Book a Notary Online for Free: No Upfront Fee, No Subscription
Booking a notary online on Twala is free: no booking fee, no deposit, no subscription, and no credits to buy. You pay the notarial fee only after the Electronic Notary Public (ENP) has performed the act.
That order matters more than it sounds. A service that wants full payment the moment you click, before any lawyer has looked at your document, is asking you to take a lot on trust, and our guide to spotting a fake online notary explains why that should make you careful. On Twala, the money moves last.
What you pay for, and when
| Step | What it costs | When you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Creating a Twala account | Free | Never |
| Signing your document on Twala | Free for every signer | Never |
| Requesting an appointment | Free | Never |
| Messaging your notary | Free | Never |
| Changing your appointment time | Free, until the notary’s minimum notice | Never |
| Canceling before the session | Free | Never |
| Identity verification | A fee, shown before you start | Once, and it stays current for up to three years |
| Notarial fee, plus 12% VAT and documentary stamp tax when paid online | Set by your ENP | After the act, within 24 hours |
Everything before the session is free except identity verification, which has a section of its own below. The notarial fee comes last, once the act is done.
No subscription and no credits: those are for lawyers
Twala sells subscription plans and notary credits, and both appear on the pricing page, which can make it look as if you have to buy something before you book. You don’t.
Notary credits are how ENPs pay for the platform. Each notarial act uses one credit when the notary requests payment, and the lawyer buys the credits, not the client. Paid plans (Professional, Business, Business Plus, and Enterprise) add tools such as document management, contract lifecycle management, AI, and team seats, for lawyers and companies that want them. Neither is needed to get a document notarized.
A client needs a free account on the Personal plan. Signing is free for every signer, and you can request notarizations from it. If your document still needs everyone’s signatures, you upload it when you request the appointment and send it for signing through an envelope, one of the five the free plan allows each month.
Why paying after the act works in your favor
Take a tenant in Davao City and a landlord in Cebu who want their lease notarized before move-in day. Both have signed it on Twala. The tenant requests an appointment at 11 p.m., after work, adds the landlord as a principal, and pays nothing. The ENP accepts the request the next morning, and everyone settles the details on the appointment’s Messages tab. At the session, each of them confirms that the signature on the lease is theirs and that they signed it freely, the notary performs the acknowledgment, and only then does a payment request arrive.
Every step of that order protects you:
- A declined request costs nothing. The ENP accepts or declines each request. If yours is declined, you have paid nothing and can book another notary.
- You can know the fee before the session. The ENP sets the fee for the act. Ask on the Messages tab, which opens the moment you send the request, so the payment request holds no surprises.
- You pay for an act that has already happened. Payment is requested only after the notary has confirmed your details and performed the act.
- You have a day to pay. Payment is due within 24 hours of the request: online with Pay, or in cash to the notary if the notary chooses cash payment.
- A dropped call costs nothing. No payment exists until the notary performs the act. If the connection fails before then, the notary can start a new session, and you rejoin from the same link.
- Plans can change. If the time stops working for you, open the appointment and click Change time, at no cost, until the notary’s minimum notice before the session. You can also cancel at no cost, with a reason for the notary, until a session has been held.
Once the fee is paid, Twala adds the notarial certificate page and seal, with a QR code, and enters the act in the notary’s notarial register, which is filed with the Supreme Court. Your notarized PDF is then ready to download from Notarizations, as often as you need it, and it doesn’t count against your plan’s storage.
What the payment request includes, and nothing more
The payment request shows your notary’s fee. At checkout, Pay adds exactly two things: 12% VAT and the documentary stamp tax the notary enters. There is no booking fee, convenience fee, or processing fee for the client, and Twala keeps no share of the notarial fee. All of it goes to the notary; ENPs pay for the platform through their notary credits.
To take an example, a ₱500 notarial fee with ₱30 in documentary stamp tax comes to ₱590 at checkout: ₱500, plus ₱60 VAT, plus ₱30. You pay with GCash, Maya, a card, or QR Ph, and choose on the checkout page. If your notary prefers cash, you pay them directly instead, and nothing goes through Pay.
The fee is also the notary’s to waive. The Rules on Electronic Notarization let an ENP waive the notarial fee in whole or in part, and notaries who offer some services free say so when you choose one on Twala.
The one fee before you book: identity verification
One cost does come before the appointment, and it is better to know about it now than at checkout. Before you can request a notarization, you verify your identity once: your National ID checked against the national registry, or a photo of a government-issued ID that hasn’t expired, then a face scan. It has a fee, shown before you start, and nothing is collected until you consent.
It is a one-time step, not a booking fee. Your verification stays current until the ID you used expires or for three years, whichever comes first, so a second or third notarization in that window costs only the act. Witnesses verify too, each with their own fee, unless they are verifying to sign an envelope whose sender requires it, in which case the sender covers it.
The check is also what makes a remote notarization possible at all. It is how an ENP in Quezon City can be satisfied about the identity of a principal in Cagayan de Oro they have never met. Read how identity verification works for the details.
What the notarial fee buys
The fee pays for what it always paid for: a lawyer commissioned by the Supreme Court confirming that the right person signed, knowingly and freely. Under the Rules on Electronic Notarization (A.M. No. 24-10-14-SC), an electronic notarial act performed through an accredited facility has the same validity, force, and effect as a traditional one.
Online, it also buys things a paper notarization never came with. Your notarized PDF is sealed with a digital signature and anchored on a blockchain with HashOrigin™ Technology, so any change after notarization shows as Document tampered when it is verified, and anyone you send it to can check it on Twala’s verify page. Nobody pays a fare, a printing bill, or a courier, and nobody takes half a day off work. Our breakdown of what online notarization costs goes through each line.
Free eNotarization for those who can’t afford it
For some clients, even a modest fee decides whether a document gets notarized at all. Under Twala’s legal aid agreement with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Twala provides free eNotarization credits for eligible indigent clients, and participating lawyers give free online consultations to eligible beneficiaries, subject to the program’s intake and scheduling. The agreement supports legal aid under the Supreme Court’s Unified Legal Aid Service, which counts notarization among the free services lawyers can give.
How to book a notary on Twala
- Create a free account at platform.twala.ai and verify your identity.
- In Appointments, click Request appointment and choose Notarization. Add a document already signed on Twala, or upload a new PDF and send it for signing right after you request.
- Pick an ENP by name or city, choose one of their open times, and send the request.
- At the scheduled time, open the appointment and click Join session.
- Pay within 24 hours of the notary’s payment request, then download your notarized PDF.
Twala is open 24/7, so you can request an appointment, message your notary, and pay at any hour; the session itself takes place in the ENP’s open times. For every screen in order, read how to notarize a document online, step by step, or see Get notarized.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a booking fee?
No. Requesting an appointment on Twala is free, and so is the account you request it from.
Do I need a subscription or notary credits?
No. Credits are what ENPs use to perform notarial acts, and subscriptions are optional plans for lawyers and companies that want more of Twala. A free Personal account is all a client needs.
When do I pay?
After the act. The notary performs it, then requests payment, due within 24 hours: online with Pay, or in cash to the notary if they choose cash payment.
How can I pay online?
With GCash, Maya, a card, or QR Ph. You choose on the checkout page.
Is there a convenience or processing fee?
No. Checkout adds only 12% VAT and the documentary stamp tax to the notary’s fee, and Twala keeps no share of the fee.
Is anything paid before the appointment?
Only identity verification, once. Its fee is shown before you start, and your verification stays current until your ID expires or for three years, whichever comes first.
What happens if I don’t pay within 24 hours?
The act is canceled, nothing is charged, and you would need to request a new appointment.
Booking costs nothing, so trying it costs you a few minutes. Create a free Twala account, verify once, and request your appointment. For everything else about the process, start with our complete guide to eNotarization in the Philippines.
Twala is a Supreme Court-accredited Electronic Notarization Facility (ENF). Twala is a technology provider and does not give legal advice. Notarial acts are performed by commissioned Electronic Notaries Public.
