How Much Does Online Notarization Cost in the Philippines?
Online notarization in the Philippines costs the notarial fee your Electronic Notary Public sets, plus 12% VAT and documentary stamp tax. On Twala, requesting an appointment and signing are both free.
There is one more cost, and you pay it once: identity verification. Everything else that used to come with notarization falls away, from the trip and the printing to the courier and the half-day off work. Here is how each part works, what the Supreme Court’s rules say about fees, and how to keep the total down.
What you pay on Twala
| Item | Who sets it | When you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Requesting an appointment | Free | Never |
| Signing on Twala | Free for every signer | Never |
| Identity verification | Twala; the fee is shown before you start | Once, and it stays current until your ID expires or for three years |
| Notarial fee | Your Electronic Notary Public (ENP), at the session | After the act, within 24 hours |
| VAT | 12%, added at checkout | With the notarial fee, when you pay online |
| Documentary stamp tax | Set by law | With the notarial fee, when you pay online |
The notarial fee
The ENP sets the fee for the act at the session, the way a notary in a law office sets theirs. Because the fee is the notary’s to set, no platform can promise one price for every document.
What you can do is ask. Every appointment on Twala has a Messages tab shared by you, the notary, and everyone else on the appointment, and it opens the moment you send your request. Ask the ENP what the fee will be for your document before the session, so the payment request holds no surprises.
What the Rules say about fees
The Supreme Court’s Rules on Electronic Notarization (A.M. No. 24-10-14-SC) set the frame. Under Rule XII, notarial fees follow any guide on notarial fees the Supreme Court issues. The ENP may waive the fee in whole or in part. The ENP may also charge reasonable or proportionate telecommunication and other incidental expenses. If a fee looks out of line with your document, raise it on the Messages tab before the session, not after.
VAT and documentary stamp tax
Paid online with Pay, the notarial fee comes with 12% VAT, added at checkout, and documentary stamp tax. You see both added to the fee at checkout.
Cash, if your notary prefers it
Your notary can choose cash payment instead, and you then pay them directly rather than through Pay. Either way, payment is due within 24 hours of the notary’s request. The notarized PDF is released once the fee is paid, and an act left unpaid can be canceled, which means booking again.
Identity verification, once
Before you can request an appointment, you verify your identity: your National ID, checked against the national registry, or a photo of a government-issued ID, followed by a face scan. The fee is shown before you start. After that, your verification stays current until the ID expires or for three years, whichever comes first, so a second or third notarization in that window costs only the act itself.
Witnesses verify too, and each one pays their own verification fee, except when they verify to sign an envelope whose sender requires it. Paid Twala plans include identity verifications: one a month on Professional, Business, and Business Plus.
What you no longer pay for
The notarial fee was never the whole cost of notarization. Anyone who has had a deed of sale or a special power of attorney notarized the old way knows the rest of the bill:
- Fares, or fuel and parking, to reach the notary, and the same again to get home
- A morning or a whole day off work, often for every person who has to sign
- Printing and photocopies of every page, sometimes in several sets
- Courier fees when one party lives in another city or province
- A second trip when a signer or a witness couldn’t make the first one
Online, each person joins from where they are, anywhere in the Philippines. Twala’s own figures for agreements handled on its platform put the gain at 80% faster turnaround and 40% savings in time and materials per agreement.
How notaries pay for the platform
On Twala, ENPs pay for the platform through notary credits. Each notarial act uses one credit when the notary requests payment, and denying an act costs the notary nothing. Credit packages start at ₱500 for 5 credits and go up to ₱5,000 for 76, plus 12% VAT, and credits never expire. ENPs don’t need a subscription to notarize on Twala. If you are a lawyer weighing the numbers, why ENPs choose Twala goes through them.
Free eNotarization for those who can’t afford it
Cost shouldn’t decide who gets legal help. Under Twala’s agreement with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, one of the two documents notarized at the October 19, 2026 launch, Twala gives free eNotarization credits for eligible indigent clients, and participating lawyers offer free online consultations to eligible beneficiaries under the IBP’s Unified Legal Aid Service. Intake and scheduling run through the program itself. Read about the program.
How to keep the total down
- Ask the fee first. Use the Messages tab before the session.
- Finish the document before you book. A notarized PDF is sealed, and any change shows as tampered, so a correction after the act means a new document and a new act.
- Get everyone verified early. The act can’t be performed until every principal and witness is verified, and a session moved for a missing verification costs everyone another slot.
- Pay within 24 hours. An unpaid act can be canceled.
- Keep the PDF, not a printout. You can download it again from Notarizations whenever you need it, and recipients can check it on Twala’s verify page.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a booking fee on Twala?
No. Requesting an appointment is free.
Do the other signers pay anything?
Signing on Twala is always free. Each person who appears before the notary needs a current identity verification, and its fee is shown before they start.
Is online notarization more expensive than going to a notary’s office?
The notarial fee is the notary’s to set either way. What changes online is everything around it: no fares, no printing, no couriers, and no time off work, costs that add up quickly when several people have to sign.
What happens if I don’t pay within 24 hours?
The act can be canceled, and you would need to request a new appointment.
Can the notary charge extra for the video session?
The Rules allow an ENP to charge reasonable or proportionate telecommunication and other incidental expenses. Ask on the Messages tab before the session if you want the full amount up front.
The quickest way to know your total is to ask. Create a free Twala account, request an appointment, and put the question to your notary on the Messages tab. For the full process, read how to notarize a document online or our complete guide to eNotarization in the Philippines, and see Get notarized for each screen.
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.
