What a letter means
Letters are category judgments from (1) the state’s RON-for-notaries law, (2) what the vendor prints about hours, identity verification, extras, and retention, and (3) the product type — RON, mobile, or walk-in. They are not averages of app-store stars and they are not lab measurements. We would rather publish a conservative C with a citation than a precise 8.4 we cannot defend.
| Band | Availability | Identity check | Session record |
|---|---|---|---|
| A–B | Published 24/7 on-demand, or 24/7 online plus a clearly separated mobile product. | Printed credential analysis, KBA, and/or biometrics. We have not lab-tested pass rates, so A is reserved. | A published retention period measured in years (for example NotaryLive’s 10-year document storage; BlueNotary’s ≥10-year journal/recording help article). |
| C | Scheduled mobile, or mixed 24/7 online plus appointment travel. | In-person satisfactory evidence, or a RON flow whose IDV spec is not printed on the page we retrieved. | RON recording exists but years are not printed on the consumer page (Proof/Notarize pricing page we retrieved). |
| D–F | Lobby or store hours only. A Sunday-night packet does not get a teller. | Not used as a fail for walk-in. In-person ID is a different stack, not an automatic F. | Paper journal and no session video, or a published retention measured in days (OneNotary consumer plan: 7 days). |
The state letter that is not a vendor grade
On a state page we also print whether a notary commissioned in that state can perform RON. That letter comes from Proof’s 2026 map plus the state’s primary source when we have one.
- 42 states + DC — effective RON-for-notaries laws, per Proof (updated July 8, 2026).
- No RON-for-notaries law: Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina. Signers there can still use out-of-state RON for most document types. Connecticut’s real-estate-closing prohibition is called out, not smoothed over.
- California: signers can use out-of-state RON now. California notaries cannot perform RON until the SOS technology project is live, or 1 January 2030, whichever is earlier. SOS customer alert, October 24, 2023.
We do not turn that map into a vendor A. A platform that staffs Pennsylvania and Florida notaries does not change California’s F for in-state RON.
Prices
Official session floors we cite, retrieved August 2026:
- NotaryLive ~$25/session (pricing).
- Proof/Notarize ~$25 first seal / $15 extra (consumer pricing).
- OneNotary online ~$25; mobile from ~$80 (individuals pricing).
BlueNotary’s homepage lists a $10 on-demand witness. It does not print a consumer session floor we can cite. We leave the cell empty rather than write $25 because the table looks lonely.
Walk-in counters and independent mobiles set their own prices. California publishes a statutory maximum for in-person notarial acts. We link that idea; we do not invent a UPS Store sticker.
What we refuse to invent
- Unsourced “average wait time” or “number of notaries” presented as our audit.
- A single blended score that hides a retention D behind a pretty 24/7 A.
- Star ratings dressed up as a lab score. We do not ship fake stars.
Scorecard buttons say Official page or Affiliate link. We may earn a commission if you finish a session through a link marked Affiliate link. See the disclosure.