization costs for constituents or employees may face modest increases in expenditures.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is between improving notary compensation and maintaining affordable access: a higher statutory cap recognizes time and travel costs for notaries but simultaneously opens the door to higher out-of-pocket expenses for consumers and organizations that rely on frequent notarizations, with no intervening measures to protect vulnerable users.
The bill is narrowly drafted — it changes only the dollar amounts and does not address the broader architecture around notarial practice. That economy of drafting leaves several practical questions open.
It does not say whether the new caps apply to electronic or remote notarizations; absent explicit language, stakeholders will rely on other statutes or agency guidance to determine applicability. The per-signature phrasing also creates potential sticker shock for multi-signer instruments and for consumers who do not expect fees to accumulate per signer.
Enforcement and behavioral effects are uncertain. Raising the ceiling does not compel notaries to charge more, but it gives cover for doing so; some notaries may begin charging the new max where they previously charged less.
That could reduce access for low-income individuals who rely on free or low-cost notarial services. Conversely, the increase may better compensate mobile notaries and reduce refusals to travel for low-fee jobs.
Administrative impacts are mundane but real: offices must update posted fee notices, fee schedules, vendor contracts, and internal reimbursement rules to reflect the new statutory cap, and budget planners must estimate the aggregate cost impact without historical precedent for a similar statewide change.
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