The quickest places to get a bill of sale notarized are your own bank, a UPS Store or FedEx Office, or a remote online notarization platform you can use from home. Many banks notarize for free if you have an account there, shipping stores charge the state notary fee plus a service add-on, and online platforms let you finish the whole thing over a video call for around $25 per signature. Which one makes sense depends on how fast you need it done, whether the other party can meet you in person, and what your state allows.
Banks and Credit Unions
Start with your own bank. Several major banks notarize documents at no charge for account holders. Bank of America, for example, provides notary services for free and asks only that you bring valid ID and all pages of the document.1Bank of America. Notary Services from Bank of America
Call the branch before you drive over. Not every location keeps a notary on staff every day, and walk-in availability depends on who’s working. If the buyer and seller are both signing, confirm the branch can handle two signers in one visit.
Shipping and Office Stores
UPS Store and FedEx Office locations frequently offer notary services for a fee. They tend to beat banks on hours, which matters if you’re trying to close a sale on a weekend or in the evening. Expect to pay the state-maximum notary fee plus any store service charge. Call ahead; the service isn’t offered at every location.
Other Walk-In Options
Public libraries, law offices, real estate agencies, and insurance offices sometimes have a notary on staff. AAA offices in some areas offer notarization as well. Availability is inconsistent across all of these, so a phone call before the trip is worth the two minutes.
Mobile Notaries
A mobile notary travels to your home, office, or a neutral meeting place like a coffee shop. This is the right choice when buyer and seller live far apart and want to meet halfway, or when getting to a bank or store isn’t practical. Mobile notaries charge a travel fee on top of the standard per-signature fee. Some states regulate travel charges with per-mile rates; others only require the fee to be reasonable and disclosed in advance. The travel portion is often the larger part of the bill.
Remote Online Notarization
Remote online notarization (RON) lets you finish the process over a live video call without leaving home. As of early 2025, 45 states plus Washington, D.C. have permanent laws allowing it.2Notary Trails. What to Expect in 2026 — Notary Laws, RON Updates and What It Means for You A handful of states, including California, Massachusetts, and Georgia, have not implemented or do not permit RON, so confirm your state allows it before you sign up for a platform.
In a typical session, you upload the bill of sale, join a video call with a commissioned notary, and verify your identity using your government-issued ID plus knowledge-based authentication questions pulled from public records and credit databases (past addresses, account details, family members’ names). You have to answer most of them correctly within a time limit. The entire session is recorded and stored, which can actually serve as stronger evidence of proper execution than a traditional in-person visit, where no video exists.
What It Costs
Notary fees are capped by state law for in-person acknowledgments, and the range is wider than people expect. In 2026, maximum fees run from $2 per signature in states like Georgia and New York to $25 in Rhode Island, with most state caps falling between $5 and $15.3National Notary Association. 2026 Notary Fees By State Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, and Louisiana set no maximum at all, so notaries there charge what the market will bear.
Remote online notarization typically costs more. Most RON states cap the fee at $25 per signature, and the platform may add its own technology surcharge on top.3National Notary Association. 2026 Notary Fees By State Mobile notaries add travel on top of the per-signature fee. Banks that notarize free for account holders remain the cheapest option when one is available to you.
What to Bring
Showing up without the right materials is the most common reason people leave empty-handed. Before you go:
- Bring a current, unexpired government-issued photo ID: driver’s license, state ID card, U.S. passport, or U.S. military ID. The name on the ID must match the name on the bill of sale. If your legal name has changed since the ID was issued, bring supporting paperwork such as a marriage certificate.
- Bring the completed bill of sale, but do not sign it beforehand. The notary has to watch you sign. Bank of America specifically tells customers not to sign or date documents before arriving.1Bank of America. Notary Services from Bank of America
- Fill in every field on the document. Any blank space can be read as an opportunity for later alteration, and the notary may refuse to proceed. Write “N/A” in fields that don’t apply rather than leaving them empty.1Bank of America. Notary Services from Bank of America
- Bring every person whose signature needs to be notarized, each with their own valid ID. A notary cannot notarize a signature they didn’t witness.
Before you leave the appointment, look over the notarial certificate the notary completes. Check that the state and county are right, names are spelled correctly, and the date is accurate. Fixing errors at the table is far easier than fixing them later.
Mistakes That Get a Notarized Bill of Sale Rejected
Even after proper notarization, a DMV or recording office can still reject the paperwork if something on the face of the document looks wrong. The errors that cause the most trouble:
- Names that don’t match across the bill of sale, the signature line, and the notarial certificate. If the document says “Robert Smith” and you sign as “Bob Smith,” the inconsistency can trigger a rejection.4PropLogix. How Notaries Can Prevent Document Rejections
- A missing or incorrect venue on the notarial certificate. The venue line identifies the state and county where the notarization happened, and leaving it blank or wrong is one of the top rejection reasons.4PropLogix. How Notaries Can Prevent Document Rejections
- An illegible notary stamp. If the recording office can’t read the notary’s name, commission number, or expiration date, the document comes back.4PropLogix. How Notaries Can Prevent Document Rejections
- An incomplete notarial certificate: missing dates, unsigned certificates, or an unclear description of the notarial act performed.
- Blank fields in the bill of sale itself.
Do You Even Need It Notarized?
Most states do not require a bill of sale to be notarized for everyday personal property sales. Several states do require it when you transfer a vehicle title through a private sale, and the rule depends on the state where the vehicle is being registered. Check with your local motor vehicle agency before you assume you can skip the step; if you submit an un-notarized bill of sale where one is required, the agency rejects it and you have to track down the other party to sign again in front of a notary.
For aircraft, the FAA does not require a notarized bill of sale for federal registration, though state or local rules may still apply. Vessel transfer rules also vary by state, with Louisiana, for example, requiring a notary’s signature on ownership transfer documents unless specific exceptions apply.
Even when it isn’t required, notarization is worth considering for high-value sales. A notarized bill of sale is harder to challenge later because a neutral third party verified identities and witnessed the signatures. For a vehicle, boat, piece of heavy equipment, or anything worth more than a few thousand dollars, the fee is cheap insurance.