Frequently Asked Questions

Whether this is your first time seeking notary service or you’re a veteran to the notarial process, you may have questions about what a notary does, what they can and cannot do, and about my own personal policies as a notary. Below you will find common questions and answers grouped into five different categories. If you have a question that you don’t see answered here, please feel free to reach out using my general contact form.

Note: Each state has their own notary laws and requirements, so while some of this information may apply to notaries of other states, it is best that you seek information about notaries in your state if you are outside of Virginia. Also, each notary may have their own policies that differ from mine.

You can request an appointment by filling out this form. This is the quickest and most efficient way to request an appointment. You should receive an automated response confirming receipt of your appointment request. I will follow-up by email directly, usually within 24 hours. If you did not receive an automated response from me or a direct response from me, check your spam folder. The email will come from lynchburgnotary.com and you may want to “whitelist” this domain inside the settings of your email provider.

If email does not work for you, I can send a SMS text message to (540) 4-NOTARY from your mobile phone (not VOIP or other provider).

Please do not call this number as I rarely answer or have time to return voicemail messages. Also, I do receive a lot of spam calls and emails. Using information received from SMS and email help me to identify real clients from scammers.

I do not have regular hours of availability and I am not “on-call” nor am I available every day. I perform notarial acts by appointment only and usually as a “last resort” after you have exhausted all other options for finding a notary. You should always plan a minimum 1-2 day lead time for appointments. Hospital signings will take priority when it comes to scheduling and I make every effort to schedule those same-day if at all possible. My highest level of availability is after 3pm on weekdays (additional travel fees apply after 6pm and on weekends). I can sometimes offer earlier appointments but usually require at least a 5-day notice to rearrange my schedule. If you have an immediate need for notary services, please click here to see other options for finding a notary in your area who may be available sooner.

No. To ensure the safety and privacy of all parties, I will only perform notarial acts in public settings. I may agree to come to your place of business as long as there is an appropriate space for properly performing the notarial act without distraction or disruption. While it is your responsibility to secure a location for our appointment, I reserve the right to refuse notarization in any environment deemed unsatisfactory for performing my duties.

Generally speaking, I am happy to come to a hospital or other healthcare facility to perform notarial service. However, you should first check with facility’s staff before contacting a mobile notary as most healthcare facilities have notaries on-site or have a preferred list of notaries they use.

You do have the right to select your own notary and are not required to use the staff or contracted notaries of any facility, however, some facilities have security policies or other restrictions on outside persons entering the facility. In these cases, it is usually best to choose a notary that has already been approved to provide service in their facility.

If you still wish to have me provide you notarial service, travel fees may apply in accordance with my standard travel fee policy found by clicking here. Additionally, there are certain extra procedures and precautions I undertake when performing hospital signings that can be reviewed by clicking here.

Yes. Because one of my primary obligations as a notary public is to ensure that the person signing is of sound mind and signing of their own free will, there are some special conditions that must be met for me to perform notarial service at a hospital or other healthcare facility. More information can be found by clicking here.

I charge the maximum allowed under the Code of Virginia (§ 47.1-19) for each notarial act. As of July 1, 2024 this fee is $10.00 per act. A notarial act is defined as each time I affix my seal and signature to a document. For most appointments, there will be just one notarial act but some may require multiple notarizations and therefore will incur more than one notary charge. If any notary in the Commonwealth of Virginia ever quotes you a higher fee than this for notarial acts alone, they are breaking the law and you should report your experience to the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

Note: This fee is solely for the notarial act itself. Notaries may charge reasonable travel fees, but they must disclose these fees to you beforehand and you must agree to these fees in advance. Depending on your location and time of appointment, I may or may not charge a travel fee. You can read more about the travel fees I charge by clicking here.

Depending on the chosen location and the time of your notary appointment, there may be travel fees. My “home base” is within a 10-minute drive of the intersection of Waterlick & Timberlake Roads in Campbell County. Appointment locations within my “home base” do not incur any travel fees during business hours, but do incur travel fees during after-hours. Appointment locations outside of my “home base” incur travel fees at all hours, but they are higher after-hours. All areas incur additional travel fees on federal or state holidays. Please click here for more information on my travel fees.

Virginia law (§ 47.1-19) prohibits a notary from charging more than the maximum statutory amount for each notarial act performed. Notaries may, however, impose a reasonable travel fee to recover both actual and reasonable costs of travel to perform the notarial act if it is outside of the location where he or she normally performs notarial acts. You can find out more about my travel fees by clicking here.

Upon request, I can also provide basic printing services for your documents if you do not have access to a laser printer or choose not to use a retail printing service.

I do not charge any other fees and provide no additional services nor do I sell any products. In the event that a loose certificate is required for your notarial act or you elect to use my printed version of § 64.2-452, I provide those at my expense and at no additional cost to you.

I do not charge any convenience fees as that is not allowed under Virginia law (§ 47.1-19). The only fees I charge are (1) the statutory maximum fee per notarial act; (2) travel fees when applicable; (3) printing fees if elected by the client. For printing services, there is a $3.50 base fee and then a per-page fee. You can read more about my travel fees by clicking here and about my printing service fees by clicking here.

Yes! While the preferred payment method is cash, I do accept payment via credit or debit card as well as contactless payments. I use the Square payment system and accept contactless payment (Apply Pay, Android Pay, Samsung Pay), and chip (EMV) cards only. ** I no longer accept payment via traditional magnetic strip cards. If your card does not have a chip, you will need to make payment using another payment method. Payments will appear on your bank or credit card statement as “SQ * Edward Thomas” or “SQ * Lynchburg Notary” or similar.

For jobs requiring travel of 20 minutes or greater one way, pre-payment of non-refundable travel fees is required, even if the job has to be cancelled or terminated. For these transactions, you must pay by credit or debit card (you can still pay cash in person for your notary fee). I will send you a link to securely make your payment online via the Square online store. Your credit card information is never stored by me nor does it appear on any receipts or invoices (except for the last 4 digits of your card number).

For your protection, the name on your card must match the name on your identification and the card must be in the name of the person whose signature is being notarized or the cardholder must also be present and show identification. (For example, if a husband is being notarized, I will not accept his wife’s credit card as payment unless she is also present and shows her identification).

There is no cost to you for paying by credit or debit card. All processing fees are paid for by me. Because of this, I do prefer cash, but am happy to provide this easy and secure payment option for my clients.