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National Notary Association

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MD Administrative Regulations (2024)

Rule/Regulation

State: Maryland

Effective: January 22, 2024

Summary
A new regulation from the Maryland Secretary of State raises the commission application fee, but also raises fees Notaries may charge for their services.
Affects
Amends Sections .02, .04, .09, and .10 of Title 1, Subtitle 2, Chapter 8 of the Code of Maryland Regulations.
Changes
  1. Raises the application fee for a Notary commission from $9 to $25.
  2. Raises the maximum fee Notaries may charge for the performance of an original notarial act from $6 to $8.
  3. Raises the maximum fee Notaries may charge for the performance of a remote notarial act from $25 to $30.
  4. Raises the maximum fee Notaries may charge for notarizing a signature on an additional copy other than the first from $3 to $4.
  5. Provides that a Notary must notify the Secretary of State's office of a change in the Notary's personal email address, business address, if one was provided at the time of application, and business email address, if one was provided at the time of application.
Analysis

The Notary commission application fee in Maryland has been $9 for a long time. While a $16 increase is hefty, the new $25 application fee that Notaries or their employers pay once every four years is in line with application fees across the country. To compensate somewhat, the Secretary of State also raised the maximum fees Notaries may charge. A $2 increase for traditional notarial acts and a $5 increase for remote notarial acts will help offset the higher application fees for independent Notaries and Notaries employed in businesses that offer and charge for notarial services to the public. The Maryland Secretary of State's office has clarified to the NNA that the prior $2 service/convenience fee that was added on top of the commission application fee no longer will be charged.

The rules proposed on November 17, 2023, were adopted as proposed. The proposed regulation in the November 17, 2023, edition of the Maryland Register is attached below.

To read the adopted administrative regulation, click Download PDF below.

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