Individuals in Georgia applying for or renewing Notary commissions may get a significant break after a new bill that seeks to undo a massive application fee hike has passed through the state House of Representatives by a vote of 162 to 1. As the Notary Bulletin reported last year, the state more than tripled Notary application fees — from $37 to $162 — but it turns out that the increase was not intended.
The increase came about when the state Attorney General said a general judicial fee measure enacted in 2010 also applied to Notary application fees. Rep. Richard Smith, the original bill’s sponsor, said at the time that he did not intend the fee increase to apply to Notaries. The current bill, also sponsored by Smith, explicitly exempts Notaries from the increase.