Fees, Records, Discipline, and Complaints
Fees
Texas caps the fee for a notarial act at $6. The cap is per act, not per document page or per signer, and charging above it is a violation that can support discipline. Watch for questions that bundle an inflated 'processing' or 'service' charge on top of the notarization - the total for the notarial act still may not exceed the statutory maximum, and any advertised fee must be accurate.
Records
A notary must maintain a record book of notarial acts. Entries should capture enough detail to reconstruct the act later: the date, the type of notarial act, the name of the signer, and identifying information about the signer and the document. The record book and the seal are the notary's professional assets; the seal must be kept secure so no one else can use it, and records must be preserved rather than discarded when a commission ends. A notary must also keep the Secretary of State advised of changes required by rule, such as a new address.
Discipline and complaints
Complaints about a notary go to the Secretary of State, which may investigate and, after notice and an opportunity to respond or a hearing, impose remedies that include reprimand, suspension, revocation, or refusal to renew. A person harmed by a notary's official misconduct may also pursue a claim against the notary's $10,000 bond, and acting as a notary without a valid commission can carry criminal consequences.
Rule of thumb
Remember the numbers as a chain: $6 per act, $10,000 bond, 4-year term, 30 days to file the bond. Fee, bond, renewal, and discipline questions usually turn on one of those figures.
Traps
Assuming a notary may charge per signature or per page; assuming records may be destroyed at will; assuming a commission renews automatically.