Before you even contact a notary, you need to be sure that your document can/should even be notarized. Vital records such a birth, death, and marriage certificates (or copies of these) cannot be notarized.
Some documents, if they are to be used internationally, actually need an Apostille rather than a notarization. Other documents, if related to the transfer of financial securities, may require a Medallion Signature Guarantee rather than a notarization.
In California, you must appear before the notary in person. Remote online notarization is not yet legal in California. The notary will check your ID and enter it into her journal. Confirm with her prior to the appointment what types of ID are valid.
If your document includes CA compliant notarial wording, the notary will have you sign and then will notarize on the same document/piece of paper. If your document does not include CA compliant notarial wording, the notary will attach a page with the correct wording, and that will be the page the she signs and stamps.
After you sign your document and the notary completes the notarization, you will sign in her notary journal. If the document is a Power of Attorney or affects the transfer of real property, you will also need to provide a thumbprint in the journal. Some notaries, such as myself, collect a thumbprint for nearly every transaction, as an added layer of security and identification.
California sets a maximum charge of $15 per notarized document, which is what you would pay if you went to UPS or another store that provides this service. Since I am a mobile notary, I provide the added convenience of meeting you wherever and whenever you would like, including evenings, weekends, and holidays. For this convenience, I charge $25-$45, depending on where you are located and how far I need to travel.
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